Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity
by Maileesaeya
Summary: Destiny AU. A mere two years have passed since the Bloody Valentine War, but already, the tides of conflict have begun to stir as terrorists and schemers work to make the sacrifice of thousands meaningless, starting with the theft of four new Gundams... Part II of the Divinity Saga. Complete.
1. Phase 01: Angry Eyes

**Well, here it is. I know a lot of people have been eager for this.**

**Edit: Originally, I included a somewhat lengthy exposition regarding why I started writing _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, however, because I unintentionally offended someone with it, I have removed it.**

**When I first started writing _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, Akatsuki Leader13 was working on the Battle of Orb. When he started writing _SEED Destiny: A Retelling_, I was still way back at the desert arc of the story. I'm glad I was able to catch up fairly quickly, giving me the opportunity to introduce secrets and foreshadowing to so-called 'veteran fans' who have read both versions without it being compromised by Akatsuki Leader13's work.**

**And now, I give the fans what they want: _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity_, the sequel to _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, the next chapter in the story of the Children of Divinity. But to start, the stage for the next conflict must be set, and it will be set by normal humans, not by the Body and Soul of Divinity.**

**A lot of you will also have noticed that I didn't include the Mecha Spec Page that has been fairly common. I have my reasons for this, several in fact. What it comes down too, though, is that this keeps the number of the chapter in line with what chapter it actually is, and a large number of potential fans were warded off by fear of Mary Sues when they saw that a number of OCs were included in the story. I'd like to ask any newcomers to give the story a chance, and not just brush it off because OCs are prominent within the story. You may find that you enjoy it more than you thought you could.**

**Alright, that's enough. I shall bore you no more, save for this piece of information:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha, including _Minerva_ greencoats Shawn and Dale. I do not own the OC Gyunei Ridden, who is the property of still-anonymous reviewer exia00, or the OCs Tristan Palleon and Nanai Bidan, who are the property of animefan29. Furthermore, the characters Treize Zabiarov, Ian Kessel and the FAITH operative belong to Akatsuki Leader13, as does the ZGMF-X74S Specter Gundam.  
**

* * *

_"__Cosmic Era 72; one and a half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world is once more on the path of stability. But the legacy of Divinity endures… and a grim shadow continues to shroud the future."_ – Unknown Child of Divinity.

Phase One: Angry Eyes

* * *

_A family of four ran through the woods, trying to reach the boats that were evacuating the civilians of Orb. Shinn Asuka looked up at the mobile suits fighting above them. The white one, purple one and dark blue one were struggling against the other seven. Shinn really wasn't sure which ones were fighting for Orb and which ones were with the Earth Forces._

_Suddenly, the dark blue one and the black one, both of which had transformed into a bird-like mode, raced dangerously close overhead, forcing Shinn and his family to brace themselves as a strong gust of wind slammed into them._

_"__My phone!" cried Mayu out as her phone flew out of her pocket and fell down the side of the hit._

_Mayu headed for her cell phone, but their mother grabbed her arm. "Forget about it. We have to go Mayu."_

_"__But my phone!"_

_"__Don't worry. I'll get it," said Shinn, running down the side of the hill._

_The Deliverance landed on the ground, targeting the Freedom. The Freedom entered HiMAT mode as it aimed at the Deliverance, not noticing as the machine shifted its leg slightly._

_Freedom fired an instant before the Deliverance, the hyper-velocity rounds of the Xiphias railguns slamming into the artillery mobile suit and knocking it slightly off-target, most of its missiles going wide._

_Shinn had found Mayu's phone and picked it up when he felt the massive wave of heat and air slam into him, tossing him down the rest of the hill. By some small miracle, the only injuries he sustained were some scrapes and bruises, and having the wind knocked out of him. He slowly got to his feet, still clutching Mayu's cell phone._

_"__Mom! Dad! Where are you? Mayu!" Shinn called out as he started to search for his family. "Mom! Dad! Ma–"_

_It didn't take him long to find them. The path they had been running across had collapsed. And lying there, among the rubble, was Mayu. She was lying on her back, maybe eight feet from him. Mayu looked like she could have been sleeping, if it wasn't for the fact that there were a number of cuts and bruises on her skin. Including a nasty cut on her forehead. Lying a few feet from Mayu was his mother, lying in a pool of her own blood and her body twisted at an unnatural angle. Then he noticed his father, crushed between a boulder and a fallen tree._

_Shinn screamed to the heavens as he fell to his knees, his cry a mixture of pain and sorrow. Tears began to pour down his face. Why had they been killed? They weren't soldiers. They didn't deserve to be murdered like that! So then why? Why had this happened?_

_Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him. "Come on! There's nothing you can do for them," said a voice as the hands lifted Shinn to his feet._

_The voice belonged to an Orb officer. But Shinn didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. He just wanted to lie down and die alongside his family. Seeing the state he was in, the Orb officer shook him, trying to shake him out of his stupor._

_"__Your family would have wanted you to survive. Come on. The boat will be leaving soon," he said, half dragging Shinn to the boat._

Shinn shot up from his bed, breathing heavily. The nightmare had returned again. He hated it. He hated reliving that moment, the moment that his family had been taken from him, because of the stupid, stubborn Orb government and the Athhas for not surrendering to the Earth Forces. Because of the Earth Alliance for attacking his former home.

"Shinn… Shinn, what's wrong?" asked Shinn's roommate, Rey, as he yawned.

"Nothing," said Shinn. "Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Rey didn't say anything and returned to sleep. Shinn reached out to his dresser, slowly opening a drawer. He reached in and pulled out Mayu's pink cellphone, holding it close. He would have played Mayu's call back message, but he didn't want to wake Rey. So he just lay there, holding the phone, until he fell asleep.

* * *

Armory One, Lagrange Point 4

October 2, C.E. 73

There was a distinct lack of organization around the Armory One hangars, mechanics and Defense Committee agents shouting at pilots and other mechanics for their apparent inability to organize, leaving mobile suits sitting in inappropriate areas and ceremonial GINNs armed with actual weapons rather than their ceremonial equipment. Lunamaria Hawke didn't understand how it had gotten to be _this_ bad.

Lunamaria glanced back at a GaZuOOT that had just been ordered to move when the driver of the jeep she was in, Vino Dupre, spoke up in sudden panic.

"Wha–? Hold on!" Lunamaria's head snapped back around as Vino quickly spun the wheel and maneuvered through the feet of a GINN that had just walked out from behind a wall. Luna sighed in relief, releasing her hair and sitting up straight, glaring back at the GINN.

"What the hell?" she asked. "This is a mess."

"It can't be helped," said Vino. "It's been awhile since we've done anything like this. Everybody's a rookie here, like us and the pilots."

"Not all of them," said Luna softly, smiling slightly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her," said Vino. Lunamaria swung around to stare at him incredulously.

"How could you forget? She's a survivor of Jachin!" said Luna. "As I recall, you've been practically gushing over her machine ever since it was brought aboard the ship!"

"Yeah, well… I sort of forgot about her in favor of the machine," said Vino abashedly. "That machine's a survivor of Jachin as well."

"It's no different from others of the same model," said Luna, crossing her arms. "It's the pilot that makes the difference."

"Yeah, I know, I know," said Vino.

* * *

Spaceport

Cagalli Yula Athha, Athrun Zala and Flay Allster moved through the corridor from their shuttle, heading into the spaceport terminal.

"Are you sure that outfit is appropriate?" asked Athrun. "Tell me you at least brought a dress."

"Why does it matter what I'm wearing?" replied Cagalli, clad in the standard attire of an Orb Government official. "Isn't this fine?"

"For a situation like this, a little bit of acting never hurts," he replied. "You know this already. Look, don't try to be someone you're not, but you don't want them to think you're an amateur. Though it is an unofficial visit, never forget that you are now a ruler of Orb."

"Lighten up a little," said Flay. "We're just here asking some questions about the Orb refugees from the war and our technology they're using. Though I have to wonder if you've been taking Lady Serenity's lessons to heart. You'll notice that Lady Setsuna wears dresses… usually."

Flay paused for a moment. She felt something unusual. A presence. She glanced out the corridor window at the spaceport terminal below. Her eyes were drawn to a group of four. A ditzy-looking blond haired girl who somehow seemed familiar, a younger boy with blue hair, and an older green haired male, briefly drew her attention. But it was the fourth that she felt herself drawn to. He wore a black trenchcoat with a high collar, obscuring the lower half of his face. A pair of sunglasses further masked his face, making it impossible for her to determine what he looked like or how old he was. He had white hair of about medium length. But it was wild, like he cared nothing for his appearance. Something about him unsettled her. He had an aura of violence and something else she could barely pick up. But she couldn't identify it.

The white haired person suddenly glanced around, looking for someone. Had he sensed her? Flay wasn't sure and after a moment, he stopped searching without spotting her.

Flay's hand reached up around her neck, grabbing a locket that rested next to a set of dog tags. It was simple silver locket. Inside it was a picture of her son Alexander, taken shortly after his birth, and a picture of Alexander's father, Christopher Dante, who died during the final battle of the war.

After Alexander had been born, something had changed in Flay. More than just the emergence of her maternal instincts, it was an awareness that she had never had before, the same as Kira's and Lady Setsuna's, though nowhere near as strong as theirs. The two attributed it to her inheriting Chris's place in their strange family, and they treated her as a sister for it, though they'd likely have done it merely for her relationship with their 'brother'.

And Flay had taken the job of one of Cagalli's assistants after Alex had been born. She didn't need the money she was paid; her family had been wealthy enough that she could have lived out her life comfortably. But the spoiled girl she had been died a long time ago. Now all she cared about was protecting her son. As a result, she learned to fight, to shoot and to pilot a mobile suit.

"Are you alright, Flay?" asked Athrun, jarring her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Just lost in thought for a moment there."

They soon reached one of the large lifts that would take them into the heart of the colony. There waiting for them was Ian Kessel, the National Defense Committee Chairman of ZAFT.

"Hello. It's been awhile," he greeted.

"Hello National Defense Committee Chairman Kessel," replied Cagalli.

"Please Cagalli, just Ian," he said. "How have you all been?"

"Fine," answered Athrun. "How are Saul and the others?"

"Saul's moved up in the ranks," said Ian. "He's now one of Diana's sub-commanders, with Shiho as his lieutenant. As for Nicol, he's still performing his concerts and has been something of a celebrity, though nowhere near as big as Lacus was, or as Lady Setsuna is now." Ian turned to the window of the elevator. "But that's not why you're here, is it?"

Athrun shook his head. "No."

"You're here about the Orb refugees from the war and the tech we've gained from Orb." Ian sighed. "Personally, I don't like this whole affair. It's complicated and there's no clear-cut right and wrong here. On the one hand, we're basically stealing Orb tech. But on the other, they're Orb citizens that have chosen to live in the PLANTs and need to earn a living with the skills they have. It's a mess. Worse, the Chairman has handled it poorly." Ian turned to Cagalli. "But maybe you and the Chairman can come to an agreement about this."

"What's your impression of Chairman Durandal?" asked Cagalli.

"He's complicated. But he's a good man. Brilliant, driven and passionate," said Ian. "However, the man has a silver tongue. So be careful when dealing with him."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Well… I'll raise," said Dale Helbrecht, adding chips to the pile.

"I'm out. This is getting too rich for me," said Shawn Anderson.

Tristan Palleon put a hand through his slicked back blond hair. Tristan had aristocratic features, making him quite pleasing to the eye, something his fellow Green Coats regularly joked about. Often calling him 'Pretty Boy Palleon' and the future poster boy of ZAFT's military, with a notable exception. While he came from a wealthy family, Tristan was about as far as one could get from the rich spoiled upper class types, one of the reasons why he was a Green Coat and not a higher ranked officer. He wished to earn his rank on his merits, not because of his family's reputation. His green eyes stared at Dale for a moment, then at his cards, then back at Dale. Dale's poker face was too good.

"I fold," he said.

Jessie Vandermeer glanced at his cards. The brown-haired and brown-eyed young man was a skilled pilot, certainly low Red Coat level, but he'd graduated a Green Coat because of his habitual recklessness. However, he'd also managed to consistently survive simulations where others had not, and his friends joked he'd been blessed with the same luck as Lisa DaCosta.

That luck, however, had not been helping him in this game of poker thus far. However, he believed he'd finally turned it around.

Jessie grinned. "You're bluffing. I call," he said, placing his hand on the table.

Two nines and two jacks. Two pair.

Dale grinned. "Not this time," he said, laying his hand on the table.

Four kings. Four of a kind.

Jessie let out an annoyed grunt and slapped his forehead as Dale grabbed the pile and added it to his own, already large pile.

"Gah… I'm going break that poker face of yours," said Jessie. "Just you wait. I'll get all those winnings back."

Dale chuckled. "Just you try, my friend. Just you try."

* * *

Central Elevator

"So, tomorrow's ceremony marks the first launching of a new ship since the war ended, right?" Cagalli asked Ian. Ian nodded. "Chairman Durandal is well aware of what I came here to discuss. Strange that they're holding the ceremony now, in this place."

"That's true, but remember, we _were_ the ones who requested a meeting at their earliest convenience, Representative Athha," said Athrun, fully into his role as Cagalli's assistant and bodyguard. "I suspect Chairman Durandal chose this location for our benefit. Perhaps he thought it would attract less attention then a visit to the PLANT homeland."

Cagalli was silent. That did seem likely. She supposed she was just feeling uncertain about Durandal because of Kira and Setsuna's feelings on the man, as neither of them particularly trusted him. By their own words, it wasn't because of his connection to Divinity, but rather, something else, something far more personal, but neither would clarify, leaving Cagalli and literally everyone else in the dark. Even Flay, Lacus, Liz and Louisa hadn't been told, despite their special relationships with the two.

As this all passed through Cagalli's mind, the elevator emerged into the PLANT proper, and both Cagalli and Flay gasped at what they saw, while Athrun stared with a surprisingly grim expression.

It was the first time Cagalli and Flay had ever been inside a PLANT. Even a military one like Armory One had an incredible, lush environment. It was beautiful.

For Athrun, it was a reminder of the home he felt he could never go back to.

A short while later, Cagalli and her entourage stepped through the doors to an office, where PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal was waiting for them.

"Ah, Princess. Welcome," said Durandal politely. "I apologize for having to have you come all the way here."

"I should be the one to apologize for making you take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, Chairman Durandal," said Cagalli as the two shook hands.

"How are things in your country?" asked Durandal as the two of them moved towards the couches in the room. "I understand that ever since you've become their Chief Representative, many of the problems that Orb has been experiencing since the war have been resolved. As the head of a friendly nation, I am happy for you. And a little envious."

"I still have a lot to learn," admitted Cagalli, taking her seat.

"Now. What could this urgent matter be, that would require you to come here in secret?" asked Durandal, ending the small talk. "From what I've heard from our ambassadors, it's a complicated matter that you wish to discuss. Am I correct?"

Cagalli could already feel Durandal's silver tongue at work. The man made no effort to hide it, but there was something about it that made this irrelevant. Flay, however, had an indefinable sense that something was wrong… or about to become very, _very_ wrong.

"It doesn't seem to be a complicated matter to me. But we've yet to receive a clear response from your administration on this matter," answered Cagalli. "My nation has made repeated requests that you cease the use of Orb's technology and human resources for your own military purposes."

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

The six remaining Third Generation Extended waited in the pilot's lounge, clad in their pilot suits. The youngest of the group, Mariemeia Zabiarov, was wildly dancing to the music she was listening to on her earphones. She was always like this, wild and hyperactive, her shoulder length black hair with red highlights dancing around her moving head. Her pilot suit was purple and black.

Sitting nearby her, was the oldest of the female Extended, Nanai Bidan, wearing a dark green and black pilot suit. She had black eyes and long, violet hair, braided into a ponytail. Nanai was one of the calmer Extended, typically acting fairly rational, though they'd found that was usually the norm for the Third Generation. However, she had a love for explosions. To her they were the most beautiful things in the world, whether they were big or small. They were all beautiful to her, especially if Coordinators were caught in the blast. It was probably why she had been assigned the Divina Guardian as her mobile suit, with its incredible firepower; she could create many, many beautiful explosions.

The least rational of the group, Gyunei Ridden, sat impatiently next to the door. His pilot suit was red and black. He had short dark brown hair and red eyes. Like Mariemeia, he always craved action. He hated to be sitting around doing nothing. It drove him nuts, making him dangerous to be around at times. But nevertheless, he was a deadly pilot in combat.

The next least rational in the group was Miguel Kacricon, the oldest of the male Extended. Miguel was clad in a dark blue and black pilot suit, his black hair cut short. In terms of skills, he was at the middle of the group of seven, and he acknowledged this, but he had difficulty suppressing a sense of superiority when dealing with anyone, even other Extended, outside his own Generation; however, he was also smart enough to avoid crossing his superiors.

The first of the superiors in question was Rache Packard, clad in an auburn and black pilot suit. Dark skinned and dark haired, he was one of the strongest of all Extended, and with his enhancements, was a marksman judged superior to even the Black Hawk, which was responsible for his assignment to the Verde Buster.

A cold and focused man clad in a grey and black pilot suit rounded out the group, white hair cut short, cold face emotionless. His name was Silber Messa, the second strongest of the Extended and the only one Treize seemed to actually like. Like all of them, he followed orders to the letter, and commanded the team in the field whenever Treize was unable to.

There was something unusual about them. All of them wore cloth masks matching their pilot suits over their faces. It was due to a glitch in their programming that the doctors had yet to solve. If they saw their face uncovered, they descended into a violent insanity, attacking anyone and anything they could see, including themselves.

"_Attention. Pilots report to your mobile suits for preparation to sortie,_" said a voice over the intercom.

"Finally!" grumbled Gyunei, jumping to his feet as Mariemeia stopped dancing. "It's almost time to begin."

"Patience is a virtue," growled Silber. "It was a lack of it that led to the failure of the First Generation." This was something they all knew, and though Gyunei didn't like it, he acceded to that. Besides, if he angered Silber, he'd be sitting out the next sortie, which was something he most definitely didn't want.

They all reached for devices strapped to their left wrists. They were connected to devices on their chests that pumped a cocktail of combat drugs and the drugs responsible for maintaining them directly into their bodies. Pushing a button on the watch-like device increased the feed of combat drugs into their systems. They then grabbed their helmets and headed for the hanger.

* * *

Armory One

Their talks didn't seem to be going anyway, so Durandal had decided to continue them as they toured the Armory One Base. As Cagalli and Durandal talked, Athrun couldn't help but notice the large number of new mobile suits, including brand new ZAKUs. He couldn't help but wonder how close ZAFT was to violating the Treaty of Junius Seven.

"You, Princess, are a courageous woman. You fought in a mobile suit during the last war," complimented Durandal. "And you are also the successor to the Lion of Orb, Lord Uzumi, the man who held onto his country's ideal until the very end, without giving in to pressure. What do you believe we should do with the condition the world is in now? I'm sure you already know the answer."

"We will protect our nation and our ideals. It's as simple as that," replied Cagalli.

"'We will not attack another nation, we will not allow another nation to attack us, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations'," quoted Durandal. "Correct?"

Cagalli nodded her head. "Yes."

"Naturally, we feel the same way," said Durandal. "If possible, that would be the best way. But it is not possible without power. Even you, Princess… no, you of all people should understand that best. Isn't that why Orb maintains full military facilities?"

"Please do me a favor and stop calling me Princess," said Cagalli.

"Representative Athha. Please forgive me," he said with a slight bow. "However, I must wonder, what are you afraid of? Is it because of the pressure from the Atlantic Federation? They believe that Orb is providing military aid to us regardless of the treaty."

Cagalli clenched her fist. The relations between Orb and the Atlantic Federation had reached a delicate stage. She had hoped that she could convince Durandal to stop using Orb technology for military purposes, which would get the Atlantic Federation off their back. However, it seemed that Rondo Mina Sahaku's assessment was dead on: Durandal wouldn't stop.

"But there is no truth to that," continued Durandal. "Although we did welcome refugees from the Battle of Orb, it's only natural that those people would wish to make a living here with the skills they have.

"But excessive power will only bring about more conflicts!" argued Cagalli.

"No Princess," said Durandal. "Power is necessary because there will always be conflict."

Cagalli opened her mouth to say something when suddenly the base's alarms went off.

* * *

Elsewhere

A FAITH operative and a ZAFT soldier had picked up them at a designated meeting spot. They were taking them to the hanger with the mobile suits they going to steal. Treize Zabiarov didn't like it. They were supposed to trust these filthy Coordinators when they were betraying their own people. Who's to say they won't betray them? If it were up to him, he'd put a bullet in both their heads. But it wasn't.

He didn't like that FAITH operative. There was something about the man that he hated, something beyond just being a Coordinator. It was like that feeling he had in the spaceport.

The FAITH operative opened a side door to the hanger. The ZAFT soldier unzipped the bag and passed out the weapons inside. Sting Oakley and Auel Neider armed themselves with a pair of submachine guns, while Stella Loussier took a knife and a ZAFT handgun with an extended clip. Treize grabbed a submachine gun and several grenades. He also touched his wristwatch, increasing his combat drugs.

"I believe you know what to do," said the FAITH operative.

A grin spread across Treize's face. They knew. And personally, he was going to enjoy this.

"We know what to do," he said. "If you don't want the same fate, leave."

"Very well then. Get to it," said the FAITH operative, before the two ZAFT soldiers left.

"For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World!" shouted Treize, throwing a grenade.

* * *

Outside

The FAITH operative and his comrade returned to their jeep.

"I wonder. What did those men and women that loaded the nuclear warhead that would spark the Bloody Valentine War think just before they fired it?" mused the FAITH operative as he sat down in the jeep. "Did they know they were going to start a war that nearly destroyed everything? Or did they realize that they were just parts in the never-ending machine of war? And that no matter what they did, war would come."

"I don't know sir," replied the soldier.

The operative chuckled as the jeep sped off. "No one does," he said. "With the exception of the man who pulled the trigger, they died in the battle, and he died at Jachin without telling anyone. Though I do know what Sato and his soldiers are thinking. Deep down they know they are gears in the machinery. They know they will bring about another war. And they want it. Tell me, who do you think will win the war?"

"Durandal sir," replied the soldier. "Durandal's plan is nearly flawless."

"Perhaps," he said. "Though I feel that the Clyne Faction will surprise us all. Lacus Clyne is someone that should not be underestimated. Zala, Azrael, and Le Creuset did. And look how that ended for them. Should they win, though, the fools will not do anything to change the world. They will maintain the status quo, which will only bring about more wars. Because of that stupidity, I truly despise that group. They could have changed everything after the last war. Instead, they did nothing and let the world slide back to its path of war. But we shall shatter the machine known as war. Even if it takes a war to do so."

The agent didn't realize it, but he'd hidden his hand from the soldier, concealing the fact that it was clenched in rage over his inability to stop Durandal or warn the Three Ships Alliance of what was coming, trapped as he was by _that_ man.

The feeling he got from that Phantom Pain operative only made it worse.

* * *

ZAFT Hangar

"For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World!"

A grenade landed next to a group of workers. Before they could run, it exploded. Four armed people rushed into the hanger, firing on the ZAFT soldiers and workers. They never stood a chance. The four were fast, brutal and efficient. Stella leapt into the air as String and Auel fired on the Coordinators. Auel gunned down a pair of armed soldiers atop one of the mobile suits. Stella landed, slashing one soldier's throat and shooting several others. One soldier rushed to the alarm. But before he could reach it, bullets tore through his legs and he fell to the ground.

Treize finished the last of the ZAFT personnel. Smirking, he approached the other three.

"Get into the machines," he ordered, climbing onto one of the four machines. "Deactivate the self-destruct first."

Treize climbed into the cockpit of his machine, removing his sunglasses and replacing them with his black and white cloth mask, momentarily revealing his mismatched eyes. He activated the mobile suit. The black screens in the cockpit lit up.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
G**eneration**  
U**nrestricted**  
N**etwork**  
D**rive**  
A**ssault**  
M**odule**  
G.U.N.D.A.M  
_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_  
Z.A.F.T**

Treize quickly deactivated the mobile suit's self-destruct as his teammates did the same. One by one, the Specter, the Gaia, the Chaos and the Abyss rose to their feet.

Suddenly, a wounded ZAFT soldier hit an alarm. Furious, Treize gunned the man down with his machine's CIWS.

* * *

Outside

Durandal, Cagalli and everyone else could only watch in horror as the hangers exploded. Athrun and Flay pulled Cagalli to the ground as a group of ZAFT soldiers did the same for Chairman Durandal, shielding them from the force of the blast and flying debris.

From the hangar, four mobile suits emerged, one black, one green, one blue and one red.

"Go. Destroy the mobile suits before the pilots can get in them," ordered Treize.

"_Stella, you take the left,_" said Auel.

"_Understood,_" replied the Stella.

The Chaos moved forward, the Abyss headed right, and the Gaia headed left, the trio obliterating hangars and all the mobile suits within, while the Specter shot down anything that already did have a pilot in it, mostly worthless GINN Ceremonial Types.

_Really…_ thought Treize. _I thought Coordinators were smart. What sort of idiot wastes resources for a machine that can only sit there and look pretty?_

"It's the new models! Someone's stolen them!" shouted a soldier.

"They what?" exclaimed Durandal, stunned.

"Scramble all mobile suits! We need to recapture them!"

"New models?" questioned Cagalli as she and everyone else climbed back to their feet.

At that moment, she got her answer. The Abyss appeared, firing its cannons at a hanger, destroying the mobile suits inside.

"That's a…" stammered Athrun.

"A Gundam!" finished Cagalli, shocked. Flay struggled to shake off the feeling that had hit her when the four mobile suits emerged, a sickening feeling that made it hard to think clearly.

GuAIZ Rs and old GINNs rushed to intercept the stolen machines, but these new mobile suits quickly shot many down. Treize fired the Specter's beam revolvers at a wing of DINNs, shooting down the airborne mobile suits before they could get a shot off. The Gaia, in its mobile armor mode, ran between the rows of hangers and warehouses, firing at the buildings and mobile suits. The Chaos gunned down a pair of GuAIZ Rs and a GaZuOOT.

GuAIZ Rs were only a minor update to the GuAIZ, and as any veteran GuAIZ pilot could attest, an inferior one at that, intended to be easier for rookies to handle. ZAFTs actions, retaining so many of their older machines and limiting their ability to produce more powerful ZAKUs if they wanted to hold to the treaty was smacking them in the face right now, and very hard, too.

* * *

Meanwhile

Rey Za Burrel and Lunamaria rushed towards the hangar where their ZAKUs were stored. How had this happened? The GuAIZ Rs and GINNs were no match for the prototypes. Aside from the one prototype that had escaped capture, the only thing ZAFT had that could go up against one of those machines were the ZAKUs.

However, as they ran for their machines, a missile from the Chaos hit a GuAIZ R standing outside the hangar, destroying it and sending debris smashing into the hangar, causing it to collapse. The ZAKUs were knocked from their cradles, and debris buried the cockpits.

Seeing this, Luna gasped, and Rey grit his teeth in frustration.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Quickly. Get the Princess to a shelter!" ordered Durandal.

A soldier nodded. "This way," he said to Cagalli and her group.

They raced towards the shelters. But as they ran behind a hanger, Flay tripped. Athrun and Cagalli both stopped to help her, when at that moment, there was an explosion. The hanger had sheltered the three from the blast, but their guide hadn't been so lucky. He had been caught in the blast and killed.

"This way!" said Athrun, grabbing the two girls and rushing away from the battling mobile suits. Athrun had never been to Armory One, but he figured he could find the shelters as long as the design wasn't too different from other PLANTs.

However, the black, BuCUE-like Gundam suddenly appeared in front of them from behind a hangar. Overhead, a DINN fired on the Gaia, but missed, hitting a hangar instead. Athrun rushed the two girls behind a truck for shelter.

"Damn it!" said Athrun.

"But why?" demanded Cagalli to herself. "Why is this happening?"

"I wish they were here," said Flay.

The Gaia, meanwhile, had leapt into the air and sliced the DINN in two with wing-mounted beam blades reminiscent of the Guardian. The DINN's upper half crashed into a nearby hanger, and exploded, destroying the hangar and tossing a ZAKU Warrior to the ground.

The Gaia transformed back to mobile suit mode and started firing on the vulnerable, pilotless ZAFT machines with its beam rifle.

Seeing this, Athrun realized that they weren't going to survive out in the open like this. There was only one option.

"Come on!" he said, pulling Cagalli towards the ZAKU.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"_Standby to launch Impulse,_" echoed the voice of Meyrin Hawke, the mobile suit controller and communications officer for the _Minerva_. "_Pilot to Core Splendor. Sword Module selected. Opening Silhouette Hangar 2. Silhouette Flyer, standby for launch._" As she spoke, a container opened, and a backpack module attached to a small aircraft was loaded into the _Minerva_'s specially designed central catapult. "_Platform setup complete. Central catapult online, opening airtight shutters. Emergency crew, standby at launch stations. Raise central catapult to launch position. Core Splendor, all systems online, initiate launch sequence. Hatch opened, linear launch system engaged. Catapult power level normal. Course clear, Core Splendor, go ahead, launch._"

Following the clearance, the pilot of the Core Splendor pushed the controls forward, and the small fighter flew free of the _Minerva_'s central catapult.

"_Catapult engaged,_" continued Meyrin. "_Please deploy Silhouette Flyer._" Following the Core Splendor's launch was the Silhouette Flyer and its accompanying backpack module. "_Now, deploy chest flyer._" Another object was loaded into the catapult and launched, this one looking like a mobile suit's torso, everything from the waist up. "_Deploy leg flyer._" A final object was loaded into the catapult and launched, this time the legs of a mobile suit.

"He won't be able to take on all four of those by himself," said a woman in a Green Coat uniform, climbing into the cockpit of her machine. "I'm launching as well."

The mobile suit was loaded onto one of the _Minerva_'s catapults.

"_Port catapult online. Hatch opened, linear launch system engaged,_" announced Meyrin. "_You're clear for launch._"

"Aleksi Shimizu, launching!" said the woman, punching her controls forward, her mobile suit flying free of the _Minerva_'s catapult.

* * *

Meanwhile

Athrun led Flay and Cagalli to the ZAKUs catapult, and the trio quickly climbed into the green mobile suit, Athrun at the controls, as he was the only one that could pilot the ZAKU with its Coordinator OS, while Cagalli and Flay were on either side of him. Athrun powered up the ZAKU and it rose to its feet.

"Hold on. This is going to get rough," he warned.

Stella spotted the moving ZAKU almost immediately, and she frowned.

"What now?" she questioned, raising Gaia's rifle and firing. But the ZAKU nimbly dodged her shot. "What?"

Maneuvered with the skills of a clear veteran, the ZAKU moved forward and tackled Gaia with its shield. Stella stumbled back, losing her rifle in the process.

"Bastard," she said, drawing one of the Gaia's beam sabers and charging the ZAKU as Athrun drew the ZAKU's beam tomahawk.

The two clashed, hitting each other's shield. The ZAKU stumbled back slightly, and Stella lunged, swinging her saber. The ZAKU dodged back however, and dodged back again, evading the Gaia's second attack.

"Stella!" exclaimed Sting, landing the Chaos behind the ZAKU.

"Another one?" questioned Athrun. The Chaos charged forward, drawing its beam saber. Athrun tried to raise his shield in time, but the ZAKU just wasn't fast enough, and the Chaos sliced through the machine's left forearm.

Suddenly, several missiles hit the Chaos's back, preventing him from pursuing as he turned to see what hit him. A small fighter flew past him, catching him off-guard. But overhead were the upper body and legs of a mobile suit, following after the fighter. The fighter suddenly folded up, and the legs flew towards it, the fighter slowing down slightly and docking with them, the legs spreading apart as it did so. The leg-fighter combination then flew forward, and docked with the upper body ahead of it, forming a complete mobile suit. Sting and Stella were too caught off-guard by the unconventional machine to stop it, and Treize and Auel were busy elsewhere.

Then, a backpack detached from a small plane and flew towards the newly combined mobile suit, attaching to its back. The backpack was visually comprised of a fairly small backpack proper, two wings, and a pair of anti-ship swords. The mobile suit's Phase Shift armor activated, turning it white and red as it drew the swords and landed before them.

It combined the swords into a double anti-ship sword and spun it about, wielding it in both hands as beam blades flashed to life.

Everyone stared in surprise at the new mobile suit.

"Why is this happening?" asked Shinn Asuka. "Are trying to start another one? Another war?"

The Sword Impulse Gundam lunged forward, readying to cut through the Gaia with its combined Excalibur swords.

_"__No princess. Strength is a necessity. There will always be conflict."_

* * *

**Author's Notes: As you can see, a fair number of changes are already present. Besides adding in scenes that were skipped over in the original, the OCs Gekido Jaeger and Reccoa Schnyder are not present. Nanai Bidan is the same as Rezin Bidan, I simply found that I preferred the name Nanai. Taking Gekido's place is Jessie Vandermeer, and taking Reccoa's place is Miguel Kacricon, though her role as leader in Treize's absence is shifted to Silber Messa. It's also evident that I've included even more of the Third-Generation Extended, so that'll make things a mess.**

**I also introduce the OC Aleksi Shimizu, a greencoat about whom little is explained yet. There are clues though, so you should be able to piece it together. Here's a hint: her mobile suit was mentioned in _SEED Dauntless_. Aleksi is going to be the leader of the _Minerva_'s greencoats, and will exemplify how mere grunts can face Gundams through a critical piece of combat. You'll get to see that in the next few chapters, so you can look forward to it.**

**Anyways, that's enough for now. It may be awhile before I update again at all, as it seems I'll soon be recruited for various pieces of work, not to mention my schoolwork.**

**Alright, everyone, please leave a review! Also, since there is no mecha spec page, each Original Mecha—****plus the obscure successors to the First Generation Gundams, like the Strike Noir—****will have its stats posted at the bottom of the chapter in which it first fights, so here's the Specter Gundam:  
**

_"Start another war? Of course we are! We exist only to fight in wars and kill people like you, Coordinator! Like all soldiers do! If you're too weak to understand that than you don't belong in that machine!" _– Treize Zabiarov.**  
Specter Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Specter Gundam is a prototype mobile suit developed by ZAFT as part of its new Second Stage series. Unlike the other mobile suits in the series, the Specter is a single mode machine, which is equipped with a pair of prototype vernier boosters that allow for tremendous acceleration and speed, but suffer from a high power consumption rate, similar to the lightwave burst thrusters of the Surge Gundam. The Specter's primary weapons consist of a powerful shoulder-mounted beam cannon and a shield concealed beam sword. After the Specter Gundam is captured during the attack on Armory One, it is assigned to Treize Zabiarov of the Phantom Pain special forces unit.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X74S**  
Code Name:** Specter**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Attack Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty); Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** 2 October C.E. 73**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.61 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 87.61 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift Armor; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters; Twin Prototype Vernier Boosters;**  
Fixed Armament:** MGX-2230 Long-Range Multi-Phase Beam Cannon, mounted on right shoulder, hand-operated in use; MMI-558 "Tempest" Beam Sword, stored inside shield, hand-carried in use; 2x "Cerebus" Beam Revolver with bayonet, stored on hip armor, hand-carried in use; 4x MMI-GAU1717 12.5mm CIWS, mounted in head; MMI-RX78B Mobile Shield, mounted on left arm;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** None**  
Pilot:** EX-C1304 Treize Zabiarov**  
Appearance:** The Specter looks like the Tallgeese III of Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. However, its shield looks like a GOUF Ignited, and it has traditional 'Gundam eyes' rather than the 'visor' of the Tallgeese III.**  
Color:** The eyes are green. Red torso, head, shins, and forearms. Gray faceplate, biceps, and thighs. Black trim and head crest. However, Treize customizes it with the following colors: Black torso, head, shins, and forearms. Gray faceplate, biceps, and thighs. Red trim and head crest.**  
Notes:** The mobile suit of Akatsuki Leader13's almost frightening antagonist, Treize Zabiarov. I went into a bit of extra detail on it, including the mobile suit's appearance, for which I simply decided to use the Tallgeese III, since it was based on the mobile suit of our favorite, persistent "will not die masked nutjob", Zechs Merquise (Char died, so he can't count). Anyways, aside from including some minor details, a change in model number, and a change in the default color scheme, this is identical to the Specter in _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_.


	2. Phase 02: Those Who Call For War

**Huh****…**** Well, that certainly took me long enough. Most of it was easy, but I had trouble getting the scenes with Aleksi and Treize to be just right. However, I was eventually satisfied, and moved on. Of course, 'moving on' also involved work on _Dark Angel of Freedom_ when inspiration suddenly struck. Never can entirely control these things.**

******Some people might voice certain complaints about Aleksi. Before they do, I just want everyone to know that Akatsuki Leader13 has already seen this and approved whole-heartedly. On that subject, if you're reading this anyways and are inclined to comment on a little more than whether you thought it was good or not, please do so. If not, don't worry.**

******And for the benefit of those who _aren't_ Akatsuki Leader13, let me just take a moment to voice my personal amusement on the reviews he's received. The two of us have formed a rather interesting relationship, founded on mutual interest and the taking of amusement from one another's reviewers. How, you ask? Well, because we know more than just where our own stories are headed. We also know where the other intends to lead their story, and the two branch off considerably at about the point _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_ has currently reached. There will be similarities, certainly, but it's around that point that our stories depart more and more from each other (as far as I can tell--we only know the general path the other is headed, not all of the details).**

******Anyways, enough on what's going on in my life at the moment. Last chapter, you were introduced to a plethora of OCs. Yet, interestingly, you were lacking an OC of mine that appeared in _Destiny: A Retelling_: Suiren Kyusai. This is all the more interesting for the fact that Suiren was specifically mentioned in the final chapter of _Gundam SEED Dauntless_ as the pilot of the mysterious 'Rose Gundam'. Now, I wonder where she could be? Well, actually, _I_ don't, but the rest of you don't have my insight into the story I'm writing. Sorry! ^_^**

******In place of Suiren, it seems we have a new Green Coat named Aleksi Shimizu, but nothing's really explained about her. You'll get a far better understanding in this chapter.**

******Alright, enough of that, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha, including _Minerva_ greencoats Shawn and Dale and the GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S Strike Noir, the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel, GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, or GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis. I do not own the OC Gyunei Ridden, who is the property of still-anonymous reviewer exia00, or the OCs Tristan Palleon and Nanai Bidan, who are the property of animefan29. Furthermore, the characters Treize Zabiarov, Ian Kessel and the FAITH operative belong to Akatsuki Leader13, as does the ZGMF-X74S Specter Gundam. I do own the GAT-X204XV Viola Surge and the GAT-X308DG Divina Guardian.  
**

* * *

Phase Two: Those Who Call For War

October 2nd, C.E. 73

* * *

Aboard the _Minerva_

The poker game was intensifying. Tristan and Shawn had cut their losses and quit. But Jessie was still determined to defeat Dale's unbeatable poker face. Jessie glanced at his hand. A full house. Dale was going down.

"You're going down, Dale," he said. "I call."

Dale laid his cards on the table. Three eights, a two and a four. Finally, the poker king was beaten. Jessie's smile widened.

"I–"

"_All hands report to Level One Battlestations! This is not a drill! Armory One is under attack! I repeat…_"

The four ZAFT green coat pilots instantly stood up, their game forgotten.

"What the hell? Who'd be crazy enough to attack us here in Armory One?" asked Shawn.

"Does it matter?" replied Tristan. "We're under attack."

* * *

Armory One

The Specter rammed its sword through the chest of a mobile suit, piercing the cockpit and the pilot. Treize kicked the GuAIZ R off his sword and glanced at his nearby teammates, just as a strange white mobile suit appeared. These pitiful mobile suits were of no interest to him. But the white machine… well, that looked like it was something much more interesting. He quickly checked the Specter's library. There was no match.

"Of course. Those bastards hid this one from us," Treize said to himself. "No matter."

The white mobile suit reminded him of the famed Strike of the last war. Treize briefly wondered if this machine's pilot was as good as the late Kira Yamato had been. It didn't matter. He had bested Yamato dozens of times in simulators and he would defeat this one as well.

"_Why is this happening?_" demanded the pilot of the new machine. "_Are trying to start another one? Another war?!_" With that, the white machine charged the Gaia with its double sword.

Starting another war? Was guy really that foolish? Treize laughed as Stella docked under twin swings from the newcomer, leaping back and firing her CIWS at him. He didn't attempt to dodge or defend, letting his armor take it, and retaliated with a beam rifle.

Clearly, he wasn't nearly as good as Yamato had been.

"Start another war?" he asked. "Of course we are! We exist only to fight in wars and kill people like you Coordinator! Like all soldiers do! If you're too weak to understand that than you don't belong in that machine! Allow me to fix that!"

The Specter raced forward, its sword raised, but a sudden sense invaded Treize's mind, and he leapt back, narrowly avoiding a blast from a beam rifle. He looked up, and saw a golden GuAIZ flying towards him. Its shoulders were painted with white doves carrying olive branches, and its shield was painted with a gray-blue rose sheltered in the wings of a silver dove.

As the GuAIZ landed, Treize frowned, confused. This pilot had _those_ gifts… yet hadn't Andras told him that tests had confirmed that anyone bearing those gifts would be ill-affected by Treize?

Was this guy shielding himself somehow?

Meanwhile, the Impulse exchanged fire with the Chaos, which sheltered behind a hangar.

"Is that a Gundam too? Another one?" questioned Sting, bringing up his library. "Ugh, there's no data on this thing. Hey, Auel!"

The Gaia in mobile armor form landed on the ground and charged the Impulse. Shinn responded by separating his swords and charging forward.

"Oh crap!" said Stella as the Impulse began to swing. The blonde Extended wove her mobile suit through the swords, flying behind the Impulse, then spun around and fired her beam cannons. Shinn intercepted with the Impulse's shield and threw one of his swords at the Gaia.

Stella shifted to mobile suit mode and raised her shield, preventing any damage, but sending the Gaia flying back.

"Damn you!" said Stella, landing on the ground, the anti-ship sword crashing to the ground nearby.

Treize charged the GuAIZ, swinging his sword. The pilot activated the shield-mounted beam claws, intercepting the sword. The GuAIZ then unexpectedly lashed out with its foot, knocking the Specter's feet out from under it, then fired the rifle at the Specter as it fell to the ground. Treize activated his machine's powerful vernier boosters, propelling him away and back to his feet.

He smirked.

"Not bad," he said. "You've got some skill… I underestimated you, after facing all these weaklings. But you're still no match for me." The Specter's verniers lit up again, propelling it forward at the GuAIZ.

But Green Coat or not, Aleksi was still a veteran who'd fought at Jachin Due and marked with a gift that had drawn her former commander to her. The GuAIZ's own verniers lit up, propelling it upwards. Treize, seeing this, spun about, lowering the Specter so the GuAIZ couldn't retaliate, and firing his CIWS guns at it. The GuAIZ's extensional arrestors fired downward, but the Specter passed too quickly to be caught, and they hit the ground. But Aleksi used this to her advantage, turning her machine about and providing momentum with which to chase after the Specter, her beam rifle blazing.

"Heh, you are fun!" said Treize. "But I'm afraid I don't have anymore time to play around with you!"

The Specter surged forward through the beam fire, spinning skillfully past Aleksi's shots, and the Tempest beam sword flashed as the far quicker Specter came upon the GuAIZ.

Sheer luck saved Aleksi as a GuAIZ R's shield spun through the air, flying between the Gundam and its target, buying Aleksi the few precious seconds needed to escape her far more skilled opponent.

However, the GuAIZ R's pilot paid for it with his life as Treize gunned him down upon realizing that his prey was nowhere to be found.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Shinn, your orders are to capture them," said the _Minerva_'s deputy captain, Arthur Trine. "You do understand that, don't you? They belong to us!"

"_I know that!_" said Shinn. "_I don't know if I can take them though! How the hell did this happen in the first place?_" As he spoke, the Gaia charged forward and attacked with its beam saber, Shinn dodging back and swinging his Excalibur, the two deflecting one another's attacks with their shields.

"_Now's not the time to be asking that, Shinn!_" came Aleksi's voice. "_And I don't care what anyone else says, our priority is to keep them from getting away, even if we have to destroy them!_" The gold-colored GuAIZ suddenly emerged from behind the hangar the Chaos had been using for cover, beam claws flashing at the transformable mobile suit, the green mobile suit dodging back at the last minute. "_If these things escape, it'll be a political disaster in the making! The only real hope of capturing them is for them to run out of power! Are these machines really worth the lives of the soldiers that could be lost in the process?!_"

"That's enough_,_" said the _Minerva_'s captain, Talia Gladys. "This isn't the time for that sort of discussion! This is not an exercise. Focus on the battle!" Talia sighed. Aleksi was a fine soldier with a talent for leading troops, but her general lack of respect for authority had kept her from advancing in the ranks.

Talia picked up the phone on her chair's arm. "If they're on a capture mission, then they must have a carrier waiting outside," she said to the harbor controller. "See anything?"

* * *

Outside Armory One

While the harbor commander was getting angry with Gladys for stating the obvious, a pair of mobile suits moved through the silent darkness of space, their dark colors making them difficult to spot. They were two of the most powerful mobile suits produced by Actaeon Industries: the Strike Noir and arguably the strongest battery-powered mobile suit yet produced, the mighty Divina Guardian.

While the two mobile suits slowly made their way to the dock, undetected by any of the ZAFT ships in or out of the spaceport commander center, their mothership, the _Girty Lue_, cloaked under Mirage Colloid, moved into position and loaded the Blu Duel, Verde Buster, Rosso Aegis and Viola Surge into its four catapults.

The Strike slowed slightly and grabbed one of the Guardian's wings.

"Come on, Nanai!" said Mariemeia with a grin. "Hurry up! I wanna hear the beautiful music… of dying Coordinators!"

"_Don't worry Maia. We'll make it in time to start the attack. And we'll make a lot of music,_" replied Nanai, glancing out at the PLANT. "_Shame we can't stay to crush the Patchworkers' feeble hourglass as well._"

The two female Extended reached the dock, keeping out of sight. Three _Laurasia_-class frigates were inside, all blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

Aboard the hidden _Girty Lue_, Captain Neo Roanoke glanced at his watch. By now, the Lieutenant Commander and the others should have stolen the machines and would soon be making their escape.

Neo smirked. "Okay, let's go!" he said. "Carefully though. Activate Gottfrieds One and Two. Load missile tubes one through eight with Korinthos. Main guns, target the portside _Nazca_-class. Deactivate Mirage Colloid as we open fire. Engines to maximum at the same time." Neo leaned back in his seat. "Get ready people, because things are about to get a little more interesting."

"Now, Gottfrieds, fire!" ordered Lieutenant Commander Ian Lee, the captain of the _Girty Lue_, even if Neo was the commanding officer of their unit.

The _Girty Lue_'s Gottfrieds fired, the beams tearing through their target like tissue paper. The anti-beam coating that ZAFT applied to the hulls of their warships was simply no match for the combined firepower of two Gottfrieds focused at a single point.

The sudden attack from out of nowhere stunned the ZAFT soldiers present. The _Girty Lue_ took advantage of this, its thrusters firing to full as the Mirage Colloid dropped, Gottfrieds blazing and missiles firing.

The missiles streaked in on their target, obliterating a second destroyer.

"_Nazca_-class approaching," announced an operator. "Distance 1900."

"Turn twenty immediately after launching our mobile suits," ordered Lee. "Main guns, target Indigo _Nazca_-class."

"Watch out for their return fire," said Neo, smirking.

The _Girty Lue_'s next four mobile suits launched before turning and firing on the approaching destroyer. Meanwhile, the four newly launched suits went to work.

Rache aimed the Verde Buster's shoulder-mounted cannons and fired on one _Nazca_, hitting its hangar just after launching two mobile suits. He quickly fired both of his rifles at them, taking them out.

Grinning, Gyunei charged forward in the Rosso Aegis, shifting to mobile armor mode and grabbing the destroyer's bridge.

"Time to be cast into the void, Space Monsters!" he yelled, firing the Scylla II into the bridge repeatedly before releasing the ship and flying away.

Miguel charged at a lucky group of GuAIZ Rs that had launched before their motherships bit the dust. He dodged their feeble attempts to shoot him down and spread the Viola Surge's wings, igniting small beam blades on the tips as he punched the thrusters to high-velocity, surging forward.

As soon as he passed, the GuAIZ Rs exploded.

Rache looked at the harbor as the ships within began to move, smirking, before turning his gaze over the entire PLANT.

"Damn hourglasses sure are big," he said. "Wish they'd have let me carry a few nukes to deal with this one."

"_I don't know why they didn't,_" said Silber, cutting apart a GuAIZ R with his beam saber before spinning around and gunning down another machine with his shield-mounted railgun. "_They're an affront to nature. Why haven't we just destroyed them all already? It's not even genocide, it's a service to mankind!_"

Of course, Silber knew why, even if he couldn't understand why anyone would say such actions constituted genocide.

Alarms went off in the spaceport control room. The _Laurasia_-class ships started to leave the dock, heading to attack the intruders.

"Let's get it started!" shouted Nanai. "For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World!"

"Yeah!" shouted Maia, hitting a button on her console. Rock music blared into her cockpit and every channel. "For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World!"

Confusion reined across the ZAFT forces in the dock and nearby it. An unknown ship had just appeared and destroyed two ZAFT vessels while a collection of mobile suits launched from the unknown had taken down additional ships. And now the comm. channels were all filled with music preventing them from effectively communicating with the nearby ZAFT vessels and even those within Armory One. Before those inside the warships and the dock itself could react, beams tore through the hanger. A beam tore through the bridge of the first _Laurasia_-class, sending it crashed into the dock floor. Several of the Divina Guardian's beams tore through the thrusters of the second _Laurasia_-class, causing it to crash into the spaceport control room. Explosions tore through the spaceport, claiming the last _Laurasia_-class.

* * *

Inside Armory One

Everyone stopped as they felt the vibrations from the battle outside the colony.

"Damn," muttered Treize, looking up.

"_Treize, what do we do?_" asked Sting, leaping back away from the gold GuAIZ.

Treize frowned. They needed to get out and return to the _Girty Lue_. At the same time, though, Treize knew better than to turn his back on that white machine, the GuAIZ and that ZAKU.

The ZAKU…

As a CGUE and a quartet of DINNs appeared, firing on the stolen machines, Treize fired the vernier boosters, flashing forward at speeds that only the legendary Faith could match, grabbing the ZAKU before Athrun could react, allowing Sting, Stella and Auel to deal with the latest attackers.

Athrun swore as he struggled to get out of the Specter's grip, but there was nothing he could do as the Specter's pistol pressed against the ZAKU's back, right behind the cockpit. Cagalli, Flay and himself were now little more than a human shield for the red Gundam.

"_You coward!_" shouted Shinn.

"Only cowards and weaklings don't use all resources on the battlefield," said Treize with a sneer. "What will it be? Gonna attack me at the cost of his life?"

Shinn scowled, but didn't move. He couldn't risk it.

"_He's right, Shinn,_" said Aleksi suddenly as the GuAIZ disappeared, leaving the Impulse to fight the four Gundams by itself. "_But he's also a fool. Those are the actions of a murderer._"

Treize grit his teeth. For some reason, this woman was really getting on his nerves.

"What makes you say that?" he questioned, keeping calm.

"_A true soldier only uses living shields as a last resort,_" replied Aleksi. "_Of course, you Blue Cosmos bastards are all alike. Don't try to deny it, either. We both know that I can feel the truth, murderer._"

"Oh?"

"_Yes,_" continued Aleksi. "_That sickening presence that would make the average person vomit, unable to think clearly… unfortunately for you, you have no grasp of your gift… and my Commander fully grasped hers and taught me how to take advantage of it._"

At that instant, Treize's danger sense hit him from all directions, momentarily disorienting him before the GuAIZ blazed in from nowhere, knocking the Specter off the ZAKU.

Treize snapped about, activating his revolvers bayonet and swinging it down on the GuAIZ, only to be met by the shield-mounted beam claws and a shot from the GuAIZ's rifle.

As Shinn reengaged the Chaos, Gaia and Abyss, Aleksi grit her teeth. That trick wouldn't work twice, and if the ZAKU hadn't been endangered, she wouldn't have bothered at all. She wished, desperately, that her Commander were here. This murderer wouldn't have stood a chance.

"_You're really starting to bug me,_" said the Specter's pilot.

"Just now? Really?" said Aleksi, smirking despite knowing she was almost certainly dead. "You've got more patience than I thought, fascist pig."

"_You know, it's generally a bad idea to insult the one who's going to kill you,_" he replied. "_I just might make it more painful for you._"

However, as Treize was about to impale the GuAIZ, he was attacked from overhead by a group of DINNs, buying his opponent the time to leap backwards.

The Impulse's sword descended on the Gaia, Stella barely raising her shield in time. This bastard was really starting to get on her nerves.

"_Stella!_" came Sting's voice.

The Gaia leapt back, catching Shinn off-guard. An alarm suddenly went off in his cockpit, and he glanced behind him to see the Chaos charging him, only to leap into the air, revealing the Abyss behind it, firing its Callidus cannon. Shinn dodged to the side, only for the Chaos to descend on him with its foot-mounted blades. He leapt back, avoiding them, and raised his shield as the Chaos fired. An alarm warned him of another attack from behind, and he dodged as the Gaia swung its saber. Standing back up, he realized too late that the Gaia was swinging again, and raised his shield, but he had no footing with which to overcome the force of the attack, and he was knocked backwards, the Impulse falling to the ground.

Seeing the Impulse fall, Athrun gasped.

"Help him!" said Cagalli. In response, Athrun's grip on the controls tightened.

"Hold onto something!" he ordered the two girls before rushing forward as the Abyss swung its lance down on the Impulse.

Suddenly, the ZAKU shouldered the Abyss, knocking it back, then spun around and threw its beam tomahawk at the Gaia, which caught the weapon with its shield. Regardless, it had bought the Impulse enough time to recover.

"_Take this!_" came a voice suddenly. Athrun spun around to see the Abyss's chest cannon glowing and raised his shield as it fired, but the angle was all wrong, especially at this range, and the shield was obliterated, knocking the ZAKU back into the ruins of a building, jarring the mobile suit with the impact. Athrun was fine in the pilot's chair, and Flay managed to brace herself against the side of the cockpit, reducing the impact on her. But Cagalli wasn't so lucky, and her head slammed against the side of the cockpit and she fell onto Athrun.

"Cagalli!" shouted a worried Athrun.

She was unconscious and bleeding from a head injury. He had to get her out of here now. He allowed Flay to hold onto Cagalli while he retook the ZAKU's controls and leapt into the air, dodging another shot from the Abyss. Before the blue mobile suit could pursue, a CGUE and two DINNs attacked it, diverting its attention elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Treize was growing ever more frustrated with this GuAIZ. On its own, it was no threat to him, but it kept getting backup, and every time he diverted his attention to eliminating the newcomers, he was nearly skewered or gutted by that GuAIZ, and it was getting closer each time. Unlike the pilot of the Impulse, this opponent was no rookie.

However, as the Impulse was knocked to the ground and the Abyss tried to finish it, the GuAIZ became distracted… and Treize didn't let the opportunity pass, lashing out and taking the GuAIZ's shield arm off. Before he could finish, though, a DINN suicidally tackled into the Specter.

Treize was quick to turn his attention back to the GuAIZ and charged in with his sword, intent on finishing this, _now_. However, as he swung his Tempest sword, the GuAIZ threw its rifle into the air to take the blow, buying it time to back off, grab its fallen arm and shield, and flee, leaving Treize confused. That was an odd action to take.

But with the GuAIZ now gone, Treize could easily turn and finish the machines that had been hounding him, giving him the chance to turn his attention back to the Impulse.

As she fled back to the _Minerva_, Aleksi cried out and slammed her fist against the side of her machine's cockpit in anger.

"You're pathetic," she said to herself. "All of those people, dead, and you couldn't even stop him. I don't deserve these marks of honor…"

* * *

Elsewhere

Lunamaria was really started to get frustrated. Because of all that debris on the cockpit of the two ZAKUs, neither she nor Rey could get to the battle to help out. Those machines were kin to the Impulse—they'd need the ZAKUs to beat all of them.

"Hurry!" she said impatiently. "Just clear enough so that I can get in!"

"Rey!" called one mechanic standing on the white ZAKU Phantom. Rey rushed forward, heading for the cleared cockpit. "There could be some internal damage. It might not perform at full efficiency. If you think there's a problem, get out of there quick." Rey nodded as he closed the cockpit and the ZAKU Phantom came to life. Sitting up, it turned its attention to Lunamaria's red ZAKU Warrior.

"_Lunamaria, move away,_" said Rey. Looking up, Luna did as told, leaping off of her ZAKU to allow Rey to quickly clear the debris. Smirking in satisfaction, she then ran back to get into her machine.

* * *

ZAFT Aid Station

"Who's in charge here?!" asked Durandal as he and his bodyguards approached. "I need a status report now!"

Ian Kessel and a ZAFT officer approached the group.

"Chairman, it's not safe here," said Ian. "Please sir, get to a shelter."

"How can I head for shelter when I don't even know what's going on?!" argued Durandal.

Ian sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, when a ZAFT officer approached the group.

"Sirs," he said. "We still can't reach Dock Control or the outside."

Ian shook his head. "You want to know what's happening, everything's gone south," he said. "Our GuAIZ Rs and older mobile suits are torn apart by the stolen prototypes while most of our ZAKUs were either destroyed or badly damaged in the first minutes of the attack. And we have no idea what's happening outside the colony. Now please sir, at least get to the _Minerva_. There's not much you can do here and if worse comes to worse, the _Minerva_ will be able to get you to safety."

Durandal scowled as he glanced at the docked warship. "Fine."

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize saw the ZAKU depart, but it hardly even registered in his mind or in the minds of Shinn and the Extended he was fighting.

Shinn, seeing the Specter approaching, drew his rifle and fired at the red mobile suit. Treize fired up his boosters again, launching him higher into the air. Most of Shinn's shots missed while the few that did find their mark hit his shield. Treize fired the Specter's multi-phase beam cannon. Shinn jumped back, narrowly avoiding the beam. The Specter landed and Treize drew his beam revolvers, firing at the Impulse, Shinn struggling to dodge his shots.

Treize fired his cannon. Shinn dove to the right to avoid it. But as he did, Treize fired in his path. The beam hit the ground in front of Shinn. The explosion knocked the Impulse back and knocked away its rifle. Treize snickered.

"You're right handed," he explained. "I can tell you, because you favor dodging to the right. I knew that if I fired at you, you would most likely move to your right to dodge it. Quite predictable, and an amateur mistake that even a rookie should be able to avoid. Your machine might be an excellent mobile suit, but it's clearly wasted on an inferior pilot like yourself."

"_Shut up!_" shouted Shinn as he stood back up.

Treize ignored him. "How about this? You power down your machine and climb out, and I spare your life–"

"_No way!_" yelled Shinn as he fired on the Specter.

Treize dodged the shots effortlessly and shook his head. "You truly are a miserable example of your wretched kind," he commented evenly. "Your piloting skills are lacking and you're rude, Patchworker. I was offering you an excellent deal and you don't even let me finish. No matter. I'll kill you and take what's left of your machine."

Treize drew his sword and rocketed down from the sky, heading for the Impulse at the Specter's maximum speed. There wasn't much Shinn could do and they both knew it.

Suddenly, Treize stopped, feeling a sudden, strong pulse. A pair of beams shot past him. Had he been moving forward, the beams would have hit him. Both pilots as well the other Extended, turned towards the source of the beams.

A white ZAKU Phantom and a red ZAKU Warrior flew at the group, beam rifles blazing.

"_You bastards,_" came a female voice. "_How dare you try to trick us?_"

Treize snorted. "You Patchworkers are all alike! You've committed far greater atrocities in the short time of your existence than Naturals have achieved in their entire time on Earth!" said Treize, dodging her shots and drawing one of his beam revolvers.

Sting and Stella joined him, firing back with their beam rifles as Auel fired the beam cannons mounted on the Abyss's shoulder fins. Rey and Lunamaria evaded the shots as they fired their beam assault rifles at the four.

As this was going on, Shinn rushed towards where the Impulse's second sword lay. Treize glanced at the Impulse.

"Sorry. I can't allow you to do that, inferior one," he said, rushing after Shinn and raising his sword.

But just as he reached the Impulse, Shinn grabbed his sword and spun around. Two blades met one. Shinn and Treize battled to overpower the other.

Treize glanced at his power readout and internally cursed. They were out of time.

"Sting, Stella, Auel!" he said. "We're leaving."

"_Aw… Already?_" whined Auel. "_What about that one?_"

"Leave it," replied Treize. "Our orders are to take these machines back to the ship. We can deal with that one at a later date. It's time to leave, before we run out of power and fail the mission."

The Specter, Gaia, Abyss and Chaos took off, heading towards a distant section of the colony wall.

The sudden retreat caught the three defenders off-guard, but they quickly shook it off.

"Not so fast!" said Shinn, giving chase.

Rey, and Luna followed him, firing at the fleeing Extended. But a few moments after they took to the air, one of the thrusters on Luna's ZAKU, exploded, and she started to fall away from the others.

"_Lunamaria! Are you alright?_" Rey called out.

"I'm fine," she replied. "But I can't sustain my altitude."

"_There's nothing you can do. Fallback to the_ _**Minerva**__,_" Rey said.

"Right," said Luna, her red ZAKU pulling away from the group.

A warning light went off in Shinn's cockpit. The Impulse was running low on power. Fortunately, running low on power wasn't a serious problem for the Impulse, so long as it wasn't cut off from the _Minerva_ anyway.

"Meyrin. Launch the Force Silhouette," said Shinn, calling the warship.

"_Roger,_" said Meyrin. "_Launching Force Silhouette now._"

* * *

Outside Armory One

"C'mon Coordinators! Dance to my music!" said Maia as she fired on a pair of GuAIZ Rs, destroying them. "No, no, no. That was terrible."

Another GuAIZ R appeared, firing on her. Maia sidestepped the beams. "Okay. Once more. With feeling this time," she said, firing back on the mobile suit.

A beam tore through the GuAIZ R's right knee. Another beam severed its left shoulder. The damaged GuAIZ R staggered back, but Maia didn't let up. She continued to fire on the ZAFT machine, blowing off its head and remaining limbs.

"That's better. Still not good, but better," said the Extended, aiming at the GuAIZ R's torso.

A shot rang out and GuAIZ R exploded.

The Verde Buster fired its beam cannon and gun-launcher at a _Nazca_-class, hitting the warship's hanger as a GuAIZ R was about to launch. Rache shook his head as a fireball consumed the entire hangar and its mobile suits. This was far too easy.

The Rosso Aegis, in its mobile armor mode, grabbed a CGUE in its claws. Gyunei smirked as he squeezed the mobile suit, crushing its body.

"Oops… I broke this one," he said, laughing. "Someone bring me another one!" A pair of GuAIZ Rs fired at him. "You'll do!"

He fired his Scylla cannon, and the beam pierced one GuAIZ R as the other tried to dodge it. But he was unprepared for the curving nature of the beam and was hit too.

The Viola Surge blazed through space, the rifle in its left hand firing on any machine that fell into Miguel's sights while the beam saber in the right hand cut apart one outdated mobile suit after another. A group of machines closed in from behind, but Miguel, smirking, let them, before activated his machine's thrusters and pulling back rapidly, deploying the blades mounted in the Viola Surge's ten wings, slicing into the enemy machines before he finished off the few that had escaped with his rifle.

The mobile armor form of the Divina Guardian flew by at speeds that could only be matched by a single mobile suit on the battlefield, its beam cannons blazing, destroying everything in their path while the beam vulcans mounted in the wings cut apart anything that tried to attack from behind.

Closing with a destroyer, the Guardian suddenly shifted to mobile suit mode, and the beam cannon in its oversized head crest fired on the bridge, destroying it, before Nanai pulled away and fired a missile barrage at the vulnerable engines of a _Laurasia_-class.

More ZAFT mobile suits approached the six Extended pilots, and Silber fired his beam guns, taking down a trio of GuAIZ Rs and a CGUE.

"Pathetic," he said. "These Coordinators are utterly hopeless."

"What's taking them so long?" asked Gyunei impatiently, slicing a pair of GuAIZ Rs in two. "I thought this was supposed to be a quick grab and run. Don't tell that Big Bad Treize is losing his touch."

"_Hey! You better watch your mouth,_" Maia shot back, firing her rifles grenades at a _Laurasia_-class. "_Big brother won't like hearing that. He'll kill you for saying that._"

Elsewhere, aboard the _Girty Lue_, Neo was growing impatient as well. He had expected better of Treize. Out of all of the Extended, Treize was the best and normally the most reliable of all three generations that had come out of the labs. Even an unexpected problem shouldn't have kept him busy for long.

While the combat abilities of the Extended were incredibly high, even they would eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the ZAFT forces undoubtedly heading to aid the surviving forces of Armory One.

"Have my Exus prepped for launch," he said, rising from his seat.

* * *

Inside Armory One

Shinn was in trouble and he knew it. Rey was able to hold his own for an extended period against Chaos, Gaia and Abyss individually, and even did well in brief engagements with the Specter, so long as he kept them that way. Shinn, however, had now lost both boomerangs and both swords to his opponents.

Fortunately, the Force Silhouette Flyer arrived, and Rey fired wildly, barely managing to drive off the four stolen machines, buying just enough time for Shinn's next maneuver as he detached the Sword Silhouette backpack and deactivated the Impulse's VPS armor. The Force Silhouette detached from its flyer and attached itself to the Impulse's back, providing a partial boost to the Impulse's battery as he reactivated the VPS, the gray armor turning white and blue.

_Interesting. So that machine is indeed heavily modeled after the GAT-X105 Strike_, thought Treize as he watched the Impulse. _Figures. The best weapon the Coordinators have is ripped from our machines._

The Impulse and the ZAKU started firing at them again. The four Extended evaded the shots as they continued towards the colony wall. A beam from the Impulse narrowly missed the Gaia's side. Stella let out a frustrated growl as she turned around and fired on the Impulse. Shinn sidestepped her shots and continued to fire on her.

The Extended were finally nearing the colony wall. Unfortunately, Stella had become obsessed with destroying the Impulse, and as a result, she was dangerously lagging behind.

"_Come on Stella!_" Sting called out as he fired at Rey's ZAKU. "_We need to get out of here!_"

"No! I can beat him! I _will_ beat him!" yelled Stella back as she swung a beam saber at the Impulse.

Shinn blocked the saber with one of his own and then slammed his shield into the Gaia's chest, knocking the black machine back.

"_Fine then,_" said Auel with a smirk. "_Then I guess you'll just stay here and __**die**__!_"

Stella froze. Her eyes widened as her body trembled.

"Die… am I going to die? NO!!! I don't want to die!" she screamed, rushing towards the colony wall.

"Idiot!" shouted Treize as he fired his beam revolvers at the evasive Impulse. "Why the hell did you use her block word?!"

"_Hey. It got her moving, didn't it?_" replied Auel in his defense.

As the ZAFT pilots and the three remaining Extended pilots battled, Stella reached the colony wall, firing at it, desperate to get back to the _Girty Lue_. Back to Neo. Back to where she'd be safe. Her beams slammed into the wall, damaging it, and she continued to fire.

"Damn it," swore Shinn as he watched the Gaia fire upon the colony wall. He had to stop them from damaging the colony any further. He broke away from the Specter and raced toward Gaia, only for the red mobile suit to suddenly shoot out in front of him.

Treize fired at him, forcing Shinn back. "_Not so fast, inferior one,_" he said. "_You have to get through me first._"

* * *

Outside Armory One

A trio of GuAIZ Rs headed for the six Extended pilots, only to be suddenly cut down by three barrages of shots from three different directions, destroying all of them. Neo recalled his Exus's gunbarrels as he glanced at Armory One, looking for some sign of the other team.

It didn't take him long. He spotted a portion of the colony wall glowing red from weapons fire. They were blasting through the colony.

"Rache, Nanai," Neo called out. "Have you ever blown a hole in a colony?"

"_No sir,_" replied Nanai.

"_Not yet,_" added Rache.

"Well now's your chance. Treize's team is trying to punch out a hole for their escape. These are their coordinates. Go ahead and lend them a hand," he ordered. "Everyone else head back to the ship."

"With pleasure sir," said Rache, flying into firing position with Nanai as the Strike Noir, Blu Duel, Rosso Aegis and Viola Surge returned to the _Girty Lue_.

"Alright, on the count of three, got it?" asked Rache, combining his rifles and taking aim with the Divina Guardian in mobile suit mode sitting right next to him, also taking aim with its twin rifles and forehead cannon.

"_Got it,_" said Nanai.

"One… ah, hell, just forget it," said Rache impatiently, and the two fired simultaneously.

At the same time inside the PLANT, Stella fired another barrage, and it was too much for the colony wall. It exploded, opening a hole through which Stella immediately fled as the Verde Buster and Divina Guardian withdrew to the _Girty Lue_.

Shinn and Rey both gasped as an explosion tore through the colony wall, and air started being sucked into space, pulling the Gaia outside the colony. Treize smirked as he pulled away from the Impulse.

"Sting, Auel, the door's been opened," he said. "Let's go."

The Chaos's pods reattached themselves. "_Roger. Withdrawing._"

Rey and Auel clashed. Tomahawk met spear, but Auel won, cutting through the handle of the tomahawk just above the ZAKU's hand. Auel grinned, spinning his spear. The butt of the weapon hit the white mobile suit, knocking it aside, allowing Auel to regroup with his teammates.

"I'm coming," he said.

The trio fled into the gaping hole, escaping into space.

"Damn it!" said Shinn, shooting through the hole in reckless pursuit.

"_Shinn!_" called Rey, but it was too late, and the blond followed his friend outside.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Bridge

"Captain! They're heading out on their own!" said Arthur. "And the enemy ship is still out there!"

"The Impulse's power is getting critically low," added Meyrin. "Three hundred left at the most!"

"What?!" gasped Arthur. Talia grit her teeth and stood up.

"It would be a catastrophe to lose the Impulse as well," she said. "It's time. Launch the _Minerva_."

Her orders caught the entire bridge crew off-guard.

"Very well, Talia," said Durandal, who'd boarded the ship earlier.

* * *

The Hangar

Athrun landed the damaged ZAKU onto the open catapult of the new ZAFT warship. Cagalli had regained consciousness, but was still in daze and possibly had a concussion. Athrun parked the ZAKU in the _Minerva_'s hanger and opened its cockpit hatch. He and Cagalli left first, riding the cable down to the ground.

"Hold it you two!" came a voice suddenly. "Don't move." They looked over to see a violet-red haired in a Red Coat uniform pointing a gun at them as Flay descended. Instinctively, Athrun moved Cagalli behind him as more ZAFT soldiers, members of the hangar crew and four regular ZAFT pilots gathered around her, unsure of what was going on.

* * *

The Bridge

"Commencing _Minerva_ launch sequence," said Arthur over the PA. "The ship is now switching to combat status."

"All gunnery crew, prepare for FCS contact," added Meyrin. "Set all projectile weapons to Grade One."

Talia turned to Durandal. "You should disembark, Mr. Chairman," she said.

"Talia, considering the circumstances, I can't see myself just waiting around for reports," he replied.

"But sir, I–"

"I have a duty that goes along with my authority," said Durandal. "I'm going with you. Please permit it."

Talia just shook her head, turning back to the task of command. There was little she could. If he wished to stay on board, she didn't have the authority to stop him.

* * *

The Hangar

"_The ship is about to takeoff,_" came a voice over the PA. "_All hands to your stations. I repeat, the ship is about to takeoff. All hands, please report to your stations._"

Everyone momentarily stared up before Luna snapped her gun back to the three unknowns that had come from the damaged ZAKU.

"Don't move," she said. "Identify yourself. You're not with the military, are you? What were you doing in that machine?"

Before Athrun could reply, a familiar voice suddenly spoke up.

"That's enough Lunamaria!" came the voice of the GuAIZ pilot, and everyone turned to see a tall blonde with grayish-blue eyes approaching in a Green Coat uniform. "Lower your weapon!"

"But Miss Aleksi!" objected Luna.

"I said lower your weapon!" snapped Aleksi. Reluctantly, Luna did so as Aleksi turned to the newcomers.

"I recognize you two," she said. "I have to say, this is a surprise. But who's the redhead?"

Athrun tensed slightly, realizing that Aleksi knew who he was. He glanced briefly at the GuAIZ. It was one of the machines Liz had reported intercepting the final nuclear strike on the PLANTs just before she destroyed the Deliverance at the Second Battle of Jachin Due.

"Thank you," said Athrun, turning to face Lunamaria. "This is the Chief Representative of the Orb Union, Cagalli Yula Athha. I am one of her attendants, Alex Dino." As Luna gasped, he gestured to Flay. "And this is her assistant, Flay Allster. We were meeting Chairman Durandal when we were caught up in the commotion. Our only choice was to take this machine and defend ourselves."

"Athha?" questioned Luna. "From Orb?"

"I'm glad you did," said Aleksi. "You saved Shinn out there. His attitude may need a lot of work, but he's a good pilot, and I'd hate to lose him."

Athrun nodded to Aleksi, assuming she understood why he hadn't stated his real name, and turned back to Luna. "The Representative has been injured," he said. "The Chairman is aboard this ship, isn't he? We need to see him immediately."

Luna nodded. She wasn't really sure what to do, so she figured that she would have to take them to the Captain to get this all sorted out. But for now…

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait to see the Chairman," said Aleksi. "In the meantime, let's get that injury treated." She turned to the mechanics. "And make sure that arm is reattached by the time I get back!" Her words came out as a snarl, and the mechanics rushed in a near panic to repair the damage to the golden GuAIZ.

* * *

Outside Armory One

The Impulse flew through space, searching for the four stolen mobile suits.

"Damn it," muttered Shinn. "Where are they?"

"_Shinn, retreat for now, this is just reckless,_" said Rey.

Neither of them noticed a small, sleek object nesting against the side of Armory One.

"Now I understand," said Neo to himself. "Even Treize could only have done so much dealing with an unknown quantity of this sort. This is my fault. I should have expected there to be more prototypes we weren't aware of."

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

The Specter, Gaia, Abyss and Chaos landed in the stealth ship's hangar. Treize's teeth were grit in anger over Auel's actions, while Stella trembled, gripping her arms desperately.

"I'm not dead," she said to herself. "I'm not dead. Everything's gonna be fine, Stella."

Vaguely, she recalled hearing those last words before, but the name had been different then, and she was too panicked to think about it at all.

* * *

Armory One

Neo detached the Exus from the side of the PLANT and blazed down on the Impulse and ZAKU.

In his white mobile suit, a pulse suddenly cut across Rey's senses.

The Exus deployed its two lower gunbarrels. Although it was a successor to the Moebius Zero, the Exus was superior in every way possible, faster, more agile, greater firepower and smaller, faster and more maneuverable gunbarrels that armed twin beam guns and beam blades.

Beams rained down on the Impulse from all angles, and Shinn barely managed to raise his shield in time.

"What? Where is it?" gasped Shinn.

He spotted the mobile armor flying at him suddenly, firing its dual linear gun, which he barely managed to dodge.

"Now I'll have _that_ machine as well," said Neo, recalling his gunbarrels and spinning around to face the Impulse once more.

Rey charged forward, trying to get to the Impulse to help when an alarm went off. Rey gasped and looked behind him to see a large warship emerging from behind Armory One.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"_Attention all hands and system control. As of this moment, the identification code of the LHM-BB01 __**Minerva**__ is now in effect. The ship is implementing emergency launch procedures. A55M6 warning alarm activated. All dock damage control teams are to standby. Teams two and five, be ready for structural damage. Gate control online.__** Minerva**__ on descender lift. Monitor B Team observe the B Pressurization phase._"

"Is this ship escaping?" asked Cagalli as she was led to the _Minerva_'s infirmary. "Is the damage to the PLANT really as bad as all that?"

Athrun glanced at Cagalli, while Luna, scowling, also looked back at the blonde.

"_The __**Minerva**__ is heading out,_" came Meyrin's voice over the PA suddenly. "_Condition Red is announced. All pilots report to the briefing room immediately._"

Everyone gasped.

"Is this ship getting ready to go into battle?" demanded Athrun.

"Athrun!" scolded Cagalli before her eyes widened as she realized what she'd just done.

"Athrun?" gasped Luna. At the head of the group, Aleksi sighed lightly.

* * *

Armory One

A massive set of doors on Armory One started to open, unseen by the combatants. Docking clamps released the object held within.

The _Minerva_ launched, spreading its wings, ready to fight for the sake of peace.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, that was interesting. Aleksi was part of that team that took on the BCPU Gundams and held them off for an extended period without incurring losses. Hard to believe she's a greencoat, but then again, consider Talia's thoughts. Even still, she does pretty good going up against Treize with such erratic support, but we see that, while good, she's still no match for that bastard. We also see that she's a pretty impressive Newtype. In some respects, the fact that I made her a greencoat is a statement about that, saying that her Newtype powers alone just weren't enough to make her an 'elite'.**

**The fact that she would recognize both Athrun and Cagalli seemed like a given with her, at least, IMO. She's not a rookie, like most others aboard the _Minerva_. Aleksi is a veteran who fought in that final, terrible battle (which has likely made me infamous with my 'murder' (as I'm sure the readers think of it) of both Yzak and Dearka, and without ridiculous over-dramatization!). This puts her in a position to know more about those who fought in the battle, not to mention being around prominently in a time when Athrun and the Le Creuset Team likely would've seen a fair bit of unwanted camera-spotlight.**

**Alright, enough boring you. The next update could be awhile, as I don't think I'll be getting much, if any, work done for the next three days or so. Therefore, I advise you all to enjoy this.**

**Please leave a review. Ja ne!  
**

* * *

_"I__ wanna hear the beautiful music… of dying Coordinators!"_ – Mariemeia "Maia" Zabiarov.**  
Strike Noir Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Strike Gundam was arguably one of the most legendary and powerful mobile suits of the Bloody Valentine War, and although it saw a successor in the Supremacy Gundam, the all-purpose multi-mode nature of the Strike would be succeeded with the Strike E, which featured a number of design improvements over the original, particularly in regards to weapons. Although capable of equipping any of the original Striker Packs, the Strike E has its own specialized Noir Striker, an updated version of the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack. One of these powerful mobile suits is assigned to Ensign Mariemeia Zabiarov of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S**  
Code Name:** Strike Noir**  
Unit Type:** Prototype All-Purpose Multi-Mode Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator:** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Head height 17.72 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 90.51 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Enhanced Power Unit; Hardpoints for Mounting Striker Packs;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 4x EQS1358 Rocket Anchor, mounted in hands and feet; 2x M8F-SB1 "Shorty" Beam Rifle, mounted on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MR-Q10 "Fragarach 3" Beam Blade, mounted on Noir Striker, hand-carried in use; EQS1358T Rocket Anchor, mounted on Noir Striker; 2x MAU-M3E42 Linked Linear Gun, mounted on Noir Striker;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 2x 57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle w/175mm Grenade Launcher**  
Pilot:** EX-C1004 Mariemeia Zabiarov  
**Color:** Default colors.

_"They're an affront to nature. Why the hell haven't we just destroyed them all already? It's not even genocide, it's a service to mankind!"_ – Silber Messa.**  
Blu Duel Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Duel Gundam was the original Earth Forces mobile suit, a basic close combat unit that was both well-armed and well-armored. Although its theft prevented the Earth Forces from ever using the Duel for themselves, it would still serve as the basis for a powerful successor that integrated the Assault Shroud upgrade into the machine's very frame. The Blu Duel improved on its predecessor in several ways, not the least of which was the beam guns mounted in its forearms to catch enemies off-guard, and its weapons would serve as the basis for the Earth Forces new Windam. The first Blu Duel was assigned to Lieutenant Silber Messa of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X1022**  
Code Name:** Blu Duel**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Close Combat Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator:** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Head height 16.89 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 84.24 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x ES05A Beam Saber, stored on legs, hand-carried in use; 2x M7G2 Retractable Beam Gun, mounted on forearms, hand-carried in use; 3x Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator, stored in shoulders, hand-carried in use; 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Shield, mounts M443 "Scorpion" Mobile Railgun, mounted on right arm;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** None**  
Pilot:** EX-C1306 Silber Messa**  
Color:** Default colors.

_"Damn hourglasses sure are big… wish they'd have let me carry a few nukes to deal with this one."_ – Rache Packard.**  
Verde Buster Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Buster Gundam was a formidable artillery mobile suit from the Bloody Valentine War that is still commonly considered one of the strongest machines of its time. Like the Buster, the improved Verde Buster is armed with shoulder-mounted missile pods and beam cannon and gun-launcher; however, these latter two were mounted on the backpack, allowing the Verde Buster to carry an extra pair of combinable bayonet-equipped rifles, eliminating several weaknesses in the original that were only fixed just prior to its destruction. One such unit was assigned to Lieutenant Junior Grade Rache Packard of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X103AP**  
Code Name:** Verde Buster**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Artillery Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator:** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Head height 18.46 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 99.36 metric tons**  
Armor materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor**  
Fixed Armament:** 94mm High-Energy Beam Cannon, mounted on backpack over left shoulder; 350mm Gun-Launcher, mounted on backpack over right shoulder; 2x 6-tube 220mm Multipurpose Missile Launcher, mounted on shoulders; 2x M9009B Composite Bayonet-equipped Beam Rifle, can be combined into one rifle, hand-carried in use;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** None**  
Pilot:** EX-C1261 Rache Packard**  
Color:** Default colors.

_"Oops. I broke this one. Hahahaha! Someone bring me another one!"_ – Gyunei Ridden.**  
Rosso Aegis Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Aegis Gundam is famed as the 'nemesis' of the legendary Strike Gundam and the machine that would kill its equally legendary pilot, Kira Yamato. However, it featured a number of weaknesses, primarily its lack of flight capabilities and the restrictions on its main Scylla cannon. The Rosso Aegis corrects these issues, with wing binders that allow for atmospheric flight and the ability to fire its powerful Scylla II in mobile suit mode. Not only that, but the beams of the Scylla II can be bent and redirected in the same manner as the Hresvelgr cannon of the Forbidden Gundam. One Rosso Aegis is assigned to Ensign Gyunei Ridden of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X303AA**  
Code Name:** Rosso Aegis**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Transformable Mobile Weapon**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.91 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 97.55 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor; Mobile Armor Transformation; Atmospheric Flight Wing Binders;**  
Fixed Armament:** 60mm High-Energy Beam Rifle, stored on right hip, hand-carried in use; 4x ES05A Beam Saber, mounted in wrists and feet; 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Shield, mounted on left arm; "Scylla II" 580mm Multi-Phase Energy Cannon, mounted in chest, operable only in mobile suit attack mode or mobile armor attack mode;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** None**  
Pilot:** EX-C0311 Gyunei Ridden**  
Color:** Default colors.

_"Coordinator scum! Why do you even try?! The fate of you abominations has been sealed… just as yours was when I became your opponent!"_ – Miguel Kacricon.**  
Viola Surge Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Surge Gundam was one of the fastest mobile suits ever produced; the only machines that were truly faster were the legendary Freedom Gundam and Faith Gundam, and the Surge was one of the few mobile suits to emerge from the Bloody Valentine War almost wholly intact. The Viola Surge is a radical improvement, both in weapons and in terms of its speed, equipped with highly experimental mega-velocity thrusters intended to make it faster than the Faith. It weapons layout is improved through the use of beam sabers and its unique offensive wing backpack. Only one such unit is produced, and it is assigned to Ensign Miguel Kacricon of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X204XV**  
Code Name:** Viola Surge**  
Unit Type:** Prototype High-Speed Assault Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.54 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 76.3 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor; Experimental Mega-Velocity Burst Thrusters; Backpack Wing Array;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x ES05A Beam Saber, stored on waist, hand-carried in use; 2x Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; 2x "Hakenfaust" (Triple Claw) Piercer Lock, mounted on forearms, can be fired out on a line; 4x Anchor, mounted inside hands and feet, can be fired out on a line; 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 10x Beam-Tipped Wing, mounted on backpack;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 70mm High-Energy Blaster; 55mm High-Energy Beam Rifle; 500mm "Cattus" Recoilless Rifle;**  
Pilot:** EX-C0588 Miguel Kacricon**  
Appearance:** Like the original, the Viola Surge resembles the Blitz, save it lacks the shield/weapon unit on the right arm of the Blitz and has ten wings on its backpack that have an almost spider-like appearance.**  
Color:** Dark violet with white trim.**  
Notes:** This is a machine at least partially of my own design. It's a successor to the original Surge Gundam created by Akatsuki Leader13. The wings are a pretty nasty weapon on their own, but like the Surge, its true power lies in its incredible speed. Unfortunately for the Earth Forces, these thrusters just can't measure up to the power of the Faith's. Actually, that's probably a good thing, since even the Faith ended up tearing itself apart at those speeds. If you want to question the Cattus rifle, it's actually a perfectly logical weapon, and far from unreasonable. Before anyone makes a comment about it being outdated, remember that it's actually still employed by ZAKUs for certain types of combat.

_"Shame we can't stay to crush the Patchworkers' feeble hourglass as well."_ – Nanai Bidan.**  
Divina Guardian Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Guardian Gundam was a prime example of a superbly balanced and powerful machine, fast, agile, versatile and with an incredible level of firepower. The Divina Guardian is a successor unit developed by Actaeon Industries for the Earth Forces. This powerful mobile suit improves on the original in every way, tougher, more agile, with better close combat and ranged combat abilities, including a unique hyper beam cannon mounted in the forehead crest. Although the strongest in the Earth Forces arsenal, only one machine was produced due to sheer expense, and the lone Divina Guardian is assigned to Ensign Nanai Bidan of the Phantom Pain Special Forces Unit.

**Model Number:** GAT-X308DG**  
Code Name:** Divina Guardian**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Transformable Assault Mobile Weapon**  
Manufacturer:** Actaeon Industries**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.99 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 87.34 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift Armor; Mobile Armor Transformation; Folding Quad Mobile Assault Wings;**  
Fixed Armament:** M10E-HC1 Hyper Beam Cannon, mounted in headcrest, operable in mobile suit mode only; 2x LS01B Oversized Beam Saber, stored on shoulders, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam cannons in mobile armor mode; 4x M2M9B Beam Vulcan Cannon, mounted in wingtips; 2x MR-Q12D "Hyper Fragarach" Beam Blade, mounted on wings; 24x 78mm Missile Launcher, mounted in torso; 2x M2M5 "Toddeschrecken" 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x Binder Shield; mounted on forearms, double as wing/control surfaces in mobile armor mode;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 2x Hyper Beam Rifle, can be combined to form double-barreled beam rifle**  
Pilot:** EX-C0607 Nanai Bidan**  
Appearance:** Its appearance is virtually identical to the Zeta Gundam, but with the Double Zeta's head and shields, and oversized versions of the wings of the Wing Gundam Zero. Its mobile armor form resembles the Neo Bird Mode of the Wing Zero.**  
Color:** Solid black head, torso, shoulders, forearms, shins, and face. Grayish-green biceps and thighs. Red trim and head crest. Silver V crest and head crest spikes.**  
Notes:** I don't think I need to clarify on the basis for this. In _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, the Guardian was the mobile suit of Elizabeth Dante and one of the strongest of the 'First Generation' Gundams that would eventually claim the honor of bringing down the Deliverance Gundam—which is kind of interesting, when you think about it, since Liz's love interest took down the Deliverance's predecessor. In any event, while the Guardian was based on the Zeta Gundam and Wing Gundam, the Divina Guardian is based on the Double Zeta Gundam and the Wing Gundam Zero, though primarily the former (can you imagine putting some of the Zero's stuff into the machine of a Blue Cosmos Extended? *Shiver*). The beam vulcan cannons in the wings, as well as the twin rifle aspect, are both taken from the Wing Zero, however, and the beam blades were entirely my own idea (although inspiration can be drawn from several sources, including the Gaia Gundam).


	3. Phase 03: Ominous Gunfire

**Alright, here we are. The third chapter of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity_. I've noticed some entirely new readers who weren't even in the story alerts/favorites section for _Gundam SEED Dauntless_ and never reviewed who are present here, and I'm sure these people have been left a little confused. Some of them may gone and read _Gundam SEED Dauntless_ so that they can understand the story, while others decided not to bother and instead piece things together from what they read here. I just find that interesting to note. Also of note is the absence of several fans of _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, who likely are either busy or haven't realized the sequel is now up. Regardless, I hope to see them soon.**

**I honestly didn't expect to be posting this so soon. Honestly, I expected to be really busy for awhile, but the 'issue' I expected to come up hasn't risen... yet, anyways. It'll be here soon, though.**

**Anyways, at this stage, there aren't any marked differences between this chapter and the corresponding one from _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. The reason is simple enough: the changes have primarily been in the shifting of OCs at a stage where the different characters won't particularly impact the events of the story. The changes from _SEED Dauntless_ are primarily located in Orb, and thus, differences won't start to _really_ appear until the war starts. Please, bear with me until then. Overall, as I've spoken with Akatsuki Leader13 on the matter, I've come to realize that the overall stories we plan for our respective rewrites of Gundam SEED Destiny are very similar. The overall stories are the same**—**the primary differences are relatively subtle in many areas, and are more focused on the characters that the story is supposed to be about than the overall plot. Fortunately for all fans of both of us (and ourselves as well, for that matter), we're going in _completely_ different directions for our Destiny-sequels. I won't say anymore on the matter, though.**

**I can say one thing for certain, though: one character will be appearing that only two people, Akatsuki Leader13 being one of them, knew would show up.**

**I'd also like to note that Jessie Vandermeer appears very much so as identical to Gekido Jaeger, but you can see the differences too. They'll become more and more prominent as the story progresses, but, sufficed to say, his relationship with Shinn is no different than Gekido's was (personally, I find all of that rather amusing).**

**Alright, no more boring you.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply, check previous chapters.  
**

* * *

Phase Three: Ominous Gunfire

October 2nd, C.E. 73

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Bridge

"Pressurization normal. FCS, contact. _Minerva_, all stations clear," said Arthur.

"Locate the enemy," ordered Talia. "They'll be where the Impulse and the ZAKU are."

"Unidentified ship man," reported Bart Heim, the sensor operator. "Indigo 53, Mark 22 Bravo. Distance: 150."

"Must be their mothership," muttered Durandal.

"Enter it into the database," ordered Talia. "From this point on we'll call it Bogey-1."

"Impulse and ZAKU detected at 157, Mark 80 Alpha," announced Meyrin. "They're in a battle."

Talia turned to the girl. "Can you contact them?" she asked.

"No ma'am," said Meyrin. "It's impossible with all the radio interference."

"How many enemies?" asked Talia.

"Just one," said Meyrin. "But it looks like… it's a mobile armor!"

"What?" muttered Talia. A single mobile armor stop both Shinn and Rey? That wasn't good. "Deploy the GuAIZ Rs. Tell them to move to support the Impulse and ZAKU, and cover their withdraw to the _Minerva_ if necessary."

* * *

The Hangar

"_Captain Gladys has ordered you to launch and support the Impulse and the ZAKU,_" said Meyrin over the comm.

"It's about time," said Jessie impatiently as his GuAIZ R mounted the catapult. "I was getting worried that we'd be sitting here until the ship blew up. And go figure, we're bailing out Asuka. You'd think that since they decided to give him the Impulse, he wouldn't need 'lowly grunts' like us to bail him out."

"_Yeah. The Reds always get the glory while we Greens end up spilling our blood so they get their glory,_" added Shawn as his mobile suit was loaded onto the second catapult.

"_Knock it off, you two,_" said Tristan with a sigh. "_You don't want Miss Aleksi to hear your opinions, that woman frightens me. Besides, if we do end up saving Asuka's butt, he'll have to live with the fact that he owes us one._"

The four Greencoats laughed as the catapult doors opened.

"Jessie Vandermeer, GuAIZ R, taking off!"

"_Shawn Anderson, GuAIZ R, launching!_"

The first two GuAIZ Rs took off, heading for their comrades, quickly followed by the remaining two.

"_All right guys, let's go kick some ass,_" said Jessie.

* * *

The Bridge

"The GuAIZ Team has launched ma'am," said Meyrin.

Talia nodded. "We'll attack Bogey-1," she said. "Lower the bridge."

The bridge started to drop down, where it would be shielded behind the armor of the ship's hull.

"Maintain course Indigo Delta. Accelerate twenty percent," she ordered. "Prepare to fire signal flares and anti-beam depth-charges." Talia turned to her XO. "Arthur, stop wasting time!"

Her voice knocked Arthur out of his daze.

"Ah… yes ma'am," he said, heading for his console. He quickly sat down, his fingers dancing across the console. "Launcher Eight, load Neidhardt missiles, tubes 1 through 4. Activate Tristan 1 and 2. Activate Isolde. Target: Bogey-1."

* * *

Armory One Airspace

Neo viciously pressed his attack on the Impulse, leaving Shinn unable to do anything but dodge, and both pilots knew it was only a matter of time—and not much of it, either—before one of Neo's shots struck true.

At that instant, a pulse invaded Neo's mind. It was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. But it was strong, nearly on par with Treize's signature.

As one gunbarrel fired on the Impulse with Shinn unable to do anything to defend, a white ZAKU Phantom descended into the path of the beams, deflecting them with its shield.

"_Rey!_" said Shinn in surprise.

"What are you doing?" asked Rey. "You're nothing but a target if you don't focus. This is no ordinary enemy pilot."

_What?_ thought Neo. _What is this? I've never heard Treize like this._

The ZAKU spun skillfully through the storm of beam fire before suddenly spinning about and firing on one of the gunbarrels, destroying it.

Shinn, deciding to take Rey's words to heart, refocused himself, tightening his grip on the Impulse's controls, and flew back into the fray. Both pilots danced through the beams, taking the occasional shot at one of the gunbarrels, but just about every shot missed.

Suddenly, the gunbarrels emitted beam blades on their sides and flew straight towards the ZAKU. Rey manipulated the controls, sending his machine through a dizzying stream of maneuvers, and fired at the main body of the Exus. Shinn, worried about his friend, drew a beam saber and flew forward. The gunbarrels suddenly turned on the Impulse, firing repeatedly, driving Shinn back. Suddenly, one shot grazed the Impulse's ankle.

Suddenly, beams rained down on the Exus, but Neo skillfully evaded. Everyone looked at the source to see four GuAIZ Rs approaching, beam rifles blazing. At that moment, a message came to the Exus, but Neo could already see what the message was about, spotting the new ZAFT warship heading for the _Girty Lue_.

"We don't wanna lose what we have by being greedy," he commented as he recalled his gunbarrels and flew for the _Girty Lue_.

As he fled, the _Minerva_ fired off its signal flares, ordering the mobile suits to return.

"A return signal? But why?" questioned Shinn.

"_It's an order,_" replied Rey calmly.

"_He's right, Asuka,_" said Jessie. "_Figures. The second we get here and save your asses, we get recalled._"

"Hey. We didn't need your help!" Shinn shot back.

Shinn and Jessie weren't on the best of terms. The two had frequently butted heads at the Academy, and in one case, had done so quite literally, though neither had ever shared what had gotten them riled up to that point. Their graduation and assignment to the _Minerva_ hadn't changed things at all.

"_Hey guys, now isn't the time!_" said Dale. "_The longer we stay out here, the longer it will be before Captain Gladys can focus her attention on the enemy warship._"

Both pilots grumbled, but, knowing he was right, turned back towards the _Minerva_ with the others.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Launch Neidhardts," ordered Arthur. "Fire!"

The _Minerva_ fired its missiles at the _Girty Lue_, the stealth ship taking an evasive maneuver and firing its CIWS guns, taking out the missiles that the _Girty Lue_ couldn't evade.

"Aim for its engines," ordered Talia. "Stop in its tracks!"

The _Minerva_'s Isolde triple cannon fired, narrowly missing the _Girty Lue_. A moment later, the Exus landed in the _Girty Lue_'s hanger.

"Withdraw now Lee!" shouted Neo.

The _Girty Lue_ took off, heading away from Armory One.

"Bogey-1 retreating ma'am," said Bart. "Yellow 71 Alpha."

"What's the status of our machines?" asked Talia.

"They're returning now ma'am," answered Meyrin.

"Tell them to hurry," said the Captain. "We need to get after Bogey-1 and crush that ship. Course heading: Yellow Alpha."

Aboard the _Girty Lue_, Neo entered the ship's bridge as the _Minerva_ fired its cannons at them. The ship shook from the force of the near impacts.

"Sorry, I got carried away," said Neo.

"Captain! Enemy ship still approaching. Blue 0. Distance: 110," reported an officer.

"That ship is quite fast," commented Lee. "This could be trouble."

The _Minerva_ fired another spread of missile at them. "Incoming missiles!"

"Evade! Hard to port!" ordered Lee.

The ship turned to port, firing its CIWS, shooting down the missiles dangerously close to the ship.

"Detach all propellant tanks and prepare to detonate them!" ordered Neo as the ship shook. "Detach the whole arm assembly! Let them get a taste of that! Meanwhile, raise bow thirty-five, turn ten to port, maximum thrust!"

The _Girty Lue_ rose to port, evading another barrage from the _Minerva_'s guns. As it moved, it detached its propellant tanks, allowing them to float back towards the _Minerva_, catching the crew off-guard.

Talia, though, realized almost immediately what those were and wasn't going to take a chance.

"Break off firing!" she ordered. "Ten to starboard, maximum thrust!"

Her caution saved the ship as the tanks neared the _Minerva_ and exploded. The last minute maneuver allowed the warship to avoid being caught directly in the explosions and it was able to safely weather them, but it was close enough to be violently shaken and delayed.

"Bart! What's the enemy ship's position?" demanded Talia.

"Just a moment ma'am," he replied.

"Activate CIWS, fire anti-beam depth charges," ordered Talia, certain the enemy would take this chance to ambush and destroy them. "They'll be firing on us now."

"Found it! Red 88, Mark 6 Charlie! Distance: 500," reported Bart.

Arthur glanced back. "They got away?"

Talia scowled. "The nerve of them," she said angrily as Rey entered the bridge behind her. "Making their escape like that."

"We seem to be facing a first-class unit," commented Durandal.

Talia turned her chair to face the Chairman. "All the more reason we cannot allow them to escape," she said. "Imagine those machines in the hands of such a team." Durandal nodded slightly in agreement while Rey shook off his surprise.

"Yes," he said softly.

"We've passed the point where you can disembark, Chairman," said Talia. "And I believe that we should continue our pursuit of that ship. What's your opinion on that sir?"

"Please. Do not concern yourself with me, Captain," he answered. "If we were to neglect these embers, imagine the inferno they could eventually become. Frankly, the thought frightens me. Our duty now is to recapture those machines, or failing that, destroy them."

Talia nodded her head. "Thank you." She turned to the radar operator. "Do we still have a trace on them?"

"Yes ma'am."

"In that case, this ship will now continue its pursuit of the enemy vessel named Bogey-1," she said. "Course Yellow Alpha. Engines at maximum."

* * *

Elsewhere

Two men watched the distant flashes of the space battle from aboard the bridge of a ship.

"Captain, detecting two unidentified warships leaving the airspace of Armory One," reported an officer. "One appears to be pursuing the other. I can't make any guarantees, but I believe the pursuer is that new warship that was supposed to launch tomorrow, the _Minerva_."

"It's seems that ZAFT has been attacked. Send word of this to Terminal," said the first man.

"What of Lady Cagalli? Do think she has gotten involved in this?" asked the second man, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Knowing her, yes," replied the first. "Lady Setsuna and Lord Kira suspected she'd get herself into some kind of trouble, though I doubt they anticipated something on this scale. That's why we're here. We better set course for that ZAFT ship. And have the mobile suits prepped, just in case."

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

A Short While Later

"You idiot!" shouted Treize, slamming Auel against a wall. "You used Stella's block word without authorization."

"If I didn't, she wouldn't have stopped fighting that white one!" Auel yelled back.

Treize threw him to the ground and put his foot to Auel's throat. "Do something like that again, I'll be sending your head back home to your _mother_."

Auel started screaming and thrashing the instant he heard the block word. Treize stepped off him as several of the doctors rushed to pick up Auel and take him to their lab. They carried him to their lab as Treize entered the lab for his generation of Extended. Silber, Rache, Mariemeia, Nanai, Miguel and Gyunei were already there, replacing the drug cartridges of their implants. Mariemeia instantly rushed to him and hugged him.

"Hey big brother!" she said.

Treize barely tolerated her affection. They weren't blood related, despite her claims, though they been in the same test group as they went through the Extended process. Most of his memories of that time were foggy, disjointed and unclear. But he knew that her young mind had been fractured in the process. To survive, she had clung to him, declaring him her older brother. That alone was the reason he tolerated her behavior, well aware that she'd be useless if he didn't, and unwilling to sacrifice such a powerful weapon.

"Aw… isn't that sweet," mocked Gyunei.

"Shut up Gyunei, before I remove your tongue," threatened Treize.

"Like you could defeat me."

Treize despised Gyunei. He was an arrogant little punk. Gyunei believed that he was superior and should have been in command, not Treize. Maia broke her hug, allowing him to approach Gyunei. He walked towards Gyunei, looming over the younger teen. In one shift motion, he grabbed Gyunei by the throat and slammed him on the ground.

"How many times have we done this?" he sneered. "Every time you've lost Gyunei."

Gyunei grunted.

"Still you persist with this constant, pointless struggle to see who is superior, when the answer is and always has been the same," said Treize. "You will always be inferior to me. Like an animal grasping at the full moon, you will never reach me. No matter how desperately you grasp, I am beyond you."

Gyunei let out a snarl. "No! I am strongest Extended ever created! You are inferior to me!"

"03 Omega Red."

Just as with Auel, Gyunei started screaming and flailing around in agony. Treize turned to one of the doctors. "My drugs."

"Here you are," the man replied, handing him a cartridge.

Treize pulled off his shirt and replaced the near empty cartridge from his injector and replaced it with a fresh one. He glanced down at the screaming Gyunei and smirked.

"Everyone who knows that block has beaten you," he said. "Last time I checked, all six of us were aware. Silber, I'll let you decide when he should be allowed to move again."

"Thank you sir," said Silber, smirking as well. None of the Third Generation Extended liked Gyunei, it was simply a matter of Treize and Silber hating him more than the rest.

With that, Treize left the room, heading for his quarters to change into his uniform.

* * *

_Minerva_ Captain's Quarters

An Hour and a Half Later

"Words cannot express my regret, that you were caught up in these events, however, I would like you to please understand our situation," said Chairman Durandal.

Sitting across from him, Cagalli nodded, her two attendants standing at her side.

"Have you been able to find out anything about that enemy unit?" she asked.

"Actually we haven't," admitted Durandal. "Nor do we have any leads on the carrier ship as well, which is why we must take control of the situation as soon as possible, before it become irreversible."

"Yes, I understand," said Cagalli, bowing her head. "That goes without saying, Chairman Durandal. Right now we can't do anything that would disrupt our fragile world."

"Thank you Princess. I had believed that you would feel the same way," said Durandal before he stood up. "If you would like, please allow me to give you a tour of the ship."

"Chairman–" started Talia.

Durandal waved her off. "It may be temporary, but they are putting their lives in our hands," he said. "I'm merely offering a gesture of good faith from our country to a sworn friend."

Suddenly, the room's intercom panel started to beep. Talia pushed a button and Arthur's face voice came through.

"_Captain! An __**Izumo**__-class battleship is approaching,_" he said.

"What? What is an Orb warship doing out here?" she asked.

"_Unknown ma'am. They're hailing us._"

"Patch it through to this room," ordered Talia.

The bridge of the _Izumo_-class battleship appeared on the screen.

"_Greetings,_" said the captain. "_I am Major Tohaku Genji, Captain of the Orb __**Izumo**__-class battleship __**Toyotama**__. We were pursuing a band of pirates that had been harassing Orb interests when we detected your battle. We are aware that Chief Representative Athha was visiting Armory One. We wish to know if you have any information on the whereabouts and well-being of our Chief Representative._"

"She and her attendants are–" started Talia.

"Captain Genji!" yelled Cagalli, moving in front of the screen. "Why are you here?! I told the rest of the government that I would visit the PLANTs without any military escort."

"_With respect, ma'am, your orders have no bearing on the Taiyonoha Fleet without the approval of Lady Serenity,_" replied Genji. "_Your brother, Lady Setsuna and Commander Alaric felt that there should be someone around just in case something happened._"

Cagalli let out an annoyed sigh. "Of course. Where is he?"

"_Currently, he's in the cockpit of his mobile suit._"

"Let me talk to him," said Cagalli through grit teeth. She couldn't get at Kira and Setsuna over this right now, but she could damn well chew out John!

"_Yes ma'am,_" replied Genji easily.

The screen changed. Now it displayed John Alaric, in his old black ZAFT pilot suit and his helmet on his lap, sitting in the cockpit of the Farsight III.

"_Ma'am,_" he said with a nod.

"I told that I didn't want any additional protection," growled Cagalli.

"_I know ma'am. But we all felt that it was better to be safe than sorry,_" said John. "_And it looks like we were right. Now we can take you back_–"

"No. I'm staying," said Cagalli.

"_Very well then,_" said John evenly, obviously anticipating this. "_At the moment, it would be better if the __**Toyotama**__ did not accompany this vessel, as the Alliance would be very displeased if they learned that Orb was lending military power to ZAFT, even if it was the more independent Taiyonoha Fleet. However, I request that my team as well as Miss Allster's mobile suit, be transferred over to the ZAFT vessel as your bodyguards, Lady Cagalli. There will be little reason to complain about a small team being sent to protect the leader of our nation. Of course, I guarantee that my small team is a match for anyone on board that ship._"

"Wait," said Cagalli. "Your team?" John tended to act alone rather than at the head of a unit. He and his twin brother, Victor Cain, weren't always well suited to working with others, as most would ultimately be detrimental to their own ability to get the job done. And Cagalli doubted a hastily assembled team could really be as good as John claimed.

The Black Hawk's smirk, though, worried Cagalli, and her eyes widened—along with those of Athrun and Flay—as she realized just who he might be talking about.

"Wait!" said Cagalli. "You're not talking about _them_? Setsuna's _personal_ agents?"

"_Of course,_" said John, his smirk not fading the slightest.

Cagalli sighed. "Fine. So long as they accept your assistance," she said, turning to the Chairman.

"I have no objections," said Durandal. "Any assistance that you provide would be greatly appreciated. Do you have any, Captain?"

"No," she said. "But allow my hanger crew some time to clear up some space for your mobile suits."

"_Alright then, prepare your hanger to receive five mobile suits,_" said John, closing the channel.

"Arthur," said Talia, switching the channel. "Inform the hanger that we're receiving five mobile suits from the Orb warship."

"_Yes ma'am._"

* * *

The _Toyotama_'s Hanger

"Alright. I'll launch first. Afterwards, launch the Strike Raven. I'll carry it to the ship. Then you guys launch," said John, putting his helmet on and powering up the Farsight.

The Farsight III stepped onto the catapult. "John Alaric, Farsight, taking off."

The catapult launched the mobile suit into space. A moment later, the Strike Raven was loaded onto the catapult.

"_Launching the Strike Raven._"

The mobile suit was launched and John caught it with ease. Then one by one, the three members of his team launched. That done, the mobile suits took off for the _Minerva_.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

"Athha from Orb?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah. I was surprised too. What are the odds of meeting a big hero from the last war out here?"

Shinn didn't say anything. "What's wrong Shinn? Is it that ZAKU?" asked Luna, gesturing to the green ZAKU behind her.

"No. Nothing's wrong," replied Shinn. "I was just wondering who's ZAKU that is, since it's not one of the _Minerva_'s."

"It was her bodyguard. He said his name was Alex," said Luna before she leaned in close to him. "But, he might be Athrun. Athrun Zala. I heard her call him that in the heat of the moment." She glanced back at the ZAKU. "It would make sense. I heard he moved to Orb after the war."

"_The first two mobile suits are in Catapult 2. Pressurizing airlock now,_" said a voice over the hanger intercom.

Moments later, the doors to the catapult opened and the Farsight, carrying the Strike Raven in front of it, entered the hanger.

"That's… that's the Farsight! John Alaric's mobile suit!" said Lunamaria, her eyes filled with shock and excitement. "The legendary Black Hawk! I never thought I'd actually get to meet him!"

"_A third mobile suit has entered Catapult 3. Pressurizing airlock now._"

"I wonder if the next mobile suit belongs to the Desert Tiger," said Lunamaria. "Wouldn't that be amazing, Shinn? Fighting alongside such legendary aces as the Black Hawk and the Desert Tiger."

"I don't know," said Shinn. "Does it really matter?"

The airlock door opened, revealing…

… the GAT-X252 Forbidden.

Shinn's face immediately changed from indifference to shock.

"Whoa…" said Lunamaria. "I've never seen a mobile suit like that before. It must be a new model."

Lunamaria pushed off her ZAKU, heading for the Farsight.

Unlike Lunamaria, Shinn _had_ seen that mobile suit before. It was one of the mobile suits that had ravaged Orb when the Earth Forces invaded. To his horror, the Forbidden was soon joined by one of its cohorts, the GAT-X370 Raider. He half-expected even more machines to arrive then they'd said would, his thoughts on the other cohorts: the GAT-X131 Calamity, GAT-X135 Deliverance, GAT-X150 Supremacy, GAT-X160 Relentless and the GAT-X264 Twilight. To Shinn, those mobile suits were the embodiments of death. Forbidden, slicing through waves of people with its monstrous scythe and Raider, striking from the air like a wicked predator upon the defenseless. He was genuinely surprised when the final mobile suit wasn't one of those other machines, but some kind of M1 Astray armed with heavy weaponry and bearing the dull gray colors that marked it was a machine with Phase Shift Armor. By the time the three mobile suits had been secured and their pilots exited the cockpits, the shock had worn off and Shinn was angry… no. Furious. What the hell was Orb doing with those two monstrous machines?!

Shinn pushed off Lunamaria's ZAKU and headed towards the pilots of those three machines, the one from the Astray-like unit joining the other two.

Elsewhere, John climbed out of his mobile suit and reached the hanger floor. Aleksi and Luna where there to greet him. Both girls saluted him and John returned the salute.

"Commander John Alaric of Orb," he introduced.

"Aleksi Shimizu."

"Lunamaria Hawke," said Luna excitedly. "Commander Alaric, it's an honor to meet a living legend like yourself. I hope you don't mind if I ask you for your autograph."

John chuckled. "A living legend?" he questioned. "I don't know about that. But I will give you an autograph later. Now, who is the commander of this ship's mobile suit complement?"

"I… I guess that would be me," said Aleksi. "The FAITH Agent they'd assigned to the Specter was supposed to be our commander, but he wasn't scheduled to return to Armory One until tomorrow."

"Then we have much to discuss before the next sortie," said John. "I take it you're a veteran? The pilot of that GuAIZ, I assume?"

"Yes sir," said Aleksi.

* * *

"What the hell is Orb doing with those machines?!" shouted Shinn as he reached the trio. "And what the hell are Orb pilots doing in these machines?! Don't you know what these things have done?!"

"What the hell are you yelling about?" the first pilot said, taking off his helmet, revealing his green hair that covered the left side of his face and his slightly grayish blue-violet right eye. "We've had these machines since they were built."

Shinn froze for a moment, realizing what he just said. "YOU BASTARDS!" screamed Shinn as he grabbed the pilot's light and dark grey pilot suit. "IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT THEY'RE DEAD!"

"What the hell?! Let go of me!" shouted Clotho just before Shinn punched his face.

"Hey buddy, if you wanna fight, then you got it!" said Clotho, grabbing Shinn in a headlock.

Shinn elbowed him in the gut a couple of times, causing him to let go. However, before the fight could escalate, the pilot of the Astray-variant stepped between Shinn and the Forbidden and Raider pilots, his hand against the shoulder of the former and his hand motioning the latter two back.

"Oh, for the love of… cut it out!" he said. "Shani, Clotho, Lady Setsuna and Miss Lacus would be ashamed of you two!"

The two immediately backed down at that, but Shinn tried to rush forward, forcing the brown-haired pilot to push back against him. Fortunately, Shawn and Dale, seeing the commotion, and recognizing the cause, rushed forward and grabbed hold of the Redcoat.

"Shinn! Stand down!" snapped Aleksi as she, John and Luna rushed over to the group. "What the hell is this all about?"

"Don't ask me," said Clotho. "That kid just attacked us out of nowhere."

John turned to Shinn. "Well?"

"How can Orb just let these bastards live after all they did?!" demanded Shinn. "After all the people they killed?!"

"Jeez kid, do you only come in loud and louder?" said John, rubbing an ear.

Shinn scowled at him. "Alright, alright. Stop with the death glare," said John, sighing. "It's a rather long story. The short version is that they were victims of Blue Cosmos who found the opportunity to turn against the bastards at Jachin Due and saved a lot of good people. Since Shani and Clotho have nowhere else to go and no clear memory of their past thanks to what was done to them, they're staying in and fighting for Orb to redeem themselves as much as they are able. They're harmless unless provoked. Most of the time."

"There is no way they can pay what they've done," Shinn shot back.

John stared at him for a moment. "You're from Orb, aren't you?"

"What if I am?"

"Nothing," answered John. "It really doesn't matter. Now if you'll excuse us, I need some coffee. Shani, Clotho, Tolle, come on, we're leaving. Miss Aleksi, if you'd be so kind as to find me once you are done with your duties, we have a lot to discuss."

"Hold on a sec," said Aleksi, causing the four to pause. They looked back to see her staring up at the Forbidden and Raider. "Did you pilot those machines at Jachin Due?"

"Yeah," said Clotho, turning to face her directly. He and Shani had a guess, and glanced over at the golden GuAIZ. Despite the additional decals, there was no mistaking _that_ mobile suit. "Let me guess. You piloted that GuAIZ at Jachin yourself?"

"Yeah," said Aleksi. Shani chuckled slightly.

"You and your team gave us real hell back there," he said. "You should be proud. It was a challenge we usually only received from the Angels and Knights themselves."

Most of the hangar crew and pilots had stiffened slightly. They'd all known Aleksi had fought at Jachin Due, but they hadn't realized she'd faced opponents that could survive those legendary pilots.

"I owe it to my Commander and my team," said Aleksi. "I was the worst pilot in the group. I still haven't figured out why I survived where so many of my comrades didn't. In any case, I look forward to talking with you two more later."

"Yeah, that should be enjoyable," said Clotho.

With that, John led the other three Orb pilots away, the four leaving the hangar, leaving the hanger. Shinn stood there, squeezing his fists to the point that his fingers cut into his palms, drawing blood.

"Shinn, I don't know what your problem is with those guys," said Aleksi, turning to the Redcoat. "But if you wish to keep on piloting, I suggest you stow it."

Shinn glared at her. "Is that an order, ma'am?" Truthfully, he was enraged by the blonde's attitude towards those murderers, people she'd _fought_ at Jachin Due!

"Yes," said Aleksi coldly. Even if she was only a Greencoat, she had seniority over Shinn—and many, even Shinn's closest friends aboard the ship, would be more inclined to listen to her judgment than Shinn's emotional outbursts.

* * *

Elsewhere

The elevator doors opened. Chairman Durandal, Cagalli, Rey and Athrun exited while Flay stayed behind. Durandal turned around.

"Are you not coming, Miss Allster?" he asked.

"No. I just want to check over my machine," answered Flay.

"Very well then," said Durandal. "If you need a hand, don't be afraid to ask someone for help."

Flay bowed. "Thank you," she said before hitting the down button on the panel.

Durandal cleared his throat as he moved towards the edge of the catwalk overlooking the hanger.

"The ZGMF-1000 ZAKU. As you are already aware, it's currently being produced to replace the GuAIZ R as the backbone of ZAFT's mobile suit forces," he said. "And then we have the _Minerva_'s most distinguishing feature, the ZGMF-X56S Impulse and its launching system. According to our engineers, this is the newest, most efficient mobile suit system. Although personally, I don't quite understand such technical matters." He paused, taking note of Cagalli's expression. "I take it that you don't much care for it, Princess."

"Well, you certainly seem happy about it, Chairman," she replied.

"Happy isn't the word I would use," he said. "My feelings stem from the thought of how hard everyone has worked. To come so far from such chaos and to gain such strength."

"Such strength," muttered Cagalli. "You said strength was necessary because there would always be conflict."

"Yes," answered Durandal.

"Then how do you rationalize what's happen?" asked Cagalli. "The damage your country and its people have suffered is due to the presence of those new mobile suits."

"So then you are saying that we should not seek to acquire power?" questioned Durandal, rhetorically, though Cagalli answered anyways.

"Why is it necessary in the first place? Especially now!" said Cagalli. "We swore not to repeat the tragedies of the past. We were committed to a path that we could all walk together!"

"True Princess. But–"

"Making excuses has been a specialty of the Athhas!" a voice called out, interrupting the Chairman.

Everyone turned to source of the voice. "Shinn," said Rey, jumping down to hanger.

Shinn glanced over his shoulder, glaring at Cagalli. But before anyone could say anything, alarms went off.

* * *

Crew Lounge

Shani and Clotho were off in their own little worlds, relaxing. Clotho was sitting on a chair, playing his latest video game for his handheld system, and Shani was also sitting, listening to his music, his head bobbing up and down with the more intense songs, but just leaning back and relaxing for the softer ones, which were rather frequent—the bulk of the music today was from Lacus and Setsuna, after all. Tolle, meanwhile, was studying the new M4 that Morgenroete was designing for the Taiyonoha Fleet, trying to decide if he should switch over to the machine; he supposed it would likely depend on how many technical aspects of the MAF-X01 were included in the new model. John was leaning on a wall, attempting to drink the crap in a can they called coffee.

John took a sip and winced. _You'd think that with all they've put into this new warship, they'd be able to stock it with some decent coffee._

Meyrin entered the lounge. "Oh. You must be the pilots from the Orb ship that transferred over," she said. "I'm Meyrin Hawke."

Only John fully acknowledged her. Shani and Clotho remained obvious to the girl, while Tolle spoke a rather distracted greeting.

"Hawke?" said John with a chuckle. "Well Miss Hawke, I'm the Black Hawk. John Alaric. You'll have to forgive Shani, Clotho and Tolle. The first two aren't exactly the most sociable of people, and the last one's deciding if the new mass-production model Morgenroete's designing is 'drool-worthy' or not."

Meyrin took note of their clothes. John and Tolle both wore Orb uniforms, John's with a black, leather trenchcoat over top. The other two, however, were a bit different; the redhead's uniform was open and it's sleeves had been trimmed, making it look like a short sleeved vest over a red t-shirt, while the one listening to music had ripped knees on his pants and his coat was open, revealing an orange t-shirt underneath. It was odd seeing soldiers wearing uniforms that clearly violated military regulations.

"Hello John…" started Meyrin before her eyes widened. "Wait! The Black Hawk?! You're the Black Hawk?!"

"Yes," said John. "Do you want my autograph as well?"

"No. My sister's a big fan though," she said.

"Lunamaria?" questioned John. "I know. The second I set foot on the ship, she asked for my autograph."

"Sorry about that," said Meyrin.

John waved his hand. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Not the first time. Anyways, Miss Hawke, what do you do on this ship? You don't have the look of a pilot, and I'm pretty sure all of them were still in the hangar when I arrived."

"I'm the CIC operator," said Meyrin. John chuckled.

"Ah yes, though I never really understood how 'CIC' got so intertwined with 'mobile suit controller'," he said. "In any case, that means we'll be working together. Let me introduce you to these three… well, as best I can. The one listening to music is Shani Andras, the pilot of the Forbidden. The one with the game is Clotho Beur, pilot of the Raider. And the one pouring over the M4 design is Tolle Koenig, pilot of the MX1 Athena. All junior grade lieutenants in the Taiyonoha Fleet, and you'll find no team more effective at, shall we say, 'bizarre' teamwork and crazy behavior than this one."

"Got that right," said Tolle, snapping the 'catalog' shut. "You'll have to see it in action to believe it. Just telling you right now, though: no, we are _not_ trying to kill each other out there."

"What?" questioned Meyrin, tilting her head to the side. The reply, however, was interrupted by a voice over the PA.

"_Enemy ship sighted. Distance: 8000._"

* * *

Elsewhere

"_Enemy ship sighted. Distance: 8000. Condition Red. All hands to your stations. All pilots are to stand by in their units._"

Jessie cursed as he threw his cards on the table.

"Is this going to happen every time I'm winning?" he asked.

"Looks like," said Dale, standing up. "Guess you're just unlucky that way."

"Come on. We got to get to our machines," said Shawn. "Can't let the Reds and those pilots from Orb get all the action."

"Knowing our luck, we'll be the last to deploy and be stuck supporting the _Minerva_," added Tristan as they headed to the hanger.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

A Short While Later

All of the mobile suit pilots had quickly suited up and boarded their machines. Aleksi looked around at their force of mobile suits. Hopefully, it'd be enough to deal with the stolen prototypes and whatever else Bogey-1 had (which was apparently formidable, given the damage inflicted to Armory One's forces).

"_Commander Alaric,_" said Aleksi, powering up her GuAIZ. "_I'd appreciate it if you would take command of the mobile suit team out there. I have no command experience, so…_"

"_Hey! He's not a ZAFT Commander anymore. Why should he be in command?_" argued Shinn.

"I would believe it's because I have the most experience here," replied John. "I have fought more battles than anyone else here. In fact, I believe that the Academy still teaches some of my tactics. So, why wouldn't I be in command? Are you really that uncomfortable with me in command? Or is that you're uncomfortable with the fact that you'll be fighting alongside those two?"

Shinn didn't reply.

"Now, Aleksi, you fought one of those stolen machines, right?"

"_Yes sir,_" replied Aleksi. "_The Specter. It's pilot is… formidable._"

"Alright, then I'll want you're experience out there," said John. "Take the GuAIZ Rs and hold the center of the formation so you can move to the front or back to the ship quickly. The ZAKUs will remain behind with the _Minerva_ and protect it directly should they try to ambush it as we engage the enemy ship."

"_Roger,_" said Aleksi. "_You got that boys?_"

"_Yes ma'am,_" replied all four GuAIZ R pilots at once, while Rey and Lunamaria acknowledged their own orders.

"Shani, Clotho, Tolle, Flay and Mr. Anger Issues will comprise the primary hunter-killer team for 'Bogey-1'," continued John. "Shani, Clotho and Tolle will take point, with Flay and Asuka right behind them. I'll stay in the rear, between the ZAKUs and GuAIZs."

"_I thought Commanders were suppose to __**lead**__ their forces into battle, not bring up the rear,_" sneered Shinn.

"True," said John. "But let me point this out. The Raider and the Forbidden have Trans-Phase Armor, which can take more of a pounding than any of the other machines here unless a massive attack hits them from all directions. So why not have them in front? Don't you want them to die anyway? And Tolle works well with those two, particularly with the Heavy-Arms Striker equipped. As to why I'm in the rear, it's because it would be better that I function as a sniper in this battle, as there's a lot of debris out there that they can hide behind and ambush us with; I'm going to try to spot them before they can ambush us. So shut up and get ready. They're waiting for us. They're likely going to try to cut us off from the _Minerva_."

"_How can you be so sure?_" asked Shawn.

"Because, if I was their Commander, I would draw the bulk of the mobile suits from the _Minerva_, and then attack," replied John. "The question is, who will they target? Us or the _Minerva_?"

The Strike Raven and the Farsight III were loaded onto the catapults.

"John Alaric. Farsight launching."

"_Flay Allster. Strike Raven, taking off._"

The two mobile suits were launched into space as the Forbidden and the Raider were loaded into position. John opened a private channel to the Athena, Forbidden and Raider.

"Hey, you guys ready for this?" he asked. "You've done well in practice, but it's still been quite some time since you've fought in combat, and you've never really worked as a team before in real battle."

"_Yeah, yeah. We're ready,_" said Tolle.

Clotho nodded. "_Yeah. Let's kick some ass!_"

Shani just grunted.

"What about you, Flay? This is your first time in combat."

"_No it's not,_" replied Flay as the next two mobile suits launched.

"Right," said John, realizing his mistake. It was an easy one, since he hadn't allied with the _Archangel_ crew until after Flay was transferred over and only fought one battle beside the _Dominion_. "First time in combat in a mobile suit."

"_I'll be fine. You all taught me well._"

John chuckled as the remaining mobile suits launched.

"If only he could see you now," he said, almost nostalgically. "You've come a long way from that little girl Victor told me about."

At that moment, the Impulse's Core Splendor was launched, followed by the Blast Silhouette, the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer. The four components assembled, creating the Blast Impulse.

"All right everyone, listen up," said John to the assembled pilots. "Bogey-1 has entered the Debris Field. There are plenty of places to hide in there. Also, they know we are after them and they will set a trap for us. So keep your guard up and your fingers on the trigger. Good luck out there."

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Bridge

Durandal, Cagalli and Athrun stepped onto the bridge. Talia glanced over her shoulder at the group. "Chairman?"

"Ah Captain. Can I ask a favor of you?" said Durandal. "I would like to have our guests from Orb on bridge as well. Will you allow it?"

"Ah… But that's–"

"As you know, the Representative commanded a ship in the last war and has fought in many battles," explained Durandal. "I would like to have her perspective of our combat methods. And there are several pilots from her own nation fighting out there."

"I understand. If that's how you feel Chairman," said Talia.

"Thank you Talia," said Durandal as the three took their seats.

"Distance to target: 6000," reported Bart.

"Lower the bridge," ordered Talia. "Prepare for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat."

The bridge dropped down into combat position.

"Ma'am. The Impulse, the GuAIZs and Orb mobile suits have launched and are moving to intercept Bogey-1. Rey and Lunamaria are remaining on board for defense," said Meyrin.

"Bogey-1. I wonder what the real name of that ship is," mused Durandal. "A name reflects its owner's nature. But what if the name is really a fake? If something goes by a false name, does that mean that thing is fake? False by nature? Is that what it would mean?" He turned to Athrun. "Alex? Or is it Athrun Zala?"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, Tolle's appearance probably caught a bunch of people off-guard. In regards to Shani and Clotho, he's something of a replacement for Orga's position in the original trio, especially when the Athena is equipped with the Heavy-Arms Striker, though honestly, I'm still open to potential modifications to the design.**

**There are plenty of standardized upgrades that have been applied to all these suits, but there are some specific upgrades which will be explained in the "mech spec" section of the next chapter. That section will include all original mecha appearing that haven't been put in a mech spec section, as well as any machine from the series that I've made one or more significant modifications to.**

**Not much is explained about the Taiyonoha Fleet, but from the sounds of it, it's a sub-section of the Orb military that operates under the direct control of the Taiyonoha Family. Who knows how many characters from _SEED Dauntless_ are part of this "faction".**

**Also, note that _Toyotama_ is the name for the daughter of Ryū****jin in Shinto mythology, and she is also known by the name Otohime. According to legend, after she gave birth to her son, she turned into a dragon and flew away. That's not really significant to the story I'm writing, but I felt like giving a touch of background.**

**Kira is also mentioned in this chapter, and we get a reference to the battle where the seemingly untouchable Biological CPUs were driven to near-destruction by mere GuAIZs. Included in that is a direct reference to the four most legendary pilots of the Bloody Valentine War. I'd like to note that both Knights**—**Athrun and Erik**—**are fairly well-known publicly. However, the Angels**—**Kira and Makoto**—**are shrouded in almost complete mystery. As such, there's a lot of rumors about them, some of which will be discussed on the way to Junius Seven in I believe two chapters. That gives you all something to look forward too.**

**I've also teased everyone in a few areas, assuming you're paying full attention. In any case, I'm gonna stop boring you all know. There's a mech spec page here below, so enjoy it.**

**And now, I ask everyone to please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**

* * *

**Strike II:**  
Description:  
The Strike II is a variant of the Strike Gundam intended to be adapted for commando-style tasks and missions. Unlike the all-purpose multi-mode Strike, the Strike II is designed to be permanently integrated with a Striker Pack and then further customized to take advantage of it, sacrificing versatility for focus, which was noted to be the Strike's primary weakness. The major difference between the Strike and the Strike II proper is the addition of beam sabers in the hips where the Strike kept its assault knives, which are moved to the wrist armor in the Strike II. Only a dozen or so of these machines have been produced, and the most well known are the Farsight III and the Talos II.

**Model Number:** MBF-XX105**  
Code Name:** Strike II**  
Unit Type:** Limited Production Custom Commando Mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union; Three Ships Alliance**  
First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.88 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 64.8 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x Beam Saber, stored in hips, hand-carried in use; 2x "Armor Schneider" Assault Knife, stored in forearms, hand-carried in use; 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle**  
Pilots:** Flay Allster (Strike Raven), John Alaric (Farsight III), Victor Cain (Talos II),  
**Appearance:** Another Strike unit, but may vary from unit to unit.  
**Color:** Same as Strike, but may be customized by the pilot.  
**Notes:** This is the basic form of the Strike II, prior to Striker Pack integration and customization. Although I doubt any of these machines will actually appear in the story proper (the custom ones appearing instead), I figured I'd go ahead and post this since the Farsight III had shown back up anyways


	4. Phase 04: Stardust Battlefield

**Well, here we are. I finally finished this. Also, I still feel somewhat depressed about the comparative lack of reviews (I got sixteen or so on the first chapter, but subsequent chapters have pulled in hardly any in comparison). Oh well, can't control that aspect of things.**

**Anyways, here, we have the debut of the MX1 Heavy-Arms Athena, the new and improved Forbidden and Raider, the Strike Raven, and Aleksi's key to victory in seemingly unwinnable situations. I won't go into it here, but sufficed to say, I think everyone will enjoy this chapter.**

**Also, I've spoken with Akatsuki Leader13. I'm now more certain than ever that we'll be introducing the more radical differences between our stories at the opening shots of the war (let's consider some of my extra kills (Yzak and Dearka, for which I am _still_ being called a murderer). Those alone change the playing field of the war). Alright, I'm not gonna bore you all to tears any longer.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the changes made to the Strike Raven from Akatsuki Leader13's Strike Raven. I also own the changes in the Forbidden and Raider from their canon versions, as well as the Heavy-Arms Striker and Surge Striker.  
**

* * *

Phase Four: Stardust Battlefield

October 2nd, C.E. 73

* * *

The Debris Field

The Specter, the Abyss, the Gaia, the Chaos, the Strike Noir, Blu Duel and Verde Buster, took up positions amidst the debris. The Rosso Aegis, Viola Surge and Divina Guardian were staying behind with the _Girty Lue_ to ambush the ZAFT ship. The _Girty Lue_ had also deployed a decoy that would lure them to their position and leave them unaware of the trap they were walking into. Treize, in an ideal sniper spot, took aim at the advancing ZAFT mobile suits. He had the hanger crew of the _Girty Lue_ temporarily replace the Specter's cannon with a beam sniper rifle, a weapon better suited to picking off mobile suits from a distance than the cannon. In addition to the rifle, he had changed the colors of the Specter's Variable Phase Shift to something, much more suitable. When he spotted the group, he was surprised by what he saw.

"The Forbidden and the Raider are amongst the ZAFT forces," he told the others.

"_What?! Is it them?!_" asked Sting.

"_Unlikely,_" said Silber.

"_Yeah, they would've died long ago without their drugs,_" added Rache.

"Either way, watch out," ordered Treize, taking aim at the group. "Don't attack until I fire."

* * *

The Bridge of the _Minerva_

"Bogey-1. I wonder what the real name of that ship is," mused Durandal. "A name reflects its owner's nature. But what if the name is really a fake? If something goes by a false name, does that mean that thing is fake? False by nature? Is that what it would mean?" He turned to Athrun. "Alex? Or is it Athrun Zala?"

Everyone else on the bridge gasped. Athrun Zala, the son of deceased former Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala and a hero of the Bloody Valentine War? Cagalli scowled at the Chairman as orders were being given on the bridge.

"Chairman Durandal, that's–"

"There's no need to worry, Representative Athha," assured Durandal. "I did not mean to accuse him of anything. I'm already fully aware of the measures taken by my predecessor, Eileen Canaver, against you and the others. However, if we are to talk, I'd like to talk with the real you, Athrun Zala."

Talia sighed. She'd suspected that 'Alex Dino' was actually Athrun Zala, but wished Durandal had it brought it up at a time like this.

"Mobile suits 1400 to Bogey-1," reported Bart a moment later.

"It hasn't changed course yet?" questioned Arthur. "What are they up too?"

An instant later, both Talia and Athrun realized what was going on.

"Damn it," snarled Talia.

"It's a decoy!" said Athrun at the same time.

* * *

Debris Field

John scanned the debris in front of them. He couldn't see anything yet, but he didn't doubt that they were out there. He glanced at his radar. They were nearing the unidentified battleship. They'd probably be able to see it soon.

There was nothing to indicate that they had spotted them yet, which wasn't uncommon in the Debris Field. Both pirates and his former forces had used the Field for ambushes because one could easily hide out here. They could easily be preparing an ambush for them. He kept his eyes on the area around them, searching for anything. Any sign of danger. Suddenly, he saw it. A flash.

"Sniper! Scatter!" he shouted.

Treize grinned. "For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World!" roared Treize as he fired.

The group scattered, avoiding the first three beams, but Dale flew straight into a fourth one that tore through his GuAIZ R, destroying the machine.

"Dale! No!" shouted Tristan.

In the Specter, Treize couldn't help but smirk. Strongest of the Extended he may be, he acknowledged that others beat him in certain areas—the fact that Rache had perfectly predicted where that GuAIZ R would be going and how best to snipe it was plenty enough proof of that.

At that moment, the Gaia, the Abyss, the Chaos, the Strike Noir and the Blu Duel emerged from their hiding spots, firing on the remaining pilots while the two snipers continued to fire.

"Damn!" swore John. "We walked right into this." One of Treize's beams narrowly missed the Farsight. "Oh? You think that you're a better shot than me?" said John, taking aim at the area were the sniper was firing at. "There's a reason why this mobile suit is armed with a sniper rifle!"

Treize noticed the black and white mobile suit taking aim at the area he was in, but he was unconcerned; there was no way it could accurately hit him at this distance. The mobile suit fired and to Treize's surprise, the beam was heading straight for him. Treize dove out of the way just in time, and the beam struck a piece of debris behind where his mobile suit's head had been.

"You wish to play, Coordinator? Fine, I'll play," said Treize, taking aim and firing at the enemy mobile suit.

"_Be careful Treize,_" said Rache. "_I don't think either of us could've made a shot like that._"

The Chaos's pods launched and started firing on the Raider, Forbidden and Athena as the Abyss fired on the trio while the Gaia, Strike Noir and Blu Duel descended on the Impulse, the Strike Raven, and the GuAIZ Rs.

Stella fired her rifle at the Strike Raven, Flay sidestepping the beams and firing back with her beam rifle and railguns. The Gaia jumped back, firing as it flew back into wreckage of a colony. Flay chased after the black Gundam.

"_Hold on,_" Tristan called out, chasing after her. "_A lady shouldn't go into the unknown unescorted._"

Flay nodded and the two dove into the wreckage.

The Strike Noir fired both of its beam rifles at the Impulse, Maia laughing as she fired.

"Come on! Let's dance Coordinator!" she called.

The Impulse flew up, evading the beams while firing back with its cannons. The Extended spun, allowing her machine to squeeze in-between the beams before firing the grenade of her left rifle. Shinn fired one of his railguns, piercing the grenade and the rifle.

"Yes, yes, yes! Finally, a suitable dance partner!" cheered Maia, drawing one of her beam blades. "Let's give them a real performance!"

"Well, this is interesting," commented Tolle, evading fire from the Chaos's weapon pods. He suddenly spun around and fired the weapons mounted on his Taihō, piercing one of the pods. "But compared to those DRAGOONs we evaded at Jachin and the simulations we've faced since, their slow, clumsy and useless!"

"_Understatement, Tolle!_" said Shani, grinning as he fired the Hresvelgr at the remaining pod. It pulled out of the path as the beam bent, but suddenly, the beam bent and twisted itself again, catching Sting completely off-guard and crashing through the pod.

"What the hell?!" gasped Sting.

"_Since when could the Forbidden do that?!_" demanded Auel, dodging the Raider's Mjollnir and readying his lance as the transformable mobile suit flew after its weapon. As he swung, though, beam blades emerged from the Raider's shield, blocking the weapon. "_What the hell happened to these things?!_"

"Gotcha," smirked Clotho, firing his Zorn. Auel barely managed to push himself back enough to bring one of the Abyss's fins in place to deflect the cannon with its anti-beam coating. But that wasn't the end of it, as the Mjollnir activated thrusters, curving its path and allowing Clotho to wrap the wire around the Abyss, trapping Auel.

Fortunately for him, Sting managed to break away from the Forbidden and Athena long enough to shift to mobile armor form and crash into the Raider, knocking Clotho back. The Abyss was spun violently as the wire wrapped around it was yanked away, but regardless, Auel had survived, albeit slightly dizzy, but not to the extent that he couldn't fight.

"You guys are obsolete!" shouted Sting, rushing the Forbidden with his beam saber as Shani deflected a barrage from the Abyss's cannons.

He didn't get far, however, before the Raider's mobile armor form emerged from some debris and charged at the Chaos with its Ahura Mazda. Sting raised his shield just in time as Clotho angled his weapons to hit the center of the shield, but an instant after the Raider passed, the Forbidden's scythe swung down, hitting at the same point the Ahura Mazda did and knocking the Chaos away. A beam javelin tossed by the Athena then pierced the weakened center of the shield, and Sting just barely managed to toss it away before the javelin caught the Chaos's arm as well.

"Damn it," cursed Sting as he and Auel continued to struggle against their three opponents. "Treize! Where the hell is our covering fire?!" Sting shouted as he pulled himself up.

"_Didn't you just say those guys were obsolete?_" said Treize as he continued his sniper duel with the Farsight. "_You should be able to beat them with ease._"

"Damn," muttered Rache, watching as Silber deflected a strike by one of the GuAIZ Rs only to be forced to dodge the railguns of the second GuAIZ R, and then the extensional arrestors of that damn gold GuAIZ. "With all this debris, I can't get a good shot in _that_ melee."

Rache uncoupled his guns and flew out from behind cover. He was an excellent marksman, but that didn't mean he wasn't just as good at close-range, and he'd prove it to these Patchworkers right here and now!

"Watch it boys, that second sniper is coming," said Aleksi, narrowly dodging a shot from the Blu Duel. These pilots were first-rate, and if she'd been in a GuAIZ R facing the precision aim this guy brought to his shield-mounted railgun, she'd have been done for. Fortunately, the railgun was being reserved for her—the other weapons seemed to be less accurate and were more easily blocked as well, allowing Shawn and Jessie to survive.

* * *

The Bridge of the _Minerva_

"Captain! We've lost Bogey-1's signal!" exclaimed Bart.

"I've also lost the signal from Dale's unit!" added Meyrin. "Also four-no seven heat sources at Yellow 60, Beta! It's the Specter, Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and three unknowns!"

"Locate the enemy! Locate Bogey-1 immediately!" ordered Talia.

She was no fool. The Commander of Bogey-1 knew that they were following them and had left a decoy for them to follow. Undoubtedly, the real Bogey-1 was moving to ambush them while they were struggling to figure out what was going on.

* * *

Aboard the _Girty Lue_

Neo smirked. They had caught the ZAFT ship completely off-guard. It was time to deliver the killing blow. He raised his hand. Captain Lee nodded.

"Launch the mobile suits," ordered the Captain. "Start the engines and fire missile tubes Five through Eight. Target the enemy battleship with the Gottfrieds."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Heat source detected at Blue 18, Mark 9 Charlie!" Bart turned to Talia. "It's Bogey-1. Distance: 500!"

Arthur glanced back from his station. "What? But how?"

"Three mobile suits incoming as well!"

"On screen," ordered Talia.

A trio of mobile suits appeared on the screen. Athrun and Cagalli's eyes widened.

"That's…" whispered Athrun. "Aegis… Surge… Guardian!"

"Undoubtedly, new units based off the original GAT series units," commented Durandal somewhat dryly. This certainly didn't bode well.

"Captain! We're being targeted by Bogey-1!"

"Fire anti-beam depth charges! Turn 30 degrees to port! Target with the Tristan!" said Talia as Bogey-1 fired a spread of missiles.

"We can't, ma'am! Mobile suits at Orange 22 Delta," reported Bart.

Talia grit her teeth in frustration. "Engines to maximum!" she ordered. "Go around the asteroid. Use it as a shield."

The helmsman turned the ship as hard as he could, practically hugging the asteroid. The missiles hit the rock, the force of the explosions shaking the _Minerva_.

Talia turned to Meyrin. "Meyrin, order Shinn and the others to return to the ship at once," she ordered. "Prepare all remaining units for launch as well." Then she turned to the helmsman. "Malik, continue to use the asteroid's surface to avoid further fire." Finally, she turned to her XO. "Arthur, prepare to return fire."

"Launcher Five, Launcher Ten; Dispars, fire!" said Arthur as the ship continued to shake from the missed shots of Bogey-1.

* * *

Elsewhere

John swore as he searched for the Specter. He had lost sight of his opponent among the debris. He was better than this. He should have been able to keep his opponent in sight. Clearly, his skills had dulled more than he thought.

At that moment, a text message appeared on his console. The _Minerva_ was under attack; just as he suspected, a two pronged attack. One force to draw out and engage their mobile suits while the other force ambushes the _Minerva_.

"Listen up everyone, the _Minerva_'s under attack," said John over the comm. "But we can't do anything to help them until we beat these guys. Stay focused on the enemy here. Not on the _Minerva_."

Elsewhere, Flay and Tristan slowly moved through a large corridor of the wrecked colony, searching for the Gaia. Directly ahead of them was a four-way intersection. The path on the right was gone, leading out into space. Both the left corridor and the corridor ahead of them were cast into darkness.

"_I'll look left,_" said Tristan. "_You look right._"

Flay nodded. "Got it."

Both spun as they entered the center of the intersection, facing the side paths. Both quickly scanned the area before them, expecting an ambush. But there was nothing.

Suddenly, the glow of two beam blades lit up the hallway ahead of them. The Gaia, in its mobile armor mode, lunged forward.

"Look out!" shouted Flay, diving out the hole.

At the same time, Tristan dove into the opposite corridor. Stella glanced at both directions for a moment before leaping out the hole after Flay. She transformed the Gaia back and fired her rifle.

Flay spun around, blocking Stella's first few shots with her shield before returning fire with her rifle, railguns and machineguns. Stella dove down, evading her shots. Suddenly, Tristan appeared behind Stella with his beam saber ignited. Stella spun around, blocking the saber with her shield before she kicked the GuAIZ R in the chest, sending it tumbling through a narrow corridor of debris. The Gaia's beam rifle blazed, causing an explosion that completely cut the GuAIZ R off from the Gaia and Strike Raven.

* * *

Meanwhile

Nanai grinned as she aimed her rifles. Below her, the _Minerva_ traveled through a shallow canyon in the asteroid, desperately firing its weapons at her and her teammates. It was time for her to do what she did best.

"Bang."

The Divina Guardian's beam cannon, rifles and missiles fired. A few of the missiles impacted the ship's hull, but the rest of her shots missed, hitting the asteroid instead.

"_Bah. You missed them. Let me show you how it's done,_" said Gyunei, heading for the ship.

"Dispars, Neidharts, fire!" shouted Talia.

The _Minerva_'s missiles streaked towards the trio. Gyunei was forced to stop so he could shoot down the missiles heading for him as his comrades did the same.

"Wow! That was impressive," mocked Nanai.

"_Shut up!_"

Miguel chuckled slightly, firing his blaster and Cattus rifle at the ZAFT warship.

Talia grimaced as the three enemy mobile suits shot down or avoided the missiles and returned fire.

"We can't do anything as long as they've got our backside," she said to her helmsman. "Can we pull around?"

"No ma'am," replied Malik. "Dodging their fire is all I can manage at the moment."

"What about the ZAKUs?" she asked.

"It's no good ma'am," said Meyrin. "We don't have a clear launch vector for them."

Athrun grit his teeth in frustration as he watched on. He felt completely helpless. Everyone else was doing what they could to protect the ship from their attackers while he was stuck here, unable to do anything to help. Even Flay, the mother of a young child, was out there, fighting against their attackers. So why was he sitting here, doing next to nothing?

* * *

Elsewhere

"Hold that thought," said Tolle over the radio, deflecting the Chaos's beam saber in a manner that was clearly mocking before kicking it away. He wouldn't have done it if the attack hadn't been made during recovering from a strike by Clotho, but since he was able to do so, he wasn't going to miss the opportunity. "Let me deal with your friend over there."

The Athena flipped over and blazed away while Sting and Auel recovered.

Rache was just about to enter the fray with the GuAIZs and help Silber when a beam cut him off. He spun around to see the Athena flying his way, and he growled in annoyance.

"Don't interfere, pest!" he said, combining his rifles and firing them along with his shoulder-mounted cannons and missiles. However, even with its Heavy-Arms Striker, the Athena was still an incredibly agile machine, and Tolle dodged the shots from the combined rifles and gun-launcher, blocked the shot from the cannon with his shield, and shot down most of the missiles with his Igelstellungs, dodging the last few or letting his armor absorb the damage instead.

"_Tolle!_" said Shani. Tolle grinned maniacally. Time to show everyone just _why_ their teamwork was called bizarre. Truthfully, it was no different from how the biological CPUs had always worked—except that this time, it was utterly intentional.

Tolle fired his beam rifle, shield-mounted beam gatling and pulse rifles, and a barrage of missiles at the Verde Buster. Meanwhile, Shani, who'd broken from the Abyss and Chaos leaving them to Clotho for a moment, charged from the opposite side of the Athena, its scythe ready to cut into the Verde Buster.

Clotho, grinning knowingly, fired his shield-cannon repeatedly on the debris, creating a chain of explosions that would preoccupy the Chaos and Abyss long enough for him to execute _his_ maneuver.

Rache grinned almost knowingly as he easily sidestepped the Athena's attacks. The beams might be blocked by the Forbidden's shields, assuming the pilot was lucky enough to get them in place in time, but the machine would still lose power to its Trans-Phase Armor when those missiles hit.

To his surprise, by the time he started moving, the Forbidden had slightly altered its angle, lowered its scythe, and puts its shields into position. However, Rache was even more surprised when the missiles didn't hit home.

Instead, the missiles, like the beams and beam bullets, were all bent away from the Forbidden… and straight at his Verde Buster.

"Crap!" cursed Rache as he was caught off-guard. His PS armor was strong enough that he only took minimal damage from the beam bullets and none from the missiles, but rifle shots scorched the Verde Buster's armor and took out one of its missiles pods, sending the artillery suit tumbling away. Before Rache could recover, the Raider's Mjollnir slammed into its back.

Unfortunately, Sting and Auel returned before the three could finish Rache off, and the fight went from the numbers being stacked in favor of the Orb machines to being an even three-on-three standoff.

Shinn twisted and dove around debris, dodging Maia's shots as she chased him. He quickly spun around, firing a barrage of missiles at the Strike Noir, forcing the Extended pilot to stop and shoot the missiles down. Using the opening, Shinn switched to his cannons and fired. Maia evaded the beams and fired back with her rifle.

"This is so much fun!" said Mariemeia gleefully. "But like all performances, it has to come to the end. To the grand finale!"

Maia discarded her remaining rifle and drew her other sword. She laughed as she rushed towards the Impulse. Shinn fired his cannons, but Maia sidestepped the beams and continued. The Impulse drew one of its beam javelins and thrust it forward as the black Strike reached him. Beam javelin met beam blade.

Nearby, the Abyss fired its Callidus and twin triple barrel cannons at the Forbidden. Shani used his shields, once again sending the beams off in random directions, but he was quick to spot where they were going, several of the beams flying at the GuAIZ and GuAIZ Rs.

"Aleksi, guys, incoming!" warned Shani.

Thanks to Shani's warning, all three pilots managed to evade. However, Silber took this opportunity to disappear amidst the debris as Tristan managed to navigate his way out of the maze of junk the Gaia had previously left him in, spotting what was going on as he worked to get completely clear of the junk that was preventing him from helping.

Suddenly, the Blu Duel reappeared, one of its beam sabers drawn. Silber roared, swinging the blade down on Jessie's GuAIZ R. Jessie raised his shield in time, blocking the sword, but the power of the blow was great enough that the GuAIZ R was sent tumbling away. Jessie righted himself, raising his rifle towards the Blu Duel.

Unbeknownst to him, the Specter, hiding amidst the debris once more, was targeting him from a distance.

"Now what do we have here?" said Treize, smirking as he aimed at Jessie. "Die, Coordinator scum!"

Treize fired his rifle. Jessie didn't see it coming, but Shawn did.

"_Jessie! Look out!_" yelled Shawn, his GuAIZ R pushing Jessie's out of the way.

The beam pierced the GuAIZ R and it exploded.

"SHAWN!" screamed Jessie as his friend died.

"Hmm… missed. No matter. One less Patchworker in this world," said Treize, aiming at Jessie. "Now to remove another."

"YOU BASTARD!!!" howled Jessie at the top of his lungs as something snapped. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Jessie roared as his GuAIZ R charged at the Specter. Treize fired, but Jessie raised his shield, blocking the shots and firing back. Treize blocked the return fire with his own shield and fired again, but the GuAIZ R was suddenly yanked to the side, causing Treize's shot to miss. Before he could fire again, a shot from Tristan's GuAIZ R forced him to move.

"_You son of a bitch!_" shouted Tristan, moving into position to charge the Specter.

"Tristan, Jessie, calm down, both of you!" said Aleksi as she released Jessie's GuAIZ R from her extensional arrestors. "You can't fight this opponent one-on-one!" Behind her, the Farsight had engaged the Blu Duel in a vicious saber battle.

"_But–_"

"Formation Delta 31, now!" ordered Aleksi. The two Greencoats were caught off-guard, but followed her order regardless as the three GuAIZs charged at the black mobile suit in a triangle formation with Aleksi's golden GuAIZ at point.

"A Speartip?" questioned Treize, raising his rifle. "Fools."

The Specter fired at the GuAIZ, but Aleksi had anticipated the attack—or rather, she knew it would be coming, and the blonde smirked as she blocked with her shield, allowing the shot to push her back. Treize was caught by surprise as the Speartip formation was reversed… and he realized his mistake, uttering a vicious curse.

While Aleksi was pushed back, Tristan and Jessie moved forward before shifting into position to fire their rifles and railguns on the Specter. Treize dodged these attacks, but Aleksi's extensional arrestors flew at him from both sides, forcing him activate the verniers and fly away. A chain of explosions trapped the Specter in a narrow corridor that the GuAIZ Rs fired into. Suddenly, the GuAIZ appeared, swinging its beam claws. Treize dodged, releasing his sniper rifle and grabbing a Cerebus to finish the troublesome GuAIZ off with. However, Aleksi tumbled out of the way, allowing a pair of railgun rounds to streak in and crash into the Specter, one catching the arm holding the revolver while the other impacted the faceplate. Then, Jessie's GuAIZ R appeared behind him, swinging its beam saber at the arm holding the Cerebus. Treize managed to pull away, but the saber still cut through his revolver. As he grit his teeth, a beam flew in and cut through his sniper rifle.

The Specter boosted out of the frenzy with its verniers, and Treize stared in surprise at the three GuAIZs. Their fighting had changed completely, and it was now pushing even _him_!

"Formation Iota 7!" ordered Aleksi, charging forward. Following her orders, the two GuAIZ Rs moved into formation, Jessie directly ahead of her and Tristan directly behind.

"Tactical formations?" muttered Treize, activating his boosters to break away. However, all three GuAIZs fired everything they had into the debris, creating an explosive box that kept Treize from fleeing to a safe distance and disallowing the use of his boosters unless he was willing to risk destruction or near-destruction amidst the debris.

The formation hit home, as Jessie fired a barrage that Treize evaded or deflected, then swung his saber at the shield, knocking it aside. As Jessie pulled away, clearing the path for his teammates, Aleksi fired her GuAIZ rifle, scorching the left vernier booster and the VPS armor next to the head, before her extensional arrestors grappled the Specter, though the VPS was strong enough to only be scorched by the arrestors' beams rather than truly pierced. However, it held Treize in place as Tristan finished the assault, his rifle blowing away the outer shoulder armor and his railguns hitting the scorched sections of armor. As his saber swung down to deliver the finishing blow, Treize managed to bring his shield back into position to deflect, and he was reaching to grab his sword to cut down Tristan and free himself from the arrestors when Aleksi decided on an alternative, and used the arrestors to pull the Specter away from Tristan's GuAIZ R, sending it crashing into some debris.

As Treize stood the now-released Specter back up, he looked at the three ZAFT mobile suits, the GuAIZ Rs now in flanking positions on the GuAIZ, all their rifles leveled at him.

"I'm impressed, Goldilocks," he said over the radio. "You're not half-bad yourself, but you've managed to make the rest of the grunts a pain in the ass."

Treize grit his teeth, grip on the controls tightening. While what he said was true, it was still humiliating! He was the strongest of all Extended, and in a machine vastly superior to his enemies, yet these three Patchworker grunts had…

It was an insult, a blow to his pride, and part of Treize wanted to tear them apart with his bare hands to appease his pride. The rest of him, however…

"I HAVE NO PRIDE!" roared Treize. "Rache! Silber!"

* * *

The Bridge of the _Minerva_

The _Minerva_ shuddered as the _Girty Lue_ and its mobile suits landed more near hits. Talia let out an annoyed, tired sigh.

"Half our firepower is wasted in this position," she said. "The very rock that's protecting us from the bulk of their attacks is restricting our ability to fight back."

"Captain! Incoming missiles!" shouted Bart.

"Shoot them down!" ordered Talia.

"But they're not targeted at us!"

Talia turned her head to Bart's station. "What?"

Talia may not have realized what they were trying, but Athrun did. He shot up from his seat.

"Captain! Pull the ship away from the asteroid!" yelled Athrun, trying to warn them before it was too late.

Unfortunately, he was too late.

The missiles streaked past the _Minerva_, impacting the asteroid just ahead of them. Debris rained down on the grayish-white warship.

"Pull us out! Pitch 15 degrees!" ordered Talia.

The _Minerva_ started to pull away from the asteroid as more missiles raced towards them. "Reduce thrust by twenty percent!"

Though none of the missiles hit the ZAFT ship, chucks from the asteroid slammed into the _Minerva_, leaving large gashes and dents in its hull. A massive chunk of rock crashed into the _Minerva_'s path, blocking their escape as more debris rained down around the ship, pinning the _Minerva_.

"Thrusters Four and Six are damaged," reported Arthur.

"Captain! An additional mobile armor approaching," added Meyrin.

Talia grabbed the phone on her chair. "Abes, launch the ZAKUs."

"_Yes, ma'am. But the catapult is blocked by debris,_" replied Abes.

"I don't care if they have to walk out. Just get them out there!"

"_Yes, ma'am._"

One of the _Minerva_'s catapults opened and a white ZAKU Phantom, equipped with a Blaze Wizard Pack and a red ZAKU Warrior with a Gunner Wizard Pack emerged. The two ZAKUs took off, heading towards their attackers.

"Alright! Real opponents!" said Gyunei, transforming his mobile suit into its mobile armor form and racing towards them.

Luna fired her cannon at the Rosso Aegis, but Gyunei effortlessly dodged her shots. Gyunei laughed.

"Ah! Here, try this!" he said.

He fired his Scylla II cannon at the pair of ZAKUs. Rey and Luna sidestepped his first few shots, but were caught completely off guard when the beams started to curve.

"What the hell?! Curving beams?!" exclaimed Luna as they evaded the beams. "How is that even possible?!"

"_I don't know,_" replied Rey, firing his rifle at the Rosso Aegis. "_But now isn't the time for this._"

Gyunei spun his machine, avoiding Rey's shots, before he lunged at the white ZAKU. However, a beam lanced across space, cutting him off, and everyone looked for the source. They spotted a distortion in space moving towards them before John released the active camouflage, and the Farsight III appeared, firing its piercer rifle at the Aegis.

"I'm really starting to get annoyed with the way you guys can vanish into the debris," said John, separating his rifle components and storing them as he drew the first of his three beam pistols. Gyunei growled in annoyance, shifting to mobile suit mode and firing on the Farsight, but John deflected with his shield and expertly returned fire with his pistol with vastly superior accuracy that Gyunei only partially evaded, several shots scorching his armor and two shots even taking out one of his sabers.

Nearby, Luna and Miguel squared off. Luna repeatedly fired her cannon, but she couldn't hit the incredibly fast Viola Surge.

"You've made a poor choice of weapon, Coordinator," sneered Miguel, tossing away his Cattus rifle to grab his beam rifle from the Viola Surge's waist. "A long-range cannon should never be used for close-combat. Smaller beam rifles should be used for this kind of combat."

The Extended pilot fired his high-energy blaster and beam rifle at the red ZAKU. Luna ducked down, avoiding his beams. She then tried to take aim and fire on the Surge again, but Miguel kept firing at her, preventing Luna from getting a clear shot.

Elsewhere, Rey and Nanai battled. Much like the duel between Luna and Miguel, Rey stayed close to the Divina Guardian, reducing the effectiveness of his opponent's tremendous firepower. Unfortunately, this was the successor to the Guardian… and that meant no range was truly safe as beam saber met beam tomahawk. Suddenly, Nanai opened the chest-mounted launchers and fired point-blank. Rey pushed back and raised his shield to defend from the barrage, but in the process, the right shield was destroyed outright. He retaliated with a grenade thrown the Guardian's way. The explosive impacted the mobile suit and detonated, throwing it back.

Rey aimed his assault rifle at the machine and was about to fire when Rey felt a shudder crawl up his spine. He jumped back, barely dodging the Exus's beams.

"Nanai!" Neo called out. "I'll deal with him; you take care of that warship."

"_Yes sir,_" replied Nanai, heading for the trapped _Minerva_.

"It's just you and me, White Baldy," said Neo, launching his gunbarrels. "Let's see what you got."

* * *

Elsewhere

The Gaia's mobile armor form tore a gash through the debris as she dashed across the chunk of colony wall, rifle and beam cannons firing at the Strike Raven. Flay dodged or blocked the shots and returned fire with her rifle as she detached the Raven Striker and sent it flying off into the debris.

Stella roared as she leapt off the debris and shifted to mobile suit mode, a beam saber drawn, swinging it down on the Strike Raven. Flay activated her shield's trident claw, catching the saber and locking it in place as she tossed away her rifle and drew a beam saber, swinging it at the black Gundam. Stella raised her shield, blocking the saber.

Suddenly, the Raven Striker, Ahura Mazda blazing, flew in from above, threatening to cut the Gaia in two.

"Oh crap!" said Stella, pushing back. However, she was forced to release her beam saber, as Flay refused to release it from the trident claw.

Flay panted as she landed atop the Raven Striker and flew forward, shield-cannons and Raven Striker cannons blazing as she charged at the Gaia. Athrun had taught her how to handle the Raven Striker, and Setsuna had been the one to suggest using the trident claw to catch beam sabers rather than deflecting with the shield. While her opponent could've simply deactivated the saber to keep hold of it, instinct led the Gaia's pilot to simply push-off. As both Kira and Setsuna said, people, especially soldiers, were predictable.

As the Gaia's rifle was leveled her way, Flay pierced it with a round from her shield-cannons, destroying it.

Kira had taught her marksmanship.

* * *

The _Minerva_

The ZAFT warship shuddered as the Divina Guardian started to fire on the warship through a narrow space in-between the rocks.

"Where are Shinn and the others?" asked Talia.

"They're still fighting the other mobile suits, ma'am," answered Meyrin.

"Doesn't this ship have anymore mobile suits?" asked Durandal, a note of concern in his voice.

"We don't have any more pilots," retorted Talia, practically on instinct.

Athrun stiffened slightly, almost volunteering on the spot, but ultimately deciding not too. It was already questionable enough that Flay and the others were out there fighting—as much as he wanted to help. Athrun was able to recognize that doing so would only threaten Orb politically. Even though Flay was Cagalli's assistant, as she was now, she was a soldier of Orb… and a member of the Taiyonoha Fleet as well.

Athrun's reaction to Talia's answer didn't go unnoticed by Cagalli or Durandal, and while the former looked at him with concern, the latter concealed the smirk that had formed on his face in response.

"Captain, what if we blow away the debris in front of us with the Tannhauser?" suggested Arthur.

"We'll just end up blowing up more debris around ourselves," said Talia.

It was then that Athrun thought of it; a way he could help without politically threatening Orb.

"Captain, how many of the starboard thrusters are still active?" he asked.

"What?" said Talia, turning to face the young man.

Durandal nodded his head, signaling her to answer. "Six," she answered. "But if we go out into open space, we'll be a sitting duck. They'll use us for target practice!"

"Fire all your starboard guns along with the thrusters," ordered Athrun. "Right against the asteroid."

The bridge crew stared at Athrun incredulously.

"The explosion will push away the ship in one motion," explained Athrun. "Along with the surrounding rock."

Talia looked down, considering the idea.

"That's insane!" objected Arthur. "Imagine the damage to the ship's hull if we did that!"

"It's more important that we get out of here," Athrun shot back. "We're nothing abut a target, and it'll only get worse the longer we stay."

Arthur glared at Athrun who looked away, his opinion given. Now, it was simply a matter of whether the Captain would agree with him.

"Talia?" questioned Durandal.

Talia sighed. "You do have a point," she admitted. "Very well. We'll give it a try."

"But Captain–" started Arthur.

"We'll have to discuss the subject later, Arthur," said Talia. "Prepare to fire all weapons on the starboard side. Starboard thrusters to maximum as we fire; match the timing."

"Preparing to fire starboard weapons," replied Chen.

"Engaging starboard thrusters on signal," added Malik.

As they spoke, Arthur fought back the glare he was throwing at Athrun over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the _Girty Lue_ advanced on the trapped _Minerva_ as Nanai continued to fire on it. The combined firepower of the ship and mobile ship would be enough to severely damage the _Minerva_, even if it couldn't destroy it completely.

"Bogey-1, distance: 150," reported Bart.

"All hands, brace for shockwave impact," said Talia. "Starboard thruster to maximum!"

The remaining starboard thrusters of the _Minerva_ activated, pushing the ship against the rocks pinning them.

"All starboard weapons, fire!" ordered Arthur.

The starboard missile tubes fired off a spread of missiles as the starboard Tristan beam cannon and Isolde triple cannon fired. The explosion threw up rocks into space. Nanai cursed as she fired every weapon her machine had to protect herself from the flying rocks. The rest of the nearby mobile suits stopped fighting and turned to the asteroid to see the _Minerva_, battered, but still functional, emerge from the asteroid.

"Turn our bow thirty!" ordered Talia. "Target Bogey-1!"

"Aiming Tannhauser!" said Arthur, gripping his console as the ship continued to shake. "Target: Bogey-1!"

The powerful positron blaster cannon unfolded from the front of the warship as a wave of dust and rock headed for the _Girty Lue_.

"Evasive maneuvers! Hard to port!" ordered Lee as the debris reached his ship.

"Fire!" shouted Talia.

The Tannhauser fired, the powerful positron beam tearing through the dust cloud, grazing the starboard side of the _Girty Lue_, damaging it. The _Minerva_ flew past the _Girty Lue_ as smoke poured out of the damaged carrier.

"Damn," cursed Neo. "We had them on the ropes and now they're back in the game!"

Neo flew towards the _Minerva_, but Rey moved to intercept him, firing repeatedly on the Exus. Neo grit his teeth in annoyance, but realized there was no choice.

As the Exus evaded the fire from the ZAKU, Neo dropped a trio of signal flares where the _Girty Lue _couldn't possibly miss them.

"Fire the retreat signal for Zabiarov and the others," said Lee with a sigh as he saw Neo's signal flares, not that he needed them to know what they had to do. Still, he hadn't worked with Neo long, and didn't know if the Captain was like other commanders Lee had worked under, who would refuse the possibility of retreating until they'd lost everything but their lives. "We're leaving this area."

* * *

Meanwhile

"Omicron 3!" ordered Aleksi. The three Greencoats broke apart, fleeing into the debris as the Specter, Blu Duel and Verde Buster fired on them.

"Looks like you're up, Rache," said Treize. Rache didn't need to be told twice, and started firing on the debris, creating a massive explosion. However, the Omicron formations were the most flexible and adaptable of all… because they weren't an actual formation.

They were a defensive setup.

"Formation Delta 22!" ordered Aleksi. Smirking, Jessie and Tristan took up flanking positions, forming the diamond pattern once again. However, Treize noticed that they were moving much more slowly than usual, which worried him slightly.

"Don't fire on the head," he warned the other two. "That's not a Speartip. Hit all three at once!"

The three Extended fired on the trio, Rache shooting at Jessie, Silber firing on Tristan, and Treize himself taking the center. They blocked a few shots with their shields, but suddenly, the GuAIZ Rs moved inward, sidling right up against the GuAIZ and grabbing hold of it. Instinctively, Rache and Silber moved their weapons inward as well… but then they spotted just what the three GuAIZs were up too, and all three Extended cursed as the GuAIZ Rs added their thrust to that of the GuAIZ, accelerating it before they flew upwards. Aleksi pulled back on her thrusters, maximum reverse, and withdrew her extensional arrestors.

This sent the two large rocks she'd been dragging behind Jessie and Tristan flying straight into Rache and Silber, knocking them away as Tristan fired on the Specter. Treize fired his verniers, but then realized his mistake—the boosters were oriented downwards, meaning the bulk of their thrust sent the Specter flying in one of two directions with only partial adjustments possible: forwards… or upwards, straight into the kick Jessie sent his way, sending the Specter tumbling back and downwards, giving Aleksi an opening that she didn't miss, her GuAIZs beam claws cutting away the Specter's shield.

"Damn it, how could we make this mistake?!" cursed Treize. "Unbeatable one-on-one… but completely vulnerable to this sort of attack! I can't believe our training never covered _teamwork_! How did we miss this?!"

"_For the record, I blame those idiots who handled our training at Lodonia!_" said Rache.

"_I'll blame these damn GuAIZs and blow them all to hell!_" said Silber. Suddenly, the Abyss and the Chaos crashed into asteroids nearby, sparks emitted from holes and gashes in their bodies. One of the Abyss's fins was missing, and the Chaos had lost a leg. The Forbidden, Raider and Athena flew towards the three Greencoats.

"_I guess you don't need the help, but do you want a hand?_" asked Shani, clearly amused.

"_Six-on-five… numbers are in our favor,_" commented Clotho.

Suddenly, the Gaia and Strike Raven came crashing out of a chunk of colony debris. The combined thrust of the Strike Raven and the Raven Striker was too much for the Gaia, and Flay knocked Stella into another asteroid.

"_Seven-on-six,_" said Flay.

"We'll take all the help we can get," said Aleksi. Her eyes were diverted to the Impulse being thrown back by the Strike Noir. "Actually, Shinn looks like he could use some help. The Blast Impulse isn't well-suited to an enemy like that."

However, before the battle between the mobile suits could continue, flares were shot from the _Girty Lue_, signaling the Extendeds' retreat.

"Damn it!" cursed Treize, punching the screen. "Everyone, time to go."

"_Aw… But I'm not done!_" complained Maia as she and Shinn continued to trade blows with her swords and his javelin.

"_Yeah!_" added Auel as he glared at the Forbidden.

"I said, _it's time to go_. Am I clear?" said Treize.

"_Okay big brother,_" said Maia before she kicked the Impulse in the chest, knocking Shinn back, allowing her to withdraw.

"_Yeah, yeah, I'm going,_" grunted Auel, leaping off the rock he was on and retreating. Nearby, the Gaia and Chaos did the same.

"This is not over," said Treize to the ZAFT and Orb pilots. "And Goldilocks… I'd enjoy your remaining breaths if I were you. You don't have many left."

With that, Treize raced away, fleeing for the _Girty Lue _as the Specter threatened to run low on power.

* * *

The Bridge of the _Minerva_

"Captain. Bogey-1 and its mobile suits are retreating," reported Bart.

"The Impulse, GuAIZs and the Orb mobile suits are critically low on power," added Meyrin, pausing for a moment. "We also lost Shawn and Dale."

Talia sighed. "Ship status?"

"Due to the explosions earlier, Engine Number Two and the port side heat sensors were critically damaged," answered Arthur.

"Captain Gladys, we've done enough," said Durandal. "We need to stop and lick our wounds before planning our next move. Plus I can't risk keeping Representative Athha around here any longer."

"You're right," said Talia, sighing lightly.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

A short while later

"Damn it!" shouted Jessie as he threw his helmet on the hanger floor. "I can't believe we let that bastard escape!"

"Calm down," said Tristan, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Jessie clenched his fists, trying to restrain his anger. Shawn and Dale were dead, killed by that monster. The four of them had gone through the Academy together, from their first day at the Academy to their graduation and assignment to the _Minerva_.

Shawn, the joker, an orphan from the last war, he was always trying to make everyone laugh; friendly and good-hearted. Dale, the master poker player, the oldest of three siblings; a little on the cocky side, but a good guy through and through.

Now they were gone.

Aleksi looked at Jessie with concern in her eyes. John spotted it, walking over to her with the four Orb pilots.

"Think he'll be okay?" he asked softly.

"He's strong," said Aleksi. "They were all strong, and they were all good people." She sighed. "It's not gonna be easy, though."

"Those guys we fought today," said Shani, turning to Clotho. Clotho nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "No doubt about it."

"What?" asked Rey, approaching them. The rest of the _Minerva_'s pilots—with the exception of Shinn—had begun to gather around them, though Shinn remained close enough to hear.

"They're like we used to be," said Shani. "They're victims of Blue Cosmos."

"Damn it," said Clotho, punching the wall. "If only we knew where that damn lab was…"

"You can't change the fact that it was hidden from you," said John. "This isn't your fault."

The two Extended sighed.

"I guess you're right," said Shani. "But…"

"No use taking blame that you don't deserve," said Tolle. Flay nodded.

"You do what you can," she said. "What you did today… well, it was better than the rest of us."

"She's right," said Aleksi. "We may have done some damage to the Specter, but that was three-on-one. We couldn't have done what you did."

"How…" came Shinn's voice. He turned to glare at them. "How the hell did all of you do so much better than the rest of us?!"

John and Aleksi sighed, while the Greencoats and the Orb pilots—except Flay—glared at Shinn.

"Because you tried to act completely on your own," said John. "A lot of people these days are underestimating the value of teamwork. What do you think the key to the fame of the Alaric Team and the Speartip was? It wasn't the merits of any individual, it was the merits of our _teamwork_. Yes, individual abilities are incredibly important… but unless you're completely cutoff, this is secondary to teamwork. _That_ is why the others did so much better than the Redcoats."

"Soldiers are predictable," added Aleksi. "I knew how our opponents would react to different moves, and based our formations and maneuvers around that knowledge. Shinn, when you see a Speartip flying your way, how do you counter it?"

"You blunt the head," replied Shinn without hesitation. "Take out the lead mobile suit."

"_Exactly_," said Aleksi. "And when you predictably shoot at the head of the spear, you open yourself up to dozens of different maneuvers if you're opponents predicted it. I knew the Specter would attack me, because I was the head of the spear. Therefore, I was ready to defend myself before the pilot had even begun to move. This put my teammates in an advantageous position to attack the enemy, creating an entire chain of openings to exploit. We inflicted tremendous damage because we sacrificed _personal_ _glory _for _team_ _survival and victor_y."

"And _that_," said John. "Is the key to true victory… both on the battlefield _and_ in life."

* * *

_Minerva _Corridors

A short while later

Meyrin floated down the corridor, thoughts focused on the revelation the Chairman presented just before the battle.

Athrun Zala, the Crimson Knight of Justice, the man who stopped GENESIS, the Greatest Hero of the Bloody Valentine War… was aboard this ship.

Meyrin couldn't help but feel somewhat shy about the idea of talking to him now. The Black Hawk was famous… the Knights and Angels were living legends. There were literally hundreds of different versions of their stories, but the only one who anything was really definite about was the Crimson Knight. Meyrin was certain, though, that if she mentioned this to the others, they'd learn a lot about the story behind the other three, which was something both Meyrin and Lunamaria had always been fascinated by—Lunamaria especially; Meyrin knew her older sister had developed something of a hero worship crush on the White Angel, said to be the greatest mobile suit pilot of all time.

As Meyrin continued down the corridors, she saw the pilots emerge from the locker room, though she noted the absence of the Orb pilots.

"Shinn, Lunamaria, Rey!" called Meyrin. "Aleksi, Tristan, Jessie. You guys must be exhausted. Are you okay?"

"We're fine Meyrin," said Luna.

"Yeah," said Shinn, nodding slightly. "But Shawn and Dale…"

Even though the _Minerva_'s Redcoat and Greencoat pilots generally didn't get along (with the exception of Aleksi), they'd still been comrades, and it was obvious that Shinn regretted their deaths.

"That's war," said Aleksi grimly. "You're in ZAFT now. I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it."

"But–"

"Besides myself and my Commander," interrupted Aleksi. "My team consisted of four destroyers and over three dozen mobile suits, spearheaded by a series of Gold GuAIZs like mine. The Commander and I were the only survivors of Jachin Due. We got overwhelmed, we lost power, and sometimes we just faced a better pilot without being able to get support. I lost a lot of friends and comrades that day, but that's what war is about. That's why I hate it."

"Then why did you join ZAFT?" asked Tristan.

"I think you all know the answer to that," said Aleksi.

"Speaking of Jachin," said Meyrin. "The Representative's aid, Alex Dino? It turns out he's actually Athrun Zala."

"Athrun Zala? That guy?" gasped Shinn. Aleksi sighed.

"Yeah, the Chairman told everyone just before the battle," explained Meyrin. "He was the one who came up with the strategy that allowed us to survive."

"He did?" asked Jessie. Meyrin nodded.

"Do you think he can tell us more about the Angels and the other Knight?" asked Luna. Aleksi placed a hand on Luna's shoulder.

"Don't ask him," she said. "Don't bring up the subject of his comrades. You'll only be digging up painful memories for him. They died at Jachin Due as well." With that, Aleksi left, leaving a somewhat confused group of rookie pilots behind.

* * *

Lounge

"_We've lost the signal from Shawn's machine."_

_The GINN cut in half by the Strike's Schwert Gewehr at Heliopolis… "Miguel!"_

_The Buster's powerplant overloading… "Dearka!"_

_The Duel, consumed in an explosion with the Calamity… "YZAK!"_

_The Strike, disintegrating under the power of the __**Principality**__'s Lohengrin… "__**MU!**__"_

_The Raven destroyed to save the Freedom… "It's not your fault…"_

_The Conviction cut down by the Faith… "I love you, Makoto."_

"_What if the name is really a fake? Would it mean… that thing is fake? Is that what it would mean?"_

Athrun grit his teeth and shook his head, trying to clear it of these thoughts. His war was over. Athrun Zala, like Erik Saharin, Christopher Dante, Mu La Flaga, Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman, Patrick Zala, Rau Le Creuset and the ghost of Makoto Arata had died at the Second Battle of Jachin Due.

He was Cagalli's assistant, Alex Dino, now.

"You know, I can totally understand why he changed his name like that," came a female voice. "I mean, like Aleksi said, think of everything that happened to him."

"Are you serious?" asked another voice. Athrun looked up as Meyrin and the _Minerva_'s pilots, sans Aleksi, stepped into the lounge. "Whatever his past, he–"

At that moment, Lunamaria was cut off by a slight squeal from Meyrin, who hid behind her sister as she caught sight of Athrun sitting in the lounge.

"Hmph," murmured Shinn.

"Well… we were just talking about you, Athrun Zala," said Luna, walking forward. "And then presto, here you are. Isn't it funny how that happens?" Luna stopped in front of him. "It's really an honor to meet a legendary ace like you here."

"You're thinking of someone else," said Athrun. "My name is Alex Dino."

"And so that's why don't pilot mobile suits anymore?" questioned Lunamaria.

"Stop it Luna," said Shinn. "Who cares about people from Orb? They got no idea what's going on." Shinn turned and left, his words surprising Athrun. Jessie and Tristan both glared angrily at Shinn's retreating back. They were beginning to get seriously tired of him bad-mouthing Orb all the time.

"Excuse me," said Rey, throwing a quick salute before following Shinn.

"But I heard you stepped in and saved the ship from danger," said Luna, giving him a quick salute of gratitude. "Thank you." With that, she turned and left.

"Hey, wait for me!" said Meyrin, following her. "Sis!"

Tristan and Jessie sighed, stepping into the lounge and sitting down across from Athrun.

"Don't mind them," said Jessie. "Rey's cold, Shinn's an arrogant ass, Meyrin's always been shy when it comes to the Knights and Angels, and Luna's… well…"

"Luna," supplied Tristan simply. "Look, I don't really care who you are or who you claim to be. If you are Athrun Zala, then I can understand why you'd want to bury the past. It's not like I haven't done the same in some ways."

"I know I have," said Jessie. "In any case, we agree with Luna. Thank you for saving the ship, Alex."

The two stood to leave when Athrun finally spoke up again.

"The Knights and Angels are dead," said Athrun. "They gave their lives at Jachin Due."

The two Greencoats paused and looked back at him, uncertain what to make of his words.

"I'm sorry about Shawn and Dale," added Athrun. "I know what it's like to lose your friends and comrades."

"Thanks Alex," said Tristan before the two left.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that was fun. I particularly enjoyed Tolle, Shani and Clotho's work, but seeing Treize, Rache and Silber beaten back by mere GuAIZs was fun too. As I've repeatedly indicated, teamwork is something that is overlooked a lot in Gundam SEED. Aleksi exploits this to kick ass with Tristan and Jessie.**

**On that subject, I'd like to note than Kira and Makoto wouldn't have done any better than Treize did. Treize could've done more, except that the Specter's armaments are rather limited. Kira could've succeeded with the Freedom, but Treize and Makoto could've done the same. Mostly, it came down to the machine for Treize. Actually, Kira might've done a bit better, but that has more to do with his style, which would be called unconventional since it focuses on disabling rather than killing.  
**

**We also get a bit of insight into the Knights and Angels, but they're still largely an enigma. More will be explained next chapter.**

**I skipped out on Shinn's fight with Maia almost completely, leaving much of it implied the same way Akatsuki Leader13 did. Why? Because it would've been very bland and boring, frankly.**

**On a sidenote, it's pretty amusing to see the Natural Flay going up against the Extended Stella and beating her back, even though it's her first time in actual combat. She wasn't lying when she said that everyone had taught her well.**

**I'd also like to extend a request: I've got some thoughts for the M4 (which will only have a single unit appear until near the end of the story), but I'd like to know if my readers have any ideas. If so, send them in a PM. Anyone making suggestions in a review will be ignored; I want reviews focused on the chapter itself (and the mecha spec page, if you care for it), and I want the ability to respond, so this also applies to anonymous reviewers. Keep in mind that the M4 will be part of the Astray series. Therefore, it is light and agility-oriented, without PS, TP, VPS or Laminated Armor.**

**Alright, enough of that. The next chapter should have a fair number of changes to it from Akatsuki Leader13's version, so I'm sure you're all _really_ looking forward to that. ^_^**

**As always, please leave a review! Ja ne!**

* * *

_**Stardust Battlefield**_** Mecha Spec Page**

"_I won't let you bring down Junius Seven upon the Earth! Such tragedies must never be unleashed on the world again!" _– Flay Allster**.  
Strike Raven Gundam:**  
Description:  
A heavily customized Strike II unit commissioned by Flay Allster. Changes from the basic Strike II include the use of Trans-Phase Armor over Phase Shift, the use of the improved Raven Striker MkII, and the use of the Raven Gundam's head. Ultimately, this unique mobile suit has a performance far superior to contemporary Strike IIs, and its performance specs fall somewhere between those of the Raider and Justice Gundams. Furthermore, the Strike Raven's OS has been custom-tailored to Flay by her friend, Freedom Gundam pilot Kira Yamato and its primary weapon is the recovered shield of the Raven Gundam. This machine is officially marked as part of the Taiyonoha Fleet.

**Model Number:** MBF-X135**  
Code Name:** Strike Raven**  
Unit Type:** Limited Production Custom Commando Mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.87 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 72.4 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery w/Power Extender**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Trans-Phase Armor; Raven Striker Backpack/Subflight Lifter, can be separated from main body and used as a subflight system; Power Extender; Backup AI System;**  
Fixed Armament:** Dual 52mm Hyper-Velocity Shield Cannon w/Beam Trident Claw, mounted on left forearm; 2x Beam Sabers, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; 2x "Armor Schneider" Assault Knife, stored in wrist armor, hand-carried in use; 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle**  
Optional Fixed Armament (equipped with Raven Striker ):** 2x 52mm Hyper Velocity Cannon, fire-linked, mounted on underside of wings; 2x M2M3 76mm Machinegun, fire-linked, mounted on underside of wings; 2x "Ahura Mazda" Short-Range Plasma Cannon, mounted on wings;**  
Pilot:** Flay Allster**  
Appearance:** Its body resembles the Strike with a backpack similar to the Raven's flightpack, save larger. And the railguns, when the pack is raised, sit next to the head like the beam guns on the Fatum-00. Its head is the scarred head of the Raven.**  
Color:** Identical color scheme to the Raven. Primarily midnight blue with red trim. White thighs, biceps, and face.**  
Notes:** Unlike the Specter, I did a much more complete redesign of the Strike Raven, modeling it after the Strike IIs, but also adding in the Ahura Mazda on the Raven Striker and the shield of the Raven itself. It also features the power extender of the Strike Rouge, and a backup AI system for emergencies—or in the event that Flay feels showy and decides to use this to summon the Strike Raven (^_^).

_"Oh? You think that you're a better shot than me? There's a reason why this mobile suit is armed with a sniper rifle!"_ – John Alaric.**  
Farsight III:**  
Description:  
The second and perhaps more famous of the Strike II units deployed in the Bloody Valentine War, the Farsight III is the personal machine of John Alaric, ZAFT's legendary "Black Hawk" who led his team to numerous victories and possessed thought-unparalleled talent as a sniper. Although it employs a slightly different weapons layout, the Farsight III is only slightly superior to the Talos II in performance, but the fame of its pilot has caused this machine to almost totally eclipse its brother in some areas, occasionally to the extent that some people believe the Talos II didn't exist and is merely a story to downplay the fame of the Farsight III, which is somewhat ironic as the exact opposite has happened.

**Model Number:** MBF-XX105+P202QX**  
Code Name:** Farsight III**  
Unit Type:** Limited Production Custom Commando Mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union; Three Ships Alliance**  
First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in PS-reinforced cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.88 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 83.7 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor; Active Camouflage Defense Cloak; Aile Sniper Striker;**  
Fixed Armament:** Beam Pistol, stored on Aile Sniper Striker, hand-carried in use; MA-M21S Long-Range Beam Piercer Rifle, stored in two components on ankles, combined and hand-carried in use; 2x MA-M21E Beam Pistol, stored on upper arms, hand-carried in use; 2x Beam Saber, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; 2x "Armor Schneider" Assault Knife, stored in forearms, hand-carried in use; 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MA-MV03 Composite Shield: Dual Beam Claw, mounted on left arm;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** 60mm Long-Range Beam Sniper Rifle  
**Pilot:** John Alaric  
**Appearance:** Another Strike unit. Its Aile Sniper Pack is almost identical to the normal Aile Striker, save that it lacks the beam sabers. Instead, it holds the beam pistol where the left saber was, while the spot where the right one was is replaced with an improved sensor and targeting unit for the rifle. Its sniper rifle is similar to the sniper rifle of the Astray Blue Frame Second G.  
**Color:** Black with white trim. Two white strips running down the arms and legs. A white hawk on the right shoulder.  
**Notes:** This machine varies from Akatsuki Leader13's "Farsight II" in several ways, notably the addition of beam pistols, a GuAIZ shield, and an improved sniper rifle. The rifle was from John's custom GuAIZ, and is separated into two components. It's as strong as the 60mm rifle in terms of damage, but is more accurate and can pierce an anti-beam shield in one shot (still ineffective against the Forbidden's shields). However, it also has a slower rate-of-fire and will overheat if fired too much in too short a period of time. Like all machines of that era, it has received upgrades to the armor and weapons (particularly in efficiency), sensors, thrusters and the battery. Aside from that, there aren't any notable changes from the end of _Gundam SEED Dauntless_.

_"I don't care what anyone says, it's still a formidable machine, and **no**, I'm not suicidal. I'm just trying to be creative in my near-death experiences, so I need a lot of them."_ – Tolle Koenig.**  
MX1 Athena:**  
Description:  
An advanced limited production variant of the M1 Astray, analogous to ZAFT's commander mobile suit, the CGUE, the MX1 Athena is an advanced and powerful mobile suit that, even several years after its initial deployment, is still on par with the new state-of-the-art mobile suits employed by ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. Unlike the M1 Astray and the Murasame, the MX1 Athena is equipped with hardpoints for mounting Striker Packs, granting it the same versatility as the legendary Strike Gundam. Incorporating now-standard technological upgrades, the original prototype, perhaps the most famous of the line, remains in service as the personal machine of Tolle Koenig.

**Model Number:** MBF-MX1**  
Code Name:** MX1 Athena**  
Unit Type:** All-Purpose Multi-Mode Commander Type Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union; Three Ships Alliance**  
First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.53 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 54.61 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor; Hardpoints for mounting Striker Packs;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x "Armor Schneider" Assault Knife, stored in hips, hand-carried in use;**  
Optional Fixed Armament:** AQM/E-X01 Aile Striker Pack; AQM/E-X02 Sword Striker Pack; AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker Pack; AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker Pack; AQM/E-X05 Lightning Striker Pack; AQM/E-X06 Stealth Striker Pack; AQM/E-X07 Integrated Weapons Striker Pack (IWSP); AQM/E-X08 Aqua Striker Pack; P201QX Palace Striker Pack; P202QX Aile Sniper Striker Pack; P203QX Raven Striker Pack; P204QX Heavy-Arms Striker Pack; P205QX Surge Striker Pack;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Type 71 Kai Beam Rifle; Bazooka; Double Beam Gatling;**  
P201QX Palace Striker Armament:** 2x Anti-Armor Sword, stored on Palace Striker, hand-carried in use; Type 71 Beam Rifle, stored on waist, hand-carried in use; "Mamoru" Weapon Shield System: 50mm Pulse Beam Rifle, mounted on the left arm;**  
P202QX Aile Sniper Striker Armament:** 60mm Long-Range Beam Sniper Rifle, stored in two components on sides of Aile Sniper Striker, hand-carried in use; Beam Pistol, stored on Aile Sniper Striker, hand-carried in use; Active Camouflage Defense Cloak;**  
P203QX Raven Striker Armament**: 2x 52mm Hyper-Velocity Cannon, mounted on Raven Striker, positioned over shoulders in use; 2x M2M3 76mm machinegun, mounted on underside of Raven Striker wings;**  
P204QX Heavy-Arms Striker Armament:** "Taihō" Weapon Shield System: 50mm Beam Gatling Gun, 2x fire-linked Pulse Beam Rifle, mounted on left arm; 115mm Vulcan Cannon, mounted on right forearm; 2x Beam Javelin, stored on Heavy-Arms Striker, hand-carried in use; 2x Beam Saber, stored on Heavy-Arms Striker, hand-carried in use; 2x 6-tube 220mm Missile Pod, 5 missiles per tube, mounted on shoulders; 4x 8-tube 320mm Heavy Missile Launcher, 2 missiles per tube, mounted on legs;**  
P205QX Surge Striker Armament:** 55mm Beam Submachine Gun, stored on waist, hand-carried in use; 2x DES-G07D+ Anti Armor Sword, set includes long and short swords, stored on Surge Striker, hand-carried in use; Shield, mounted on left arm; High-Speed Burst Thrusters, mounted on Surge Striker;**  
Pilot:** Tolle Koenig  
**Appearance:** Identical to the M1 Astray, but lacking the M1s flightpack and with slightly thicker hip armor to store the assault knives.  
**Color:** Customizable by pilot, default colors match the M1 Astray. Tolle's colors are white, with a blue torso, black cockpit hatch and orange trimming.  
**Notes:** Everyone who's read _Gundam SEED Dauntless_ will recognize this machine in an instant. Aside from the usual technological upgrades—and two extra custom Striker packs—there's no difference between this machine and the original.

_"They've given me a second chance. It's probably more than I deserve, but I won't waste it." _– Shani Andras.**  
Forbidden Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Forbidden Gundam is one of seven Earth Alliance prototypes deployed in the invasion of the Orb Union and one of three that would later defect to the Three Ships Alliance during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Due to the restrictions of the Junius Treaty on Mirage Colloid technology, the Forbidden's original Geschmeidig Panzer was removed in favor of a more powerful magnetic shielding system that also blocks projectiles, but it is more power intensive. This also served to dramatically improve the power of the Forbidden's railguns and plasma induction cannon, making it a far more powerful machine than the original incarnation. The Forbidden retains its old pilot, Shani Andras.

**Model Number:** GAT-X252**  
Code Name:** Forbidden**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Close Combat Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation); Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
****First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.47 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 85.33 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Trans-Phase (TP) Armor; Atmospheric Flight Backpack; High-Energy Magnetic Shielding System;**  
Fixed Armament:** "Hresvelgr" Guided Plasma Cannon, mounted on backpack, operable only in close-combat mode; 2x "Eckzahn" 88mm Railgun, mounted on backpack, operable only in close-combat mode; 2x "Armfeuer" 115mm Machine Gun, mounted on forearms; 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** "Nidhoggr" Heavy Scythe**  
Pilot:** Shani Andras**  
Notes:** Well… I think that, despite being a few years since its production, this may be the strongest MS I've introduced so far. Let's face it: the others are strong and have their advantages… but in terms of raw power? The Forbidden retains all of its original weapons, but instead of the Geschmeidig Panzer, it uses a powerful magnetic field. This is more power-intensive, so TP armor is especially important for the Forbidden. However, as you saw in the chapter, this allows it to bend the paths of projectiles as well as beams, which Shani has no qualms on using with incoming friendly fire to catch an opponent off-guard. Furthermore, as a side effect of this powerful magnetic field, the Hresvelgr not only does more damage, but its path is almost completely subject to Shani's whims, making the weapon _extremely_ difficult to evade. Although it isn't shown, this magnetic field has also dramatically improved the railguns by radically increasing their velocity. Because of all this, most of the Forbidden's upgrades were geared towards improving efficiency and battery power than augmenting its offensive abilities.

_"Let me explain how the game works: I shoot; you run and try to survive." _– Clotho Beur.**  
Raider Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Raider Gundam is one of seven Earth Alliance prototypes deployed in the invasion of the Orb Union and one of three that would later defect to the Three Ships Alliance during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Unlike the other two, the Raider did not suffer technologically from the restrictions of the Junius Treaty, and so, upgrades to the Raider have had no real concern for the treaty. Its melee combat abilities have heavily augmented by the addition of the Raven Gundam's beam trident claw to the shield, a pair of hip-mounted beam sabers, improvements to the Ahura Mazda claws and a thruster upgrade to the Mjollnir. The Raider retains its original pilot, Clotho Beur.

**Model Number:** GAT-X370**  
Code Name:** Raider**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Attack Use Transformable Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation); Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
****First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.94 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 84.9 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Trans-Phase (TP) Armor; Mobile Armor Platform Transformation; Atmospheric Flight Wings/Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament: **"Zorn" 100mm Energy Cannon, mounted on mouth, operable in flight mode; Dual 52mm Hyper-Velocity Shield Cannon w/Beam Trident Claw, mounted on right forearm; 2x Type 70J Kai Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x "Ahura Mazda" Short-Range Plasma Cannon, mounted on claws, operable only in both mobile suit and flight modes; M417 80mm Machine Gun, mounted in nose, operable only in flight mode; 2x M2M3 76mm Machine Gun, mounted on shoulders, operable only in flight mode;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** "Mjolnir" Spherical Breaker, mounts thrusters for changing flight path**  
Pilot:** Clotho Beur**  
Notes:** Now here, we get to see a bit more change, though most of that change wasn't shown in the chapter. Besides the beam trident claw that gave the Raven victory over the Retribution, I add in beam sabers and the ability to use the Ahura Mazda in MS mode (that'll play a part later… ^_^). Perhaps somewhat more notably, I've added extra thrusters to the Spherical Breaker that allow Clotho to redirect it after firing it off, which is how he wrapped Auel up in the thing.


	5. Phase 05: Scars That Won’t Heal

**I have reached the undeniable conclusion: I am having _way_ too much fun with this. Especially this chapter. There's a _lot_ going on here, and plenty of original content and changed things from Akatsuki Leader13's version.**

**On a sidenote, my new display picture is the purest incarnation of awesomeness I have ever laid eyes on: Kira and Lacus in ZAFT Redcoat Uniforms.**

**Alright, I'm not gonna bore you all with inanities up here. On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the Pluvia cannon, the ZGMF-X00S, the ZAKU Surge, ZAKU Duel Arms, and the new character that appears in this chapter.  
**

* * *

Phase Five: Scars That Won't Heal

October 2nd, C.E. 73

* * *

Junius Seven

During Armory One Theft Incident

Unbeknownst to virtually everyone, a group of men and women in GINN High-Maneuver Type IIs and worker pods were moving around the largest piece of Junius Seven. They were all people who'd lost loved ones to the Bloody Valentine, and many had lost friends and even more loved ones to the war. For them, ultimate victory—the freedom and survival of the PLANTs—would never be enough. For them, the deaths of Christian Balliet, the pilot who destroyed Junius Seven, Jonathon Michaels, the officer who'd made it possible, and Muruta Azrael, the man who'd ordered the attack, would never be enough. Like Patrick Zala, they'd become blind fanatics.

For them, like Patrick Zala, genocide was the only path. In their minds, the souls of their loved ones could only rest when the Earth, the home of the Naturals, had been wiped clean of life.

"_Solar wind velocity is steady. Flare level S3. Estimated time to particle arrival, 30 seconds,_" one pilot reported.

"_Hurry up,_" said a GINN pilot. "_What about Unit 9?_"

"_We're just about ready sir,_" replied another.

A worker pod entered a code on the final motor. "_Flare motor ignition countdown starting._"

All of the mobile suits and pods started to withdraw from Junius Seven as one of them started the countdown.

"_Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… particles have arrived. Flare motors activating._"

Hundreds of red lights appeared across Junius Seven as the flare motors caught the energy of the solar winds, increasing the speed of the massive wreckage, driving it towards Earth.

"_Junius Seven… is moving._"

Sato, the leader of the group, glanced at a group of photos taped to his console.

"Helen, Christine… we'll be reunited… after this," he whispered as his former home headed for Earth.

"Now fall! Our great tombstone!" Sato shouted to heavens. "On a world that has forgotten the voices of sorrow! That closes its eyes to the truth and chooses to wallow in deceit! The hour of correction is now at hand!"

* * *

_Minerva _Captain's Quarters

Early the next morning

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Talia rose from her bed, draping a sheet over her naked body. What could possibly be going on at this hour? She reached her desk and opened the comm. "Yes?"

"_Captain. There's a message from the Supreme Council on Channel 1 for Chairman Durandal._"

Talia looked over her shoulder at her bed. Gilbert nodded.

"I'll take it in here," he said.

* * *

Captain's Office

Thirty Minutes Later

Cagalli suppress a yawn as she rubbed her tired eyes. Standing beside her were Athrun and Flay, with John and the other Orb pilots leaning against the wall behind her. All of them were wondering why the Chairman had called for them in the middle of the night. The door to the office opened, and Durandal walked in with Talia.

"Princess," greeted Durandal, his tone grim. "I'm afraid I have some grave news for you."

"What is it? What's happened?" asked Cagalli, growing more alert at the grim tone.

"Take a seat and I'll explain everything," answered Durandal.

Cagalli and Durandal both sat down as Flay and Athrun stood beside Cagalli while Captain Gladys stood next to Durandal, and the others didn't move. The Chairman let out a tired sigh and explained what they had just learned from ZAFT; information that stunned and horrified all seven of them.

"What?! Junius Seven is moving towards Earth?!" exclaimed Cagalli.

"But Junius Seven's orbit was supposed to be stable for hundreds of years. How could this happen?" asked Flay.

"We don't know. Perhaps an asteroid hit it and altered its course," suggested Durandal. "Regardless, it is now on a collision course with the Earth."

"If it falls… Orb… No, the entire planet…" Cagalli stopped, unable to finish her sentence.

Flay's mind was on her son and Chris. One of her hands was wrapped around her locket and Chris's dog tags. Junius Seven had been Chris's home before it was destroyed. His parents and many of his friends had died there and it was their resting place. And Alexander was living in Orb. He was in danger. If Junius Seven hit the Earth, he would…

Her hand clenched around the two objects. She would not allow that to happen. She had lost enough already.

The others thoughts were also directed towards family, or the closest they had, in some cases. John though of his brother and sister-in-law-to-be; Tolle thought of Miriallia, his parents and all his friends; Shani and Clotho thought about their effective adopted family, Louisa, Setsuna, Lacus, Kira, Asagi and many others who'd treated them with kindness after the war in spite of their sins.

"Indeed Princess. If Junius Seven collides with Earth, the damage would be catastrophic," said Durandal. "At the moment, we're doing all we can to stop the collision and investigating what caused this disaster." Durandal sighed. "I must apologize for involving you in yet another incident, but I have ordered the _Minerva_ to head for Junius Seven once our repairs have been completed. I hope you understand."

Cagalli nodded. "Of course," she said. "This is vital to all of us as well. And I offer any assistance that I or the Orb personnel with me can offer."

"I appreciate your offer, Princess," said Durandal, bowing his head slightly in gratitude. "I fear that we may have to call on them before this is over."

* * *

Crew Lounge

The Next Day

_Minerva_ pilots and some of the crew as well as John were sitting around, talking about the news that had spread across the ship like wildfire; that Junius Seven was now on a collision course with Earth had come as a shock to all of them. Tolle, Shani and Clotho had all headed down to the hangar, working obsessively to make sure their machines were in the best condition possible.

"Hmm… but how did it start moving?" asked Vino before taking a sip from his drink.

"Maybe a meteorite or something hit it," suggested Yolant.

"So then is it really on a collision course with Earth?" asked Shinn.

"Aye," replied John grimly, staring into the contents of his coffee mug.

Luna sighed. "First the attack on Armory One, which we have yet to wrap up, and now this. Just what is going on?"

"So what are we going to do when get to Junius Seven?" asked Tristan. "I mean how do we stop something like that?"

"Simple," came Aleksi's voice as she entered the room. "We're going to shatter it."

"Shatter it? How?" asked Vino.

"Captain Gladys and I just finished talking to the ZAFT Commander that's been placed in charge of the operation," said Aleksi. "It's impossible to change its course in time. If someone could get there sooner, there's a chance its course could be changed, but even then, it isn't worth the risk. Instead, we're going to use Meteor Breakers to shatter Junius Seven into countless smaller pieces. Most of those will burn up in the atmosphere. Those that do get through will cause considerably less damage, and, with a little luck, virtually no damage will be inflicted even by those."

"But that thing's huge!" exclaimed Yolant. "Even if we do break it in half, that's still eight kilometers we have to break up!"

"And your point is?" questioned Jessie softly.

"How do you destroy something that big?"

"And what about the victims?" added Meyrin quietly. "It's filled with the bodies of those who died."

"But if it hits, Earth will be annihilated," countered Rey, just as quietly. "Nothing would be left. Either living, or dead."

Everyone was silent for moment, contemplating what would happen. Most of them had no sort of personal stake in the matter—but a few did, including the three Greencoat pilots.

"Oh well… if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It's out of our hands," mused Yolant. "But look on bright side, it'd solve a lot of hassles for us and things would be better for us in the PLANTs."

_WHAM!_

"Ow!"

"Don't even joke about that, kid," said John coldly as he stood over Yolant.

"Hey! He was just kidding around. Yolant didn't mean that," said Shinn in defense of his friend.

"You don't get it, do you? We're talking about billions of lives here! It would be the same as every PLANT being destroyed at the same time," replied John. "All of your friends, family, everyone you know, gone in an instant. That is was we are dealing with here. I don't give a damn about whatever problem any of you have with the governments of Earth, its people do not deserve annihilation. And you're lucky that neither Representative Athha nor Flay are here at the moment. Both of them would kick your asses for that."

"We know that!" Shinn yelled back. "Yolant was just trying to lighten the mood!"

"You do not lighten mood with that kind of crap," John shot back. "I thought the PLANTs had changed since Patrick Zala ran things. What he said was the kind of garbage that he, that creep La Creuset and those that followed them would say."

Unnoticed by the rest of them, Rey tensed at the mention of Le Creuset.

"If that's what those in the ZAFT still believe, then I'm glad I left."

Shinn opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Aleksi interrupted.

"That's enough!" she snapped. "Commander Alaric, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, and I agree with what you're saying, but no matter how you look at it, you're stepping out of line! You, Shinn, shouldn't be defending such words, no matter the intent, and you should never even think about such things in a joking manner, Yolant!"

Everyone but John stepped back slightly. They'd never seen Aleksi so angry before.

John nodded. "Sorry about that," he said. "I got a little carried away there."

"I don't blame you," said Aleksi, turning to Shinn and Yolant. "Well?"

"I'm sorry," grumbled Shinn.

"Yeah, sorry," said Yolant sincerely. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"That's fine, as long as you learn from it," said Aleksi. "Now, let's focus on the mission ahead of us, alright? We don't want anything that was said here becoming reality."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Aleksi acknowledged this and left the lounge. After a moment, Luna decided to leave as well, heading for the hangar. She wanted to speak with those other Orb pilots. She was still curious about the Knights and Angels, and one of them might be able to tell her something. It wasn't like she really had anything better to do until they arrived at Junius Seven.

* * *

A Private Estate

Earth

A group of wealthy men sat around a plush, expensive-looking lounge, talking about the looming crisis.

"Well then, this is a shocking situation."

"Indeed. A truly unprecedented crisis. The doomsday scenario of Earth."

"I can't help but wonder if someone actually wrote such scenario."

"I've ordered Phantom Pain to investigate that matter," said Djibril to his associates.

"Does that even matter now? What good will such an investigation do?" asked Mr. Lorne.

"That's what we are investigating," answered Djibril.

"Why did you call this meeting Djibril?" asked Mr. Gradenko, an impatient tone in his voice. "I can't see the Atlantic Federation and all the other nations of the Earth not doing everything they can to prevent that thing from falling and taking the necessary precautions in case it does hit."

Djibril suppressed a smirk. "I'm not being overly dramatic when I say that I am completely shocked by what's happened," he said. "Junius Seven… is this really happening? And why? Those were the first questions that entered my mind as well."

Mr. Hoffesommer punched the table he was sitting at. "Cut to the chase Djibril."

"No. That's the whole point," he replied with a smirk. "Given what's about to happen, the whole world will be asking these questions. That's where we come in. Durandal of the PLANTs has already issued a warning to all the nations of the Earth and that ZAFT is already doing everything they can to prevent a collision."

"He was quick to do so."

"They're panicking as well."

"Perhaps this event is due to natural causes," mused Mr. Lorne. "If that's the case…"

"So what. That's irrelevant now," said Djibril, seeking to crush any thought of that before it started. "What's important is what happens after the crisis. What's important is the answer that we will provide the grieving citizens when they ask, 'Why did this happen?' Which is why I have secured us a useful asset." He turned to the door. "Miss Ryker."

A young woman in a light blue dress entered the room. She was an attractive girl, with black eyes and her skin was a dark tan color. She politely bowed before the group.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," she said. "I am Serena Ryker."

"Miss Ryker will be the public face of the Earth Alliance after this crisis has ended." He turned to the girl. "Why don't give them a little preview."

"Yes sir," said Serena, turning to the group of gathered men. "This is the speech I've prepared should Junius Seven be broken into smaller, less damaging pieces that hit the Earth. 'People of Earth, a terrible tragedy has befallen us. Cities have been devastated, countless lives have been lost. A horrible accident… or at least that's what Chairman Durandal of ZAFT would have you believe. The truth is that is was _not_ an accident, but an attack on us.'" She cleared her throat and smiled. "You'll have to wait for the rest, gentlemen."

"That will be all, Miss Ryker," said Djibril with a wave of his hand. "You may leave."

She bowed her head. "As you wish, Lord Djibril," she replied before leaving.

"Hmph… where did you find that girl?"

"An associate of mine found her about a year ago. A poor, starved orphan from the last war," answered Djibril. "Who better to be the 'Voice of the People' for this war?"

"Impressive Djibril. You've been thinking quite far in advance for this," commented Gradenko.

"Of course," said Djibril. "Regardless of the cause, no one can deny that very soon, one clumsy, stupid object up in the sky is going to fall down on our heads. It's a humiliation! Think of how this looks. Because of that cursed thing, we all run around, looking scared and spineless. Someone must pay for this disgrace. But who?" Djibril paused, letting his question sink in. "Who else but the Coordinators who put that thing into space in the first place! Doesn't that make sense?"

"That's fine with me. But given the situation, the damage may be so severe that we may not have the strength to fight a war," Lorne pointed out.

"That is why I have gathered you here today," replied Djibril. "Escaping and seeking shelter is fine. But immediately afterwards, we should go forward and attack with the plan. I'd like to request your collective approval."

"Brilliant."

"A bold move."

"The resulting hatred for the Coordinators will get the people riled up. They will fight."

"Those that are left anyway." Mr. Lorne sighed. "I suppose that we'll be uniting the people with the power of hatred."

Gradenko nodded. "It appears that there are not objections, Djibril. We'll meet again after the crisis has ended. Have a detailed plan prepared by then."

"I shall."

* * *

_Minerva_ Hangar

"You know, you were the toughest opponents we'd ever faced," said Aleksi to Shani and Clotho. "My Commander had never even drawn in battle before."

"You should be talking to Louisa about that," said Clotho. "Aside from the two of us, she was the only one of the six of us to survive that battle. Seven, if you count Endo and the attack on Orb."

"Endo?" asked Aleksi.

"Kazuo Endo," said Shani, pulling up the Forbidden's keyboard and going to work on the systems. "He piloted the Relentless, the successor to the Dauntless. You've probably heard of it. He did more damage to the Alaric Team at Panama than they'd ever taken before."

"I heard about that machine," said Aleksi. "It was never seen on the frontlines again, though."

"Yeah, the original was destroyed by the Faith at Orb," said Clotho. "From what I understand, there was some difficulty in operating the machine because of its design, so no additional units were ever produced."

"I see," said Aleksi. "So what was it like, facing the Knights and Angels?"

"About the only thing we really enjoyed in those days," said Shani. "Music, games, reading, sketching… all of it was a pastime, something to occupy us in our spare time. Back then, we only enjoyed ourselves on the battlefield, facing opponents like them."

"Must have been interesting, meeting them when it was over," said Aleksi.

"Well, don't forget that our comrades had killed several of theirs," said Clotho. "Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman. You heard of them?"

"Of course," said Aleksi.

"Orga Sabnak killed them at Jachin," said Shani. "There's also an interesting touch of guilt to add to that. If we'd been a little faster back then, we could've saved the Hawk of Endymion. As it was, all we could do was avenge his death."

As Aleksi continued to chat with the former biological CPUs, Lunamaria entered the hangar and floated towards the MX1 and the third of the pilots John Alaric had brought with him.

Gently stopping herself outside the cockpit of the Orb machine, Luna looked inside to see the brunet typing away at the keyboard, checking the machine over and running diagnostics maintenance.

"Hey, Lieutenant Koenig," called Luna. The lieutenant looked up at Luna.

"Ah, Miss ZAFT Red," he said cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

She scowled. "My name is Lunamaria," she said.

"Tolle Koenig," he replied. "None of this 'lieutenant' stuff, we're not even in the same military."

"I guess… Tolle," said Luna.

"So, I take it there was something you wanted to talk about?" said Tolle, stepping out of the cockpit and pushing himself gently upwards, towards the Athena's head. Luna followed.

"Yeah," said Luna.

"Let me guess," he said, spinning around to face her and grabbing one of the Athena's head spikes, reaching out a hand to grab hers and stop her momentum as well. "You wanted to ask me about the 'blue-haired-hottie-who-has-such-an-intense-gaze-in-his-eyes-that-you-could-fall-into-them' guy that the Representative has for an aide. Am I right?"

Seeing the small smirk pulling at his lips and the glittering in his laughing eyes as he looked down at her, Lunamaria just scowled.

"I take it that I'm not the first to ask you questions like this then," she muttered bitterly, forcefully suppressing her annoyance at how quickly she'd been found out.

"Don't worry, happens all the time when Cagalli leaves home," said Tolle, laughter clear in his voice as he continued. "Although you're one of the more subtle ones who I've had to reluctantly break her heart with the news that he's taken, a hundred and ten percent. Sorry."

"That's not what I wanted to ask," she snapped.

"His name is _not_ Athrun Zala," said Tolle immediately, speaking in a slight monotone. "Though he does look remarkably similar to the guy, Alex has never actually participated in the Bloody Valentine War because his parents refused to allow him to join the military. Instead, he was enrolled in a technical college and was accepted as Representative Athha's aide shortly after the war ended and he graduated at the top of his class. Yes, he does know how to pilot mobile suits because, as the Representative's aide, he must have many diverse skills in accordance to how to best serve her needs and wishes, as well as reacting to an emergency without authorization."

Glancing at the somewhat stupefied face of the young pilot, Tolle smirked broadly at her. "Was that everything you wanted to know?"

Snapping out of the slight daze, Lunamaria just shook her head as she let out a quiet chuckle. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would've bought that load of crap, hook, line and sinker."

"Damn it," said Tolle, chuckling himself. "I thought I might've been actually convincing this time! I mean, I didn't stutter or choke, laugh, or even grin this time! I guess Miss Clyne's acting lessons and all Lady Setsuna's political lectures on etiquette have been wasted on me… oh well, never wanted to be a damn politician anyway."

Lunamaria stared at him for a moment, but was unable to hold it in and started laughing, drawing the attention of several mechanics and pilots.

"Wonder what's gotten her so cheerful," said Aleksi.

"Tolle's a bit of a joker," said Shani.

After a few minutes, as she realized people were staring at her strangely, Luna brought herself back under control and turned a glare on Tolle, who was smiling broadly at her.

"He's only part of what I wanted to talk about," said Luna. "I thought about it, and you were the only one it seemed I could approach about this. What can you tell me about the other three? The Black Knight and the two Angels?"

Tolle's smile faded in an instant, and he leaned back lightly against the head of his machine.

"That's a very sensitive subject you're bringing up there," said Tolle, his tone completely neutral. "A lot of people see the Crimson Knight as the greatest hero there ever was… but if you ask him, he'll tell you that it's a load of horsecrap… and while he's certainly a hero, anyone who knows the true story will tell you the exact same thing."

"What do you mean?" asked Luna, confused.

"Yes, Athrun destroyed GENESIS," said Tolle. "Yes, he did it to stop it from firing on Earth. Yes, he risked his life and lost his machine to do so. What most people don't know is what finally pushed him to make that decision."

"What?" whispered Luna, almost afraid to know the answer.

"_Guilt_," said Tolle. "Ridiculous as it may be, Athrun feels that the sins of his father are _his_ sins. _That_ is why he's so intent on burying the past. It's why he'll tell you that all four of them died at Jachin Due."

"Do you mean that the other three are dead?" asked Luna.

"I can't really answer that," said Tolle. "It depends on what you consider dead. When Athrun nearly killed me two and a half years ago, he actually did kill the person I was. I'm different from back then. Some of the old me is still here, but a lot of it isn't as well.

"I… I see," said Luna.

"Anyways, if you want the real heroes, you need to discuss the Angels," continued Tolle. "We've got the Dauntless Angel of Faith. Besides being one of those to bring down the nukes heading for the PLANTs, she defeated dozens of warships and several hundred GuAIZs before she pushed the Faith past the breaking point and her machine began to collapse. Not to mention, if it weren't for her, we wouldn't have those two on our side now." Tolle motioned to the Forbidden and Raider. "And they'd likely be dead. She also defeated the Conviction when a… a ZAFT defense program took control of it. If the Faith had been just a little stronger, she probably could've stopped GENESIS on her own."

"And next we have the White Angel of Freedom," he continued. "Now here's where we talk about perhaps the greatest hero of that war. He stopped more nukes than anyone else, saved a lot of people from the Providence, and finally, destroyed a machine that was supposed to be radically superior to his own. If circumstances had been different, he probably would've been able to destroy GENESIS without needing to blow his machine to high hell, which, no offense intended to my blue-haired friend, is a lot more than Athrun could've done."

"I see," said Luna.

"That about answer your questions?"

"There's one more thing," said Luna. "Is the story that the Angels were lovers true?"

Tolle chuckled. "Not at all," he said. "They were more like brother and sister. Ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing, but you're not the first person to make that mistake. A lot of people who knew them personally got the same general impression, but they were just extraordinarily close."

Tolle paused, staring at Luna closely. There was a flicker of relief in her eyes. Tolle chuckled.

"Okay, let me guess," he said. "You've had a crush on the White Angel of Freedom for eighteen plus months now, correct?"

Luna blushed, confirming Tolle's query.

"Well, that's interesting," said Tolle. "Most people are far more interested in the Crimson Knight. But then, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You look like someone who can really appreciate the ultimate mobile suit pilot."

"There's more than that!" said Luna. "I've listened to everything I can about him, and from what I can piece together, he's a great guy! Gentle, kind-hearted, a pacifist at heart, but ready and willing to fight for the sake of others! Not to mention, he's supposed to be really handsome."

"Well, much like Athrun, he's taken," said Tolle. The inner romance-starved teenager in Luna let out a loud scream of pain, despair, and fury as her greatest fears were confirmed. "A couple hundred percent, actually. Assuming you could pry him away from his girlfriend, who, despite being a naïve-acting pacifist herself is quite vicious when it comes to him, you'd still have to deal with his 'sisters'."

"Sisters?" asked Luna, hiding her slight bitterness and despair at the knowledge her long-time crush was completely taken.

"Flay… and the Dauntless Angel herself," said Tolle evenly as he pushed down towards the cockpit. "Alright, I think I've answered all your questions. I'd like to get back to work now."

That was fine with Luna, who only nodded in response. She needed some time to process all this… and cope with the knowledge that the White Angel was unavailable.

Tolle sighed almost contently, settling back into the Athena's cockpit and pulling out the keyboard to get back to work. He heard some shuffling outside the cockpit, but didn't look up, sighing instead.

"I thought I just told you, I'd like to get back to work," he said almost irritably. "I'm not answering any more questions about those four."

"How about an answer regarding your conversation with my sister?" asked a voice completely different form what Tolle had expected. He looked up to see Meyrin Hawke floating outside the cockpit of his machine, and internally cursed his stupidity.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I thought you were Lunamaria."

"I gathered as much," said Meyrin, smiling. "It's alright. So, how did it go? Did she drill you with questions?"

"It went alright, and yes, she did," said Tolle. Keyboard forgotten, the Orb lieutenant fell into a pleasant chat with the younger Hawke sister, his work on the Athena momentarily forgotten and put aside.

* * *

Junius Seven

Two days later

"Commander. We're in position, as are the _Valkyrie_, the _Einherjar_, the _Thor_, the _Loki_ and the _Baldur_," reported an operator.

The Commander nodded. "Patch me through to all our forces."

"Yes ma'am."

"All ZAFT personnel, this is Commander Diana Kessel," said the Commander. "As you are aware, Junius Seven is on a collision course with Earth. If it hits, the devastation it will cause will be catastrophic. We cannot allow that to happen. All vessel, deploy mobile suits. Get the meteor breakers in position. Commander Kessel out."

"You know, I got a bad feeling about this," commented Ajay as the first of the mobile suits were deployed. "A real bad feeling."

"That does not matter," replied Diana. "We have to break up Junius Seven before it can hit the Earth."

* * *

The Bridge of the _Einherjar_

"Is this fate?" questioned Shiho Hahnenfuss as they watched the PLANT wreckage draw closer to Earth. "Is Junius Seven destined to be the heart of endless tragedy?"

"Not if we can help it," said Saul Kessel. "But something doesn't feel right about this. I wish everyone else were here. Watch yourself out there Shiho."

"Of course," said Shiho, heading for the elevator. "And if the assumption that something's going to go wrong is right, you better get your lazy ass out there as well."

"Yes ma'am," said Saul with a slight chuckle. Technically, he was actually Shiho's superior, but the two had always viewed each other as equals.

Teams of GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs carrying Meteor Breakers left the their ships, heading for Junius Seven. Within a matter of minutes, the first of the teams had started setting up their Breakers. Soon enough, the Breakers would drill down into the wreckage and detonate. After enough had done so, Junius Seven would break in half. With a little luck, the kinetic energy would alter the course and buy them additional time. With a bit more luck, it might even be enough to avert any chance of the wreckage hitting the Earth at all.

But they weren't alone. A pair of GINNs emerged from hiding and fired on a ZAKU and two GuAIZ Rs setting up a Breaker, destroying the three mobile suits before their beam carbines were turned on the device itself. Elsewhere, a pair of GuAIZ Rs carrying one of the Meteor Breakers were shot down by a GINN.

"What the… gunfire?!" said Shiho, seeing the suits and Breakers gunned down. "Damn it, I thought we were joking about the situation getting dicey. Saul! You better get your ass out here, and don't forget to bring reinforcements and weapons for the machines already deployed!"

* * *

The _Odin_

"Commander! The _Einherjar_,_ Valkyrie_ and _Baldur_ teams are reporting that they're under fire!"

Everyone on the bridge was stunned. Who'd be insane enough to attack them as they were trying to shatter Junius Seven?

"Send word to all ships! Deploy all mobile suits at once! Everyone is to defend the Meteor Breakers! Everything else is secondary to that!" ordered Diana as she headed for the elevator. "Send word to the _Minerva_ and the Kyusai Team as well!"

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

"What do think those ZAFT mobile suits are doing?" asked Lee as they watched the two groups of ZAFT mobile suits battle.

"I'm just as puzzled as you are," replied Neo. "Perhaps this isn't an act of God after all. Send out Treize's team and be sure to record as much data as possible."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"_Three minutes until mobile suit launch,_" said Meyrin over the PA. "_All pilots are to board their machines and remain on standby. I repeat…_"

"I know we're suppose to assist the teams breaking up Junius Seven, but what exactly does that mean?" Luna asked Yolant as she reached her ZAKU.

"Well…"

At that moment, Luna spotted Athrun boarding the spare ZAKU. "Hey. What is he doing?"

Yolant looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Well I guess in a support operation like this, it's better to have too many machines than not enough."

"Well… I guess he does know how to pilot a mobile suit," commented Luna.

Athrun sat in the ZAKU, taking slow, steady breaths. He'd asked the Chairman and Captain Gladys for permission to borrow the ZAKU to assist in the demolition.

_This isn't fighting_, he thought to himself. _This is completely acceptable, and it doesn't mean I've gone back to being the Crimson Knight…_

A few minutes later, Aleksi's GuAIZ and the Farsight had been loaded onto the catapults. The crews were going through the final launch preparations when Meyrin's voice came over the PA.

"_Abort launch immediately! The situation has changed! The Kessel Team is battling an unknown force at Junius Seven! All units are to equip for anti-mobile suit combat!_"

"What?! Meyrin! What's going on? Who's attacking Junius Seven?" asked Aleksi.

"_That's about all we know,_" replied Meyrin. "_We just detected them._"

"Damn. This rules out natural causes," said John. "The only ones that would be attacking the team out there would be the ones who altered Junius Seven's course."

"That doesn't matter," said Aleksi, gritting her teeth angrily. "The mission is still the same. Ensure that Junius Seven is broken up before it hits the Earth."

The Core Splendor was launched, followed by the Force Silhouette, the Chest Flyer, and the Leg Flyer. After Shinn's machine had launched, the rest of the machines started launching. Soon, all of the _Minerva_'s mobile suits and the Orb mobile suits had been launched, heading for Junius Seven, save one, the final machine.

Athrun's.

Things had changed. He'd be fighting… but it had to be done. Junius Seven was where his mother had died. It had been Chris and Liz's home before the war. It would be hard, destroying it.

But he had too. For Orb. For his friends. For Earth.

The Blaze Wizard was mounted on Athrun's ZAKU Warrior.

"_Your course is clear,_" said Meyrin. "_Go ahead._"

"Athrun Zala, launching!"

* * *

The _Winter Eagle_

Heine Westenfluss watched his commanding officer as she snarled, slamming a fist angrily into the arm of her chair.

"Damn you, Rau Le Creuset," she spat.

This was one of many unusual things about her. She seemed to have a unique understanding of what was going on in the world, and she cursed Rau Le Creuset a lot. When Heine had queried her second-in-command, the man who knew her best, about it, he'd only answered that she knew a lot about the shadows of the Bloody Valentine War, a realm where Rau Le Creuset had reigned supreme.

"Prep all mobile suits for launch!" ordered the Commander, standing up. "Divert all spare power to the engines! Get us to Junius Seven, _now_! Tell the _Storm Crow_ and the _Summer Hawk_ to do the same! The _Crow _is also to make preparations to fire the Pluvia cannon. I doubt it will hit anything, but the distraction will hopefully buy everyone some extra time, and that can make all the difference in the world."

She turned to Heine and her second-in-command.

"What are you doing standing there? Get moving!" she shouted. The two immediately broke for the elevator.

* * *

Elsewhere

"_This time…! The Coordinators have gone too far this time!_" shouted Gyunei as they approached Junius Seven. "_I'm gonna tear them to pieces!_"

"Patience. They will pay in due time," said Treize, scanning the area. "There. I've located a group of ZAFT warships. Nanai, Maia, you're with me. We're going to sink those ships. Silber, take everyone else and go after the mobile suits."

Across Junius Seven, the ZAFT forces battled the insurgents. A GuAIZ R was sliced in two by a GINN High-Maneuver Type 2, and Shiho gunned that GINN down with her Memoria railguns before aiming her Laurus cannons at another pair of GINNs and firing, destroying both machines. A third lunged at her with a sword, but Shiho evaded and snatched up her rifle, shooting it down with the weapon.

"Damn… these guys are persistent," said Shiho. "But why are they attacking us? Are these idiots really responsible for this?"

"_Probably,_" said Saul, speeding towards her in his ZAKU Surge. He raised both of his beam revolvers and fired repeatedly, destroying several more GINNs. "_What I don't get is how anyone can really take actions that could lead to war like this._"

As Saul and Shiho continued to fire on the insurgents, the Extended pilots arrived at Junius Seven.

"Spread out and destroy them all," ordered Silber.

Gyunei licked his lips in anticipation as they headed for the two ZAFT pilots.

"Alright! Time for some action!" he said.

Saul swore as the two of them dodged the incoming shots.

"Damn," he said. "The thieves from Armory One; as if we didn't have enough problems."

Silber drew one of his sabers and lunged at Shiho, who stared in shock at the Blu Duel.

"What? The Duel?" she whispered. Rage overtook her. "You bastards! How dare you disgrace Yzak's machine like this!"

Shiho drew one of her Blizzard beam swords and unfolded the weapon to its full size, somewhat larger than the weapon of her old CGUE DEEP Arms, and lunged forward. Silber intercepted with his saber, but it wasn't enough, and he was forced to bring his shield to block instead. He then tried to fire one of his wrist-mounted beam guns, but Shiho pulled the shield of one of her Laurus into position to intercept before lashing out with a kick that pushed the Blu Duel away.

"The Surge? The Buster?" questioned Saul, dodging fire from the Viola Surge and Verde Buster. "Oh, for the love of… how many times are you guys gonna try and duplicate our machines and disgrace the memory of the dead like this?!"

The ZAKU Surge's thrusters activated, speeding it away from the attacks of the two copycat mobile suits. It was easy to evade the fire from the Viola Surge, but the Verde Buster pilot proved far more accurate, and Saul was forced to deflect with his shields. He fired a barrage of Firebee missiles at the two mobile suits, but they easily gunned them down.

Saul, however, knew they would be able to do that almost effortlessly. But the explosions provided cover for him to disappear… and suddenly reemerge below the two copycats, beam revolvers blazing, scorching the armor of both machines.

"Coordinator scum!" snarled Miguel. "Why do you even try?! The fate of you abominations has been sealed… just as yours was when I became your opponent!"

The Viola Surge's rifle and blaster lit up space, but Saul continued his evasion. However, Rache used the opportunity to pull away.

Meanwhile, Gyunei led Sting, Stella and Auel against the remaining ZAFT forces, and they'd destroyed of Meteor Breakers before beams suddenly intercepted them. They looked up.

"You punks, do you want this thing to hit Earth?!" cried Aleksi, firing on the Rosso Aegis.

"_Ma'am, the Specter's not hear,_" grunted Jessie, firing on the Gaia.

"_That doesn't matter at the moment,_" replied Tristan. "_There's plenty of enemies right here._"

Clotho glanced around at the mobile suits around them. "Hey. Which guys are we supposed to attack?"

"The black and purple GINNs and the guys from the last battle," answered John.

Clotho smirked. "All I need to know."

Clotho threw his spherical breaker, smashing through a GINN's chest. Tolle unleashed a fierce barrage from his Taihō, beam rifle and missile pods, blowing away several GINNs. A pair of GINNs fired on the Forbidden, their beams bouncing off its deflectors. Shani growled in annoyance as he fired his Hresvelgr cannon at them, obliterating both despite their efforts to evade.

Stella landed on Junius Seven, transforming the Gaia into its mobile armor mode, heading for a pair of GuAIZ Rs setting up a Meteor Breaker. Suddenly, the Raven Striker pack slammed into the Gaia, knocking Stella back. Flay landed in front of the Gaia as the Raven Striker reattached itself.

"I'm your opponent!" said Flay. "I won't let you stop them from breaking Junius Seven up!"

Flay drew one of her beam saber as the Gaia transformed back and drew one of its sabers, and the two clashed.

Gyunei wildly swung his beam saber-tipped arms at the Impulse. Shinn backed away from the Rosso Aegis, ducking and sidestepping his swings. A lucky swing caught Shinn's shield, cutting into it, knocking Shinn back. Shinn activated his verniers at full, reversing direction as he drew his saber and swung it down on the Rosso Aegis. Gyunei ducked back, kicking the Impulse in the chest.

"I'm gonna do what no one else has done," he said. "I'm gonna take your head! Then even Treize will have to acknowledge my superiority!"

He fired off several shots from his Scylla II cannon, the curving beams forcing Shinn back.

"Damn. This guy's nuts," said Shinn as he fired his rifle at Rosso Aegis.

"Damn it, we're in trouble," muttered John. However, a massive barrage of beams lanced through space towards Junius Seven, crashing into the surface, blowing away dozens of mobile suit-sized chunks of debris, catching one of the GINNs and destroying it.

Everyone looked up in shock to see a trio of _Nazca_-class destroyers approaching. One of them was solid white with eagle decals, the other gold with hawk decals, and the last one standard colors, but with decals of crows flying around a lightning bolt on the wings and forward bow. An array, crackling with electricity, was mounted on this last one, and it was evident that it was the source of that beam barrage.

Flying forth from the three destroyers were eighteen more mobile suits, seventeen ZAKU Warriors and Phantoms and one unknown. But whatever it was, that last one was moving _fast_!

Suddenly, the final machine came into view, and everyone was shocked by what they saw.

The mobile suit had a distinctly feminine appearance—its frame could almost be described as petite. It had shields like the Specter's mounted on the shoulders the way a ZAKU Phantom's shields were and wings similar to the Freedom. The head, which marked it as kin to the Second Stage machines, had a strange, golden hair-like material floating about it as the machine flew forth, and the mobile suit itself was predominantly silver with a black torso.

The mobile suit snapped into firing position, and a pair of cannons raised from the hips, another pair flipped out from its wings, and a rifle was raised in its hand. All five weapons fired, each catching and destroying a GINN.

"What the hell is that?!" shouted Auel as the mobile suit flew at them with incredible speed.

"_How the hell should I know?!_" asked Sting, deploying the Chaos's weapons pods. They fired on the newcomer, but the pilot effortlessly—no, _mockingly_—evaded them and shot both down with the railguns.

The mobile suit pulled back as the Extended all turned and fired on it before being distracted by the _Minerva_ and Orb pilots once more. The newcomer looked around before turning to the ZAKUs.

"Hey, lackey," said the pilot.

"_My name is–_" he started.

"Yeah, yeah, get to the Kessel Team ships," she said. "The Specter is missing, and you know as well as I where he's likely going."

"_Yes ma'am,_" he replied. "_Heine, Mason, Aker, Dodge, Halevy, you're with me._"

"_Yes sir!_"

The red Slash ZAKU Phantom pulled away, along with an orange Blaze ZAKU Phantom and four variously colored ZAKU Warriors with different Wizard Packs. Meanwhile, the Commander turned her attention back to Junius Seven and flew forward.

"Bastard! Die!" shouted Gyunei, breaking from Shinn and flying towards the newcomer with the Rosso Aegis in mobile armor form, his Scylla II blazing. The pilot easily evaded every shot and fired back with her rifle, hitting the Rosso Aegis in the side before rushing forward and kicking it away.

Gyunei switched his machine back to mobile suit mode and activated one of his sabers, swinging it at his foe who blocked with one of her shields. From that shield, she retrieved a Tempest beam sword, the same sort used by the Specter, and swung. Gyunei blocked with his beam saber. Suddenly, his foe's railguns snapped into position and fired, knocking the Rosso Aegis back and into Junius Seven. Gyunei looked up and saw the twin-shield suit descending on him, swinging its sword. He activated both wrist-mounted beam sabers and raised them to block, but he was in a bad position, and his foe was pushing him back.

"I'll kill you!" snarled Gyunei.

"_You don't get it, do you?_" came a female voice over the radio. "_Rose is more than just a Gundam. She's __**my**__ Gundam. And if you live long enough to do so, be sure to remember that fact._"

The Rose Gundam's eyes suddenly flashed to life, the right eye glowing green while the left glowed a fierce red. The Rose lifted its sword suddenly, causing the Rosso Aegis's arms to fly wide as they were suddenly pushing against nothing.

"_Not that I'd ever let you live,_" came that voice again as the Tempest sword descended on the Rosso Aegis.

However, before she could finish her opponent off, the pilot felt her danger sense go off, and instead pushed herself away, dodging a series of shots from the GINNs.

The insurgents didn't know who these guys were, and they occasionally gunned them down, but so long as the people in the G-weapon copycat mobile suits were fighting the ZAFT forces and destroying Meteor Breakers, they didn't care.

Meanwhile, Rache, Sting and Auel attacked Tolle, Shani and Clotho. The three Extended let loose with their entire arsenals, but the Forbidden rushed forward and turned the attacks against some of the insurgent GINNs around them before firing back with his Hreslvelgr and Eckzahn. The Abyss was unable to dodge the plasma beam and instead defended with its fins, though Auel was badly jarred in the process. The Chaos tried raising its shield to defend against one of the railgun rounds, but the shot was so fast that the projectile tore through the shield like tissue paper and broke against the VPS armor, knocking Sting back into Junius Seven. Only Rache managed to evade Shani's attacks, but quickly found himself hounded by the Raider and Athena.

Elsewhere, Athrun, Luna and Rey battled the insurgents. Luna fired her cannon, hitting two GINNs in one shot. A GINN moved behind Luna, intending to shoot her in the back, when a beam tore through it.

"Thanks Rey," Luna called out.

"_Don't mention it,_" replied Rey, firing at more GINNs.

A GINN fired at Athrun's ZAKU, but Athrun blocked it with his shield and drew his tomahawk. The GINN pilot, seeing that as a challenge, discarded his rifle and pulled out his sword. The GINN rushed towards Athrun, but just as it was about to attack, Athrun struck, rushing forward under the area the GINN was aiming to attack, spinning and swinging his tomahawk, slicing off the GINN's sword arm. But the pilot didn't let up, flipping his machine over and attempting to tackle Athrun, leaving him no choice but to slash at the GINN's torso, destroy it.

Well-aimed beams rained across Junius Seven, taking out the insurgent GINNs with surgical precision.

"_Sir, it's good to see you again,_" said Diana as she pulled her dark purple ZAKU alongside the Farsight.

"I'm not your superior officer anymore," said John with an annoyed tone. "Call me John."

"_Yes sir._"

John shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"_Commander! The Specter and two unknown mobile suits as well as several GINNs are heading for the ships!_" reported a ZAKU pilot.

Diana scowled. They needed to protect the Breakers. But if they lost their ships, they'd have nowhere to go afterwards.

"_Ajay! Take you team and defend the ships,_" ordered Diana. "_Everyone else, focus on protecting the Meteor Breakers._"

Ajay nodded. "_Ma'am._"

"You made the right choice," said John. "We have to minimize the damage to Earth, even if the team suffers for it."

"_I know sir. I know._"

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Ma'am," said Meyrin. "The Kessel Team is under attack by the Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and five of the machines from Bogey-1."

"What? At this rate, they won't be able to carry out the operation in time!" exclaimed Arthur. "Captain, we need to attack Bogey-1"

"There's something else," said Meyrin. "I'm putting it on-screen."

A mobile suit like none any of them had ever seen before appeared on the screen before them.

"What? What is that?" gasped Cagalli.

"I'm not sure," said Meyrin. "But it was launched from the three _Nazca _destroyers that arrived a moment ago. They've been identified as ships of the Kyusai Team." Durandal's eyes narrowed. What was the Kyusai Team doing here?

"I've never seen it myself," he said. "But if that mobile suit came from the Kyusai Team, then it must be the Rose, the prototype for the Deuterion technology. But I thought they were testing the system out at L2. Regardless, I'm glad they made it in time to assist."

Talia turned to Durandal. "Chairman, I'd like your opinion on Bogey-1 at this time," she said after a moment. "Are they renegades or are they from the Earth Alliance?"

"It's difficult to say," said Durandal. "Personally, I don't want to think of them as members of the Earth Alliance.

"There's no telling what would happen," said Talia. "If such embers were to ignite."

"But the situation has changed," said Durandal.

"Yes," said Talia. "Within the current emergency. If that unit identifies itself as being a part of the Earth Alliance or somehow associated with them, then they would have no reason to fight us here."

"What if… they believe that we are protecting those GINNs?" mused Durandal.

"But we're not!" Arthur nearly shouted.

"It's not that obvious," countered Talia. "Image if those machines were Daggers and Alliance forces showed up. You'd think they were a part of that as well."

"Are we able to contact Bogey-1?" asked Durandal.

"There is the International Rescue Channel," replied Talia. "We might be able to contact them through that channel."

"Then please try to contact them," said the Chairman. "Tell them that we're supporting the work to break up Junius Seven before it drops to Earth."

* * *

The Kessel Team

"You bastards! Trying to drop this on the Earth! I'll make sure you don't live long enough to see it crash!" yelled Treize, firing his beam revolvers at a group of GINNs, GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs, destroying them all with well-aimed shots.

"Hey punk! Eat this!" Ajay called out from the edge of the _Baldur_'s catapult, firing an Orthros beam cannon from a Wizard he'd had dropped into the hangar.

Treize effortlessly sidestepped his shots as he raced towards the ship. He fired off a single beam, piercing Ajay's cannon, destroying it. Then Treize used the Specter's immense speed to tackle the ZAKU, slamming it into the _Baldur_'s hanger doors.

"Time to die, Coordinator," said Treize, pointing his cannon at Ajay's ZAKU.

"Not a chance!" said Ajay, activating the beam daggers concealed in the wrists of his mobile suit and bringing them down on the Specter. Treize fired, the beam piercing the ZAKU's torso and hitting the _Baldur_'s hanger just before the daggers could hit the Specter.

The Hyena exploded.

Treize then flew up and aimed his cannon at the bridge of the _Baldur_. Suddenly, he felt something. Treize spun to the left and fired, nearly hitting a blood red ZAKU Phantom. The ZAKU fired its rifle, forcing Treize to leap off the _Nazca_-class.

"_Hey, you got something of mine, asshole, and I want it back,_" said the pilot, switching from his rifle to his Falx beam axe.

"Pest. I'll dispose of you too!" shouted Treize, drawing his sword. The two charged forward, their weapons clashing.

Maia fired the grenades from her rifles and her railguns at the _Thor_, and explosions tore across the side of the ship's hull. Nanai approached the _Odin_, firing a barrage of missiles and beams at the warship. Explosions blossomed across its hull.

"Oh? Still standing? Here, take another barrage!" she cried.

Suddenly, a pair of ZAKUs fired on her. "_You're not sinking the Commander's flag!_" shouted one of the pilots.

"Jerks! Get out of my way!" roared Nanai, firing on the ZAKUs.

* * *

Over Junius Seven

Suddenly, as the various combatants fought across Junius Seven, the deployed Meteor Breakers drilled through the colony. A massive crack formed across the surface of the colony, catching the insurgents and the Phantom Pain pilots off-guard. Everyone paused as Junius Seven split in two.

One half slowed down, drifting away from the other as it continued on its course.

"What's going on?" asked Sting.

"_That thing's breaking up,_" muttered Auel.

"Well, at least some progress has been made," muttered Saul as a chunk of debris flew between him and the Viola Surge. Similar pieces of debris separated the ZAFT and Phantom Pain pilots, buying everyone a momentary reprieve.

But not everyone had paused altogether.

The Rose and a green Blaze ZAKU Warrior flew down towards the half of Junius Seven that continued on its course to Earth.

"But the job's not over yet," said Athrun. "We still have work to do. We need to break it up into smaller pieces."

Both Saul and Shiho were surprised to hear Athrun's voice.

"_Athrun? What are you doing here?_" asked Saul.

"That doesn't matter right now," said Athrun. "We've got a mission to complete."

Saul and Shiho grabbed a fallen Breaker and took up position under cover of Athrun and the Rose.

"_When this is over, we'll need to chat,_" said Saul. "_How come you never visit us?_"

"Why haven't you visited _us_?" countered Athrun. "Nicol's taken the time."

"_Uh, officers in ZAFT's best military force here,_" said Saul.

"_Is now really the time you two?_" asked Shiho.

"_Take what time you can,_" replied the Rose's pilot. "_You never know when you'll run out. There!_"

A pair of GINN insurgents rose up from behind Junius Seven, flying towards them, beam carbines blazing. The Rose and ZAKU Warrior flew forward, firing their own beam rifles. The four mobile suits passed each other, and the Rose spun around, firing on the rifle of one GINN. The rifle exploded, the GINN using its shield to protect itself, but as it moved the shield aside, the Rose descended in front of it, its Tempest sword cleaving the GINN in two. The other GINN dodged Athrun's attacks, but flew straight into the path of Shiho's cannons.

Watching from under cover, Sato grit his teeth in frustration. They were so close!

"There are more of them!" said Auel, firing the Abyss's weapons at the Rose and three ZAKUs, hitting Junius Seven. The Chaos, Abyss and Rosso Aegis charged forward.

"Saul!" called Athrun, charging forward along with the ZAKU Surge, leaving Shiho to place the Meteor Breaker.

"_No problem!_" replied Saul. "_Hey, thief, I've got something for you!_" Saul swung his Falx beam axe at the Abyss. Auel pulled back, evading, but Athrun blazed in from Auel's left, his tomahawk cleaving the Abyss's leg off, catching Auel completely off-guard.

"Auel, no!" called Sting, flying to help his teammate.

However, Athrun's ZAKU Warrior flew in towards the Chaos, its beam rifle blazing. Sting dodged and was about to take aim and fire when he realized the other ZAKU was surging in at incredible speed. Saul swung his beam axe, cutting into the Chaos's shield from the side where the anti-beam coating couldn't help it, slicing the shield in half. Athrun grabbed his ZAKU's beam tomahawk and threw it at the Chaos with the same skill with which he'd once handled the Justice's Bassel beam boomerangs, cutting Sting's rifle apart.

Meanwhile, Gyunei roared as he fired his beam rifle repeatedly at the Rose, but the pilot evaded or cut apart the beams with her sword as she flew forward. The Rose sped past the Rosso Aegis, cutting the rifle in two. Gyunei spun around, but the Rose's next shot still hit its mark, obliterating the armor around the shoulder. Gyunei roared in frustration, shifting the Rosso Aegis to mobile armor attack mode and firing the Scylla II as he charged at the Rose. The Rose evaded these shots and snapped all of its cannons into place, firing a barrage that hit its mark, knocking the transformable mobile armor into Junius Seven before the Rose broke away and flew upwards towards the ZAFT fleet.

Shinn watched all this in awe. In that single moment, he saw _exactly_ what Aleksi had been talking about, the qualities of the individual and the qualities of competent teamwork. He now understood he only had himself and his own arrogance to blame for his poor performance in their last battle, and he promised himself that he wouldn't let it happen again.

The Meteor Breaker, along with several more, activated, tearing through the colony. Chunks broke away from Junius Seven, reducing its size even more. But it still wasn't enough.

* * *

Meanwhile

The _Girty Lue_ fired off its retreat flares, catching everyone off-guard. The Extended were confused, and in Gyunei's case, furious, but one by one, they withdrew from the area.

Treize was the last, taking one last look at the red ZAKU Phantom. Treize had thrown nearly everything he had at that ZAKU, only to be blocked or countered every time. Forget that white machine and the others from the ZAFT ship, even that bothersome gold GuAIZ; this was a real opponent. Treize would remember him and seek him out in future battles.

As the Specter withdrew, the Rose drew up alongside the red ZAKU. The Commander looked at the machine of her second-in-command.

"Not bad," she said. "I'm leaving the team in your hands, Dante. Not the command you were looking forward too, but I'm gonna need you up here for now."

"_Yes ma'am,_" said the pilot. "_But… Commander Kyusai… Suiren… what are you planning?_"

"People are predictable," said Suiren. "We're not gonna stand for what's left of that thing hitting Earth. I know it's your old home… I'm sorry."

"_It's fine,_" he answered. "_Now get to work. I'll take care of your people._"

"You better," said Suiren, turning the Rose back for Junius Seven while the red ZAKU led its fellows back to the _Winter Eagle_.

Aboard the _Minerva_, the crew let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the retreat flares.

"It looks like they finally believed us," commented Durandal.

"Yes, I agree," said Talia. "It looks that way. But… there could be another reason."

"Another reason?" questioned Durandal.

"Altitude," she replied grimly. Eyes widened as everyone realized that she was right. "If the ship keeps falling with Junius Seven like this, eventually it will be unable to escape the Earth's gravity." Talia sighed. "We must start choosing between lives… the lives that we can save and the lives that we can't."

"Captain?" questioned Durandal.

Talia turned to him. "I'm sorry it has to be under these circumstance," she said. "But would you please transfer to the _Odin_, sir?" Cagalli and Durandal gasped.

"The _Minerva_ is going to descend into the atmosphere," explained Talia. "We're going to attempt to break the target up with the main gun for as long as possible."

"What?!" gasped a very stunned Arthur. "You can't be serious! Captain!"

"I don't know how much of a difference we can hope to make," said Talia. "But if we did have a chance to do something to help… and we just stood by and watched, then how could we live with ourselves?"

"But Talia… even still…" said Durandal.

"I'm a woman who's got more than her fair share of luck," said Talia. "You can trust me."

"Very well then. Thank you Talia," said Durandal solemnly, rising from his seat. "We will meet again."

Talia saluted him. "You should get going Mr. Chairman." She turned to Meyrin. "Notify the _Odin_ that the Chiarman is on his way. Send out the return flare for the mobile suits."

Durandal turned to Cagalli as he stood up. "Well, Representative?" he said, holding out a hand to her.

Cagalli shook her head. "No. I'm staying," she said, surprising the crew yet again. "Athrun hasn't returned yet. Besides, if the _Minerva_ is going to all this trouble to save the Earth, then I'm going with it."

"Yes, but people who hold office have other duties as well," replied Talia.

"Well, if the Representative wishes to stay, than I will respect her wishes," said Durandal before he left.

Talia sighed.

* * *

Over Junius Seven

The _Minerva_ fired its retreat flares.

"We've reached the limit," said Shiho through grit teeth. But there was still so much…

A text message appeared on the consoles of the ZAFT and Orb mobile suits.

"_It's time to withdraw. We're getting too close to the atmosphere,_" said Diana. "_All forces withdraw. The **Minerva**'s going to try to break it up further with its main cannon._"

"I've got to admit, I had some doubts about Talia," said Suiren, more to herself than the others as the survivors of the ZAFT fleet withdrew to their ships and the _Minerva_ pilots and their Orb allies headed back to the ship. "But I've got to admit, she's got a lot of courage and guts."

Unlike most of the other suits, the Rose didn't move to retreat, and Suiren instead continued to work on placing a final Meteor Breaker.

But she wasn't the only one, as Athrun and Flay worked on setting up another Breaker. Shinn, seeing this, turned back and rushed to their position.

"What are you doing?!" he asked. "We have to get out of here before the _Minerva_ fires the Tannhauser!"

"_Get out of here. Don't worry about us,_" replied Flay.

"_The __**Minerva**__'s main cannon will only scorch the surface. It won't be as effective as this,_" added Athrun.

"But–"

"_If you want to help, then cover us,_" said Suiren. "_I doubt that our attackers have given up that easily._"

Beams suddenly hit the ground near the two Breakers.

"_NO!_" roared Sato as he led a trio of GINNs towards the group. "_We won't let you stop it!_"

The three GINNs aimed their carbines and fired at the Breakers as they approached. Shinn, Flay, Athrun and Suiren quickly blocked the beams with their shields.

"_My daughter's tombstone must fall! It's the only way the world will change!_" screamed one pilot as he raced towards the group of four.

"_I don't care!_" Flay screamed back as she headed for the GINN. "_I won't let you bring down Junius Seven! Such a tragedy must never be unleashed on the world again!_" Drawing a beam saber, she sliced the GINN in half at the waist. "_I will not let my son die for the sake of your vengeance._"

"His daughter? Who are these guys?" asked Shinn, blocking fire from a GINN as the Rose pulled back from its activated Breaker and flew towards the battle.

"_I thought so,_" said Suiren grimly. "_Only one group would be insane enough to do this: the diehard fanatics of Patrick Zala. The maniacs that believe that the only way for Coordinators to live safely is to get rid of every last Natural. They're no better than Blue Cosmos._"

"_You bitch! Don't you dare compare us to them!_" shouted an insurgent, racing towards Suiren with his sword. Suiren dodged the sword and kicked the GINN away without apparent effort.

"_There's no reasoning with them,_" said Suiren. "_Shoot them down._"

Athrun pulled out his tomahawk as Sato swung his sword at him.

"_Have you forgotten about the innocent lives thrown away here?! You're living in a damn dream world! Laughing with the butchers who caused this! You bastards!_" ranted Sato as he clashed with Athrun. Images of the Bloody Valentine and the devastation of Orb filled Athrun and Shinn's minds.

"_The cowardly successors of Clyne have deceived us!_" shouted Sato. "_They've corrupted and weakened ZAFT! Can't you see that?! Patrick Zala knew it all along! The only truth path for Coordinators is one that he had chosen for us!_"

Images of the Bloody Valentine, his father and his madness, and GENISIS and the devastation it brought flashed through Athrun's mind. His father's legacy to the world: more insane, irrational hatred.

One of the GINNs lunged at Shinn with its sword. Shinn sidestepped the GINN and hacked off its sword arm. But that didn't stop the fanatical pilot. The GINN jumped on Shinn, wrapping its legs around the Impulse before self-destructing, throwing Shinn back into Junius Seven.

"_Shinn!_" Athrun called out, breaking away from Sato as Flay cut her opponent in two. The Rose flew between the ZAKU and GINN, raising its sword and detaching the left shield from the shoulder, grabbing it and wielding it as a normal shield.

"_Fool,_" said Suiren as she clashed with Sato while Athrun was attacked by the last GINN. Athrun pushed back and fired a barrage of missiles at the GINN before throwing his tomahawk at it. The GINN defended from the missiles with its shield and deflected the tomahawk with its sword, but lost both in the process. A grenade thrown by Athrun detonated in its face a few seconds later.

At that very moment, a large chunk of the GINN that had self-destructed hit the Meteor Breaker, triggering it. The drill descended into Junius Seven. But nothing happened…

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Initiating Descent Sequence Phase Two," said Arthur as the _Minerva_'s wings folded and it entered the atmosphere.

"What about the Impulse and those other machines?" asked Talia.

"I can't locate them, ma'am," reported Meyrin.

"No… Athrun!" Cagalli called out.

* * *

Junius Seven

"_They'll suffer this time! The Naturals will feel our wrath!_" screamed Sato as he continued to clash with Suiren.

"You're a fool, living in a world of deluded hatred," said Suiren coldly. "I can feel the sorrow of the lives lost here. How dare you… how dare you shame the memory of those who lost their lives by doing this!"

The Rose's shield and sword crashed against the shield and sword of the GINN, knocking them aside. Suiren released the two and snapped the Rose's hands down to the knees and drew two beam sabers, swinging them upwards and cutting away the arms of the GINN.

"I can feel it," she said. "The hatred of those who died here, directed at you for what you've done. Die, knowing that you've robbed these souls of peace in the afterlife, and that you will find none yourself, burning in the hatred of the countless lives you've taken for your petty vengeance!"

The Rose kicked the GINN, sending it tumbling into Junius Seven where it instantly exploded. Suiren returned both her beam sabers to their storage racks and recovered her shield and sword, storing the sword and remounting the shield.

Shinn had grabbed the ZAKU and was gunning for the _Minerva_ for all his machine was worth, Flay and Suiren following after him. At that moment, a massive crack formed from where the last Breakers had gone through, splitting the large half of the colony in two.

Athrun, Shinn, Flay and Suiren fought to reach the _Minerva_.

"Damn it!" cursed Suiren. "Those lunatics delayed us too long. We can't make it to the _Minerva_. Looks like we'll have to tough it out."

"_No. We can make it!_" said Shinn, pushing the Impulse to the limit.

But gravity's pull was too strong and the four fell to Earth.

* * *

The Orb Union

"They didn't make it," she said softly, staring up at the sky where she could see a massive object beginning its descent into the atmosphere.

"Lady Setsuna, please, you must hurry," said a silver-haired, blue-eyed, alabaster-skinned woman, the concern in her voice evident.

"I know," said Setsuna calmly, sighing. "The world will burn… how many lives must be paid, how much blood must be spilled, before we learn to set aside our petty hatred?"

"Lady Setsuna…"

"Calm down, Faith," said Setsuna, turning to the other woman. "I'm going."

* * *

Somewhere in the Marshall Islands

"Now hurry up everyone," said Lacus Clyne calmly, helping Caridad Yamato and Reverend Malchio usher the children into the shelter under the church.

"What is it? Where are we going?" asked one child.

"Oh I know! We're going shopping, aren't we?" asked a little girl.

"Aw… But I want to play," said another.

Lacus smiled. "No, we're not going shopping. There's a storm coming, so we need to go under the church to wait it out," she said sweetly.

Lacus glanced at the deck of their house, expecting Kira to be there. But he wasn't. The smile dropped from her face.

"Kira?" she called out, searching for him.

Lacus quickly spotted him. Kira Yamato was standing on the beach, watching the first pieces of Junius Seven streak across the sky.

But his eyes were soon drawn further upward, where a massive object glowed fiery orange as the largest pieces of the Bloody Valentine's remnant descended vengefully on the Earth.

* * *

**Author's Note: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!**

**That was ridiculously good fun. I realize a lot of you are probably disappointed by the lack of the Greencoats and their awesome teamwork, and the large passing over of the two Druggies+Tolle, but I had a lot of stuff to cover in the battle. It wasn't easy just getting what I _did_ manage. I hope that I made up for that, at least somewhat, to everyone with the added scenes, what I did write of the battle, and the extra insight into various characters.**

**For the record, that stuff between Tolle and Luna about Athrun was largely taken from Tellemicus Sundance's _Gundam SEED Destiny: Kira_. I enjoyed it a lot, so when I realized Luna would be talking to Tolle, I asked and was given permission to use it. Of course, I altered it slightly to show that Luna didn't "have the hots" for Athrun and was instead crushing on the "mysterious" White Angel, but for the most part, it's the same.**

**Overall, I enjoyed this, but honestly? There's too much to discuss for me to bring it all up here. So I'll skip my usual discussions and get on with it.**

**Please leave a review, everyone! Ja ne!**

* * *

**_Scars That Won't Heal _****Mecha Spec Page**

_"You don't get it, do you? Rose is more than just a Gundam. She's _my_ Gundam. And if you live long enough to do so, be sure to remember that fact."_ – Suiren Kyusai.**  
Rose Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Rose Gundam is a prototype mobile suit developed by ZAFT as part of its new Second Stage series. The first in the series, the Rose was the testbed for the Deuterion Beam technology, and was custom designed by its pilot with a unique, feminine appearance. It follows the same weapons layout as the legendary Freedom Gundam, and is also incredibly fast and agile, possessing the Freedom's signature ability to lock-on to multiple targets quickly for heavy barrages, and aside from its Deuterion technology, it is more like the Freedom than the Second Stage machines. This unique, powerful mobile suit serves as the personal machine of the enigmatic ZAFT Commander Suiren Kyusai.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X00S**  
Code Name:** Rose**  
Unit Type:** Prototype assault mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 73**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.97 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 68.72 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift Armor; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship; Twin Mobile Assault Wings;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x MMI-558 "Tempest" Beam Sword, stored inside shields, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-M941 "Vajra" Beam Saber, stored in knee armor, hand-carried in use; 2x M110 "Orca" Plasma Beam Cannon, stored in wings, mounted over shoulders in use; 2x MMI-M29C "Signum 2" Railgun, folded underneath hips, spread out in use; 2x MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MMI-RX78B Mobile Shield, connected to arms, can be detached;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR72XE High-Energy Beam Rifle**  
Pilot:** Suiren Kyusai**  
Appearance:** The Rose Gundam looks almost identical to the Gundam Nadleeh of Gundam 00, including the whole red hair-like thing, but with a torso more like that of traditional SEED Gundams. It has shields like those of the GOUF on the shoulders in the same manner as a ZAKU Phantom's shields, Strike Freedom-like railguns on the hips, and wings like those of the Freedom on the back. The shields bear a rose crest with five white doves carrying olive branches arrayed around it, positioned at what would be the five tips of a pentagram (however, there isn't a pentagram there).**  
Color:** The Rose Gundam is primarily silver, with black trimming, black torso and a golden V-crest. The shields are black with silver trimming, the roses are red, and the doves are white (as mentioned above). The eyes are mismatched colors: the left eye is red while the right eye is green. The "hair" is gold.**  
Notes:** Well, as far as bizarre mobile suits go, this one might very well take the cake. The Rose Gundam is derivative of a previous design of mine, the ZGMF-1002 ZAKU Rose. The basic idea behind this machine here is that it is the precursor to ZAFT's Second Stage Gundams, much the same as the YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam was to their first Gundams. Primarily, though, it's a battery-powered version of the Freedom. Aside from an anti-beam coating, the "hair" serves only cosmetic purposes.

_"The Surge? The Buster? Oh, for the love of… how many times are you guys gonna try and duplicate our machines and disgrace the memory of the dead like this?!"_– Saul Kessel.  
**ZAKU Phantom High-Maneuver Type "ZAKU Surge":**  
Description:  
The high-maneuver type is a variant of the ZAKU series that sacrifices the ability to mount Wizard Packs in favor of a high-maneuver flightpack, and is used almost exclusively by the elite Kessel Team. Because it can't mount Wizard Packs, each machine is often customized to the preferences of the pilot. The powerful ZAKU Surge is the personal machine of Saul Kessel, the commander of the _Einherjar_. It has been customized with the high-speed burst thrusters of Saul's old machine, the Surge Gundam, as well as a pair of powerful beam revolvers similar to those the Surge wielded in the final days of the war. The ZAKU Surge is notable for being the fastest of all ZAKUs.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1001HMX/SC**  
Code Name:** ZAKU Surge**  
Unit Type:** Custom High Mobility Commander Type Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 19.05 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 92.3 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; High-Maneuver Flightpack; High-Speed Burst Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** MA-MR Falx G7 Beam Axe, stored on backpack, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M633C Beam Revolver, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-M8 Beam Tomahawk, stored inside shields, hand-carried in use; 2x AGM-138 "Firebee" Guided Missile Launcher, mounted on backpack over shoulders; 2x Shoulder Shield, connected to arms;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle**  
Pilot:** Saul Kessel**  
Appearance:** Like a normal ZAKU Phantom, but with a backpack similar to the GOUF Ignited on its back, the missile launchers of the Blaze Wizard, beam revolvers on the hips, and extra thrusters on the back.**  
Color:** Dark green with blue trim.**  
Notes:** As with a fair number of machines, I've taken some liberties with Saul's Destiny-era machine. In particular, changes in the story have given Saul a ZAKU Phantom rather than a ZAKU Warrior, and I've added to it with the Surge's thrusters on top of the high-maneuver flightpack. I considered some Surge-weapons beyond the beam revolvers, but ultimately, I decided against it and instead added in the Blaze Wizard's missile launchers and Slash Wizard's beam axe.

_"Is this fate? Is Junius Seven destined to be the heart of endless tragedy?" _– Shiho Hahnenfuss.**  
ZAKU Phantom High-Maneuver Type "ZAKU Duel Arms":**  
Description:  
The high-maneuver type is a variant of the ZAKU series that sacrifices the ability to mount Wizard Packs in favor of a high-maneuver flightpack, and is used almost exclusively by the elite Kessel Team. Because it can't mount Wizard Packs, each machine is often customized to the preferences of the pilot. The ZAKU Duel Arms is perhaps the most powerful of these machines, agile and well armed, as at home in ranged combat as it is in close combat. Unique among ZAKUs, the ZAKU Duel Arms features head spikes similar to those of the Duel Gundam, and it serves as the personal machine of ace pilot Shiho Hahnenfuss.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1001HMX/DA**  
Code Name:** ZAKU Duel Arms**  
Unit Type:** Custom High Mobility Commander Type Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 19.05 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 74.7 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; High-Maneuver Flightpack;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x MMI-556 "Blizzard" Large Folding Beam Sword, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-237D "Memoria" Turret-Mounted Railgun, mounted on backpack over shoulders; 2x M300 "Laurus" Beam Cannon, mounts shield on outer side, mounted on shoulders, hand-operated in use;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle**  
Pilot:** Shiho Hahnenfuss**  
Appearance:** As a ZAKU Phantom with the backpack of the GOUF Ignited, with railguns like the Duel Assault Shroud on the shoulders, beam swords like the GOUF Ignited on the hips, and beam cannons similar to the energy cannons of the CGUE DEEP Arms on the shoulders; these cannons also mount shields that make them as much defensive in nature as they are offensive. Also, it features head spikes like those of the Duel Gundam.**  
Color:** The torso is dark blue, but the limbs are the grayish-blue of the Duel. The head spikes are gold.**  
Notes:** Again, I've taken some liberties with this machine. Actually, I've taken a number of liberties. In terms of weapons, the only thing this machine has in common with the normal ZAKU is the beam rifle. The "Blizzard" swords fold in the same way as the sword of the GOUF Ignited, and can be used folded as "short swords" so that they need only one hand to use effectively. Unfolded, they're too large to truly be effective when wielded in only a single hand.


	6. Phase 06: The End of the World

**Well, it's almost time for Halloween now. Honestly, that's why I'm posting this today instead of tomorrow, as I won't be able to do so tomorrow. I'm going to work on scaling things back a little, and getting to where I update one to three stories (or so) each week on Fridays. Part of this is because Summer is over--thus, more people have less time. By posting updates on the weekends, they're more likely to have time in which to read it, and fans of multiple stories that get updated will be able to easily pick and choose, and not have to worry about reading through a boatload of stuff all at once.**

**This chapter, and the next few after it, gives us a nice break from the action. So far, this story's been almost non-stop action, so a nice long break will be nice for everyone.**

**I would also like to reinforce something: although this story _is_ a rehash of Akatsuki Leader13's story (or perhaps more accurately, the sequel _to_ a rehash), there are a lot of differences in the background that a lot of people either won't notice or won't be told about until later on. Let's just say that our two stories have already widely diverged in the well-hidden background areas that set the stage for the future of our stories. Zane was a prime example of my changes to characters in the Gundam SEED re-writes, and I'll similarly introduce differences to many characters in this story.**

**Alright, enough rambling. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

* * *

Phase Six: The End of the World

October 5th, C.E. 73

* * *

Earth Orbit

The _Minerva_ moved alongside the now red-hot fragment of Junius Seven as they both descended through the atmosphere. The fragment was still large enough to cause catastrophic damage to Earth, and the crew was determined to do what they could to reduce that damage.

"Entering Phase 3 momentarily," said Arthur before turning to Talia. "If we wait any longer, we won't be able to use the cannon ma'am."

"But we still can't locate the Impulse and the other machines," said Bart. "They may still be in the line of fire."

"Athrun…" whispered a concerned Cagalli.

They couldn't wait any longer. Talia knew that.

"Activate Tannhauser," ordered Talia, causing Cagalli, Meyrin and several other members of the bridge crew to gasp. "Junius Seven _cannot_ fall intact, and we're going to fulfill our mission no matter what. Tannhauser, target the structure to starboard!"

"Tannhauser targeting object starboard side, ma'am!" said Chen.

The _Minerva_ started to turn towards Junius Seven as the Tannhauser emerged from the bow of the ship. It almost looked pitiful, this single, small ship facing the enormous burning wreckage.

"Fire!" ordered Talia.

The first shot hit Junius Seven, tearing yet another chunk of the colony off. But it still wasn't nearly enough. The Tannhauser fired again, piercing the largest piece, and Junius Seven finally shattered into dozens upon dozens of smaller fragments. None of them were of a size capable of causing catastrophic damage to Earth, and many would burn up in the atmosphere. It was the limit of what the _Minerva_ could do, though, and it still wasn't enough to save the countless lives that would be lost when those larger fragments hit.

As the _Minerva_ continued its descent, hundreds upon hundreds of fragments fell all around it. The smaller ones burned up before they reached Earth, and the larger ones burned up a lot of mass.

But it _still_ wasn't enough!

* * *

The Marshall Islands

"Haro! Haro! We have a problem!" squawked Haro.

"What's coming?" asked one of the scared children.

"Are we going to have to be down here forever?" added another.

Lacus smiled for their sakes. They had brought the children down to the shelter underneath the church. It was deep enough underground that they would be protected from anything that hit on or near the island.

"Everything will be just fine," she answered, trying to reassure them. "We'll only be down here for a little while. All of this will be over very soon."

Suddenly, the shelter began to shake from the impacts of nearby debris. Many of the children began to whimper and cry. Lacus hugged the two children sitting next to her.

"Everything's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Lacus then opened her mouth and began to sing, hoping to calm the children with it.

* * *

_Beneath the veil of starry sky_

_As cold as winter's darkest night_

_It's there you'll sleep, silent and deep_

_You're all alone_

* * *

Orb

"Where's mommy?" whispered a scared, redheaded child. "Are the roks gonna to get her?"

"She's fine Alexander," replied Elizabeth Dante reassuringly to her nephew, who was sitting on her lap. "She's in space. The falling rocks can't reach her there."

The young child hugged her and buried his face into her shirt and cried as they felt and heard the first impacts. Murrue Ramius and Andrew Waltfeld sat next to them in the shelter under the mansion, and Natarle Badgiruel and Victor Cain sat across from them. It had been predicted that Orb would receive limited damage from the meteorites of Junius Seven and the aftermath of the impacts. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

Liz looked up at the ceiling as she rubbed Alexander's back. It saddened her that her former home and the grave of her parents and so many of her friends was falling to Earth and causing so much death and destruction.

* * *

_A single prayer's soft melody_

_Across the lonely silent fields_

_A little light begins to shine, it shines on and on_

* * *

Taiyonoha Shelter

"My ladies, the _Minerva_ has successfully broken up Junius Seven," reported Faith. "However, my calculations show that many fragments will still hit the Earth and cause a great deal of devastation. As previously calculated, Orb will receive minimal damage."

Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you Faith," she said.

"There is one other concern," said Faith. "The Marshall Islands will not be spared as we have been. Reverend Malchio's orphanage will be destroyed."

Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha immediately shot to her feet on hearing that.

"The orphanage?" she whispered. "Kira… Lacus!"

* * *

_I watched you as you so peacefully dreamed_

_You laughed like a child, happy and carefree_

_It's so familiar and yet so far_

_That's the future is promised for you and me_

* * *

Location Unknown

In the safety of his bunker, Djibril watched events play out on the wall of screens before him. He sat in his chair, stroking the head of his cat, and behind him stood Serena Ryker.

"Let this event usher in the beginning of a new world," she said, her eyes transfixed on the screens.

Djibril smirked. "Yes," he replied, though she hadn't been seeking one. "A new world… a world ruled by us."

* * *

_One day on a green and shining morn_

_One day we will finally make through_

_Cause in this sky, so dark with winter_

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

Neo and the Extended stared down at the Earth as the fragments of Junius Seven continued to rain down on the planet. Of them, only Neo remained impassive, but like Treize, Silber and Rache, he was angry with himself. They'd realized, too late, that their interference had likely prevented the ZAFT forces from doing more to stop this from happening.

"Will they die?" whispered Stella in horror. "Are they all going to die?"

So horrified were those present that not one of them noticed that Stella had just spoken her block word without reacting to it.

* * *

_We still have to believe that it's true_

_Fields of hope...._

* * *

For just over an hour, pieces of Junius Seven rained down upon the Earth. Fragments devastated towns and cities; any that hit land also threw up clouds of dust into the air. The fragments that hit water sent huge tidal waves crashing onto nearby coasts, destroying homes and buildings.

"Captain, we can switch to aerodynamic control now," said Arthur.

Talia nodded. "Unfold the wings," she ordered. "Take it easy, Helm."

"Unfolding wings. Switching to atmospheric flight," said Malik.

"How are communications and sensors?" asked Talia.

"Offline ma'am. The fragments are interfering with the radio waves," reported Meyrin.

"Try using lasers or thermal sensors," said Talia. "We have to find the Impulse and the other machines." Her words snapped Cagalli out of her stupor.

"Do you think they made it down safely, Captain?" asked Arthur.

"After firing the Tannhauser like that, I have no way of knowing whether or not they made it," admitted Talia. "But I hope so."

* * *

Elsewhere

A burnt and badly damaged ZAKU Warrior fell through the sky.

"I guess you can't go through reentry without a booster," said Athrun as he tried to keep the ZAKU in the air for as long as possible.

"_Athrun! Athrun!_" a voice called out on the radio.

"Shinn, is that you?" asked Athrun.

"_Yeah! It's me,_" replied Shinn. "_Hang on, I'm on my way._"

"No, don't! Even the Impulse doesn't have enough thrust to stop two machines from falling," warned Athrun.

"_Who ever said he was alone?_" said another voice as the ZAKU suddenly shuddered.

The Impulse and the Strike Raven had grabbed onto the ZAKU, slowing its descent.

"_Why do you always have to be so noble and say stuff like that?_" asked Shinn, clearly annoyed.

"Okay, what would you rather I say than?" asked Athrun as the two slowed his ZAKU's descent.

"_Something like 'help me you bastard!'_" replied Shinn. Athrun smirked and Flay chuckled lightly.

"Hmm, fine, if that's what you want," said Athrun.

"_No,_" said Shinn. "_That was just an example._"

"Have either of you seen that last Gundam?" asked Athrun.

"_Gundam?_"

"_No, we haven't,_" said Flay. "_I'm not sure… there!_"

The three looked to the side to see the Rose Gundam flying through the air with ease. Its VPS armor had faded, indicating it was either low on power or running on nothing more than auxiliary power.

"_I was shooting down some fragments,_" said the pilot, pulling her machine over towards them. "_Used up most of my power, and I don't think I made much of a difference. I'm using everything I've got to keep in the air at the moment._"

"_Then let's hope we find the __**Minerva**__ soon,_" said Flay. "_I'm not sure how long the Strike Raven or the Impulse will last either._"

At that very moment, a flare flew up in front of them. The _Minerva_ was ahead of them.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

A Short While Later

Cagalli ran through the hanger, heading for the damaged ZAKU as Athrun climbed out.

"Athrun!" she called out as she reached the ZAKU, gasping for air.

But before she could say anything else, there was a loud explosion and the ship rumbled briefly.

"What was that? What's happening?" asked a worried Vino.

"Those were shockwaves. They've just gone all around world," explained Rey quietly. "Well, that'd be my guess."

"A good one too," said John.

"Have we been able to reach Orb?" Flay asked Cagalli as she approached the group, a slight, desperate tone noticeable in her voice.

"No. The dust is blocking any and all signals we send," she replied. "Don't worry, they would have taken refuge in the shelter before the debris hit."

"She tried to stop some of the debris too," added Athrun, looking at the Rose. Everyone else looked in that direction, and a few noticed that Aleksi was still staring at it—she hadn't taken her eyes off the machine since it landed.

The cockpit opened, and a young woman perhaps a year older than Cagalli stepped out. Her hair was the same golden blonde as her machine's 'hair', and like her machine, her eyes were mismatched red and green, tinted with an icy cold frost. What caught most of them off-guard, though, was that she wasn't wearing a pilot suit, nor even a ZAFT uniform.

Instead, she wore a black shirt and black pants, and she donned a black trenchcoat similar to John's before she leapt down from the cockpit, ignoring the zipline entirely. As she approached the group, moving with a unique grace that was uncannily familiar to the Orb pilots, Aleksi and Rey suddenly snapped to attention.

"Commander Kyusai, ma'am!" they said.

"At ease Aleksi, Rey," said Suiren, smiling. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Commander," said Aleksi, smiling back. Everyone was startled. This woman was Aleksi's superior during the war? Admittedly, this woman looked formidable, but they'd always envisioned Aleksi as someone who wouldn't be led by a person younger than her. And Rey knew her as well?

Suiren then turned to John, Cagalli and Athrun.

"Commander Suiren Kyusai," she said, giving them a respectful salute. "I have to admit, it's an honor to meet you, Black Hawk."

"Well, at least _someone_ isn't calling me 'sir' around here," muttered John, returning her salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

Shani and Clotho studied Suiren closely. _This_ was the woman Aleksi spoke so highly of? The one who'd gone head-to-head with Louisa at the beginning of Second Jachin?

Both decided that they'd tread lightly around this woman.

* * *

Aprilius One

An Hour Later

"Rome, Shanghai, the Gobi Desert, Quebec, Philadelphia, the North Atlantic. There's no way of telling how high the death toll will rise. A horrific tragedy, but I'm afraid the worst is yet to come," said Durandal to the young woman sitting on the couch behind him. "Are you prepared to help me?"

"Yes Chairman," replied the girl. "I will do whatever you need me to do."

Unseen by the girl, Durandal smiled.

* * *

The _Minerva_

The _Minerva_ had landed on the Pacific Ocean and the crew was taking a break before they started repairing the _Minerva_, though they realized that they wouldn't be able to complete the repairs without reaching some sort of dock for the major repairs. Many of the younger crewmen were on the outer decks of the ship, admiring the vast ocean before them. Above them, the gray dust clouds still lingered, but there were a few beams of sunlight poking through the cloud cover.

"So, you ever been to Earth before?" Tristan asked his teammate.

"Once," said Jessie. "A… a long time ago."

"I've been to Earth a couple times before the war," said Tristan, deciding not to inquire further. "But this is the first time I've been here since the war." Tristan sighed. "I wonder how bad the damage was."

"Pretty bad in the areas that were hit. But at least Earth's still here," replied Jessie.

Tristan nodded. "Yeah."

Flay was on the deck as well, leaning against the hull and staring at her locket in her hand.

"Hey. Who are those two?" asked Luna, startling Flay. "Is that your baby brother?"

"Ah… No," said Flay. "That's Alexander. My son."

Luna's eyes widened. "Oh… er… sorry."

Flay shook her head. "Don't be," she said. "He was one of the few bright spots of the war for me."

"You fought in the war?"

"More or less," said Flay before elaborating. "I was living on Heliopolis when it was attacked and I ended up on the _Archangel_. For a time, I served on that ship as the communications officer. And that's where I fell in love with Alexander's father. He was the pilot of the Raven."

"Is that him?" asked Luna, pointing to Chris's picture.

"Yes," said Flay softly. "But he never got to meet his son. He died at Jachin Due."

"I'm sorry."

* * *

_Orb Union_

One week after The Second Battle of Jachin Due

_A group of people gathered before the makeshift memorial. It had been made from a damaged head of an Orb Astray that had been destroyed during the Battle of Orb._

_Written on the side facing the people were the words, 'In memory of those that fought and died in defense of Orb, and all those that died in the Bloody Valentine War.'_

_Below those words, numerous pictures of fallen Orb soldiers and the members of the Orb government that sacrificed themselves with Uzumi Nara Athha. But alongside their pictures were pictures of the other fallen soldiers; crewmen and pilots from the __**Archangel**__, the __**Eternal**__, the __**Kusanagi**__ and the Alaric Team that had died in the battles in space were there._

_General Samuel Dante approached the memorial and turned to face the group._

"_For us, the storm has passed," he said. "The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure, sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that the war could be ended without one side wiping out the other. As we start to rebuild our homes, a monument shall rise here. A memorial to heroes fallen. They ennobled all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."_

_Samuel then turned and saluted the memorial._

"_Present arms!" the sergeant of the seven-man Honor Guard called out._

_The soldiers lifted up their rifles and fired off three volleys. As they fired, some people started to walk towards the memorial, leaving flowers next to photos of friends of loved ones. Miriallia placed a bouquet of flowers underneath Dearka's photo; behind her stood Tolle. Mir's eyes began to water as she put a hand to her mouth, trying to suppress her sobs. Tolle put his hands on her shoulders, comforting her as they walked away._

_Flay approached the memorial and lay her own bouquet under Chris's picture._

"_I'll look after him," she whispered. "I'll look after our son."_

_Unlike Mir, Flay did not leave the memorial after that._

_Eventually, there were only three people left, including Flay. She watched as the last two approached the memorial._

"_Thank you, Chris," said Kira, setting a key chain next to the bouquet Flay had left; a miniature version of Birdy hung from the chain. "We'll take care of her. Don't worry."_

"_You won't be forgotten," said Makoto, placing her own tribute next to Kira and Flay's: Makoto's dog tags. "You gave yours to Flay. Here are mine. You were one of us, Chris, no matter what anyone said to the contrary, and she's one of us as well. You saved her. You saved Kira. You saved us all, really." Makoto stepped back, standing side-by-side with Kira and Flay._

"_You won't be forgotten, Raven of Peace."_

* * *

"Don't be. He died saving a friend, my life and our child's life. He would have done it anyway," said Flay.

Nearby, Cagalli and Athrun stared out into the ocean together. Cagalli turned to Athrun. "Are you all right, Athrun?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Athrun replied.

"You had me worried," admitted Cagalli. "You never told that you were going out in a mobile suit."

A small smile crossed Athrun's lips. "I should have told you about that. Sorry."

"No, that's alright. I know how good you are," she said. "And to be honest, I'm a little glad that you did go out and help. Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of everyone else, the damage to the planet was lessened considerably."

To Athrun, it didn't feel like much of an accomplishment. There had still been a great deal of damage done to the planet from the fragments. And if the people of Earth found out that it wasn't an accident, and that a group of Coordinators were responsible, things would only get worse.

* * *

Elsewhere

Suiren stared out at the ocean. She'd missed this. For all their ability to duplicate lush natural environments, the PLANTs still weren't Earth.

"So, care to tell me what they're like?" asked Suiren before Aleksi had even made her presence known. The Greencoat stepped into view and walked to stand next to the younger-looking blonde.

"Isn't that question a little silly?" asked Aleksi. "You've already made your own assessments. Anything I say would be pointless."

"I see you haven't forgotten that," said Suiren.

"I couldn't," she replied. "Making your own judgments is the only reason you took me into your team."

"That's true," said the Commander. "Anyone else would've said you were completely unworthy of such an elite unit. The fact that you're still alive after facing the opponents you did and with that old GuAIZ I gave you before Jachin still intact is proof that 'anyone else' would've been wrong."

"I only survived because I had help," said Aleksi.

"You can work with others," retorted Suiren. "_That's_ the key. The best pilots in the world will not survive faced with competent teamwork."

"The corollary?"

"The Dauntless Angel of Faith and the White Angel of Freedom are not pilots," said Suiren. "Just like the title says, they're Angels."

"Did you talk with those Orb pilots?" asked Aleksi. "They're rather curious about you."

"Not yet," said Suiren. "Right now… I'm simply enjoying myself out here."

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

Neo entered the lab of the Third Generation Extended. Dr. Mikhail Andras was there, humming as he typed on a small terminal. Next to him, Treize was heavily strapped onto a table. His limbs were bound with multiple leather straps while metal clamps were holding his head in place. A number of wires were connected to his skull from the terminal. Treize appeared lifeless, aside from his steady breathing and the occasional facial and hand twitch.

Unlike the Second Generation of Extended, the Third Generation could not handle repeated mental modifications. It would weaken and corrupt their programming. And if that happened, no one could control them. But they still required regular inspection and maintenance on their programming every couple of weeks, and the only person allowed to do that was their creator, Dr. Andras.

The doctor finished typing in a command and pressed the Execute button. Treize let out a gasp. The life returned to his mismatched eyes. After a few seconds, a look of pure hatred filled those eyes.

"I will… make… you… pay," he rasped as he weakly struggled against his bonds. "I… will… kill… you…"

Neo was taken back by Treize's words. "What did you do to him?" he asked sharply.

"I forgot that this is your first time watching one of these sessions. Don't worry. In order to properly inspect his programming, I must deactivate it. This is just the last shred of the original subject's mind," explained Andras, his eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him. "If you think he's bad, you should see 1004. Her mind is completely shattered. In fact, her programming is the only thing keeping her sane. But she serves her purpose, as do the others. Now you said that 1304 was having some difficulties with the ZAFT forces, correct?"

"Yes."

"That just won't do," said Andras, once again typing away. "1304 is the zenith of all the research and experiments we have done. There shouldn't be anyone capable of stopping him."

"Well, Treize and the others–"

"Treize. You know I've wondered why you gave the EX-C Units names," said the doctor, interrupting him. "They are weapons, nothing more. Giving them names is pointless. They exist only to fight and kill. They are true soldiers, devoid of self-preservation, mercy, fear, regret and morals. But they are not human, hence, there is no need to treated as such."

Truthfully, Neo hated this man. He had seen firsthand Dr. Andras's final test for the EX-C Units: a free-for-all between the thirty-four EX-C Units. The battle lasted for just over two hours, when there were only seven bloody Extended left. He had asked Andras why, if they had thirty-four completed Units, were they subjecting them to such a trial. Andras replied that the drugs that sustained them were too expensive to keep more than half a dozen or so. He believed that the final combat test was the effective way to 'cut the chaff from the wheat while burning the chaff at the same time' as he had said. Neo knew that the man had done even worse over the years as well.

"It's necessary," answered Neo. "How many times must you be reminded of what people would think if they learned of this? It also makes it more comfortable for others to work with, and easier to call them by a name rather than trying to remember their numbers all the time, and quicker in an emergency."

Andras sighed. "I suppose," he said, but it was obvious he still thought he was right and simply didn't care to bother arguing.

He typed in a final sting of commands and pressed Execute again. Treize let out a loud, pained scream as he thrashed against his bonds. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he stopped screaming, collapsing into unconsciousness.

"There. Maintenance and readjustments complete," said Andras, unstrapping Treize from the table.

A moment later, Treize's eyes opened. "Sirs," he said, sitting up, seemingly unaware of what just happened. "Is my maintenance complete?"

"Yes 1304," said the doctor. "Put your mask back on and return to your quarters for rest. Report any anomalies immediately."

Treize grabbed his mask from a nearby table and left the lab. "Do not worry, Captain Roanoke," said Andras. "1304 will be operating at maximum performance from now on."

Neo raised his eyebrow, though it was hidden behind his mask. "Even against that new white machine and our former machines?"

"Yes. Even if those two are still alive and piloting those machines, I guarantee that he'll bring you the heads of those machines," replied Andras with a smirk. "After all, he is my greatest work of art. My masterpiece."

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Bridge

"What's the status on communications?" asked Talia.

"We still can't get through ma'am," answered Bart.

Talia sighed. "The status on the repairs?"

"Within a few hours, we'll be able to head to Carpentaria for full repairs," replied Arthur.

"May I make a suggestion Captain? Orb is closer then Carpentaria," said John. "The Chief Representative needs to get back to Orb as soon as possible. The Orb government would be grateful for personally returning the Chief Representative, enough so that they would be obligated to repay you by helping out with repairs on the _Minerva_."

Talia nodded, seeing the logic in his suggestion. "I agree. Arthur, when the repairs are complete, set course for Orb."

* * *

Elsewhere

Athrun spotted Cagalli watching him as he gave Lunamaria some small pointers on her marksmanship.

"Yeah, it's a skill," admitted Athrun regarding his marksmanship, handing Luna back the pistol. "But… personally, I don't think it's a very useful one." He started to walk away.

"I disagree," said Luna. "It's important to know how to protect yourself and your friends from the enemy."

Athrun paused, slowly turning to look at her over his shoulder. "From the enemy?" he questioned. "And who are they?"

"Huh?"

"I hear Lady Setsuna's songs are very popular in the PLANTs right now," continued Athrun. "I'm sure you've heard them. But have you ever _listened_ to them?"

"Wha–?"

Athrun continued to walk away when Shinn spoke up.

"Apparently, the _Minerva_'s heading for Orb pretty soon," he said. "What about you? Are you going back to Orb too?"

"Yeah," said Athrun.

"Why is that?" asked Shinn, thinking of the stupid arrogance of Orb. It didn't seem to fit with the legendary war hero Athrun was supposed to be, in Shinn's mind. "Why are you with them anyway? What do you do?"

Athrun thought about all his friends and Orb and all his reasons for being there, and walked away without bothering to answer Shinn's question.

"He's restless," said a voice next to Cagalli, startling her. She turned to see Suiren standing there. "I wonder why. Has the resolve that made him risk everything to stop GENESIS no longer there?" Suiren's cold, mismatched eyes met Cagalli's amber orbs. "Or maybe… he's not the person everyone thinks he is."

Suiren left then, allowing Cagalli to dwell on the cryptic meaning of those words.

* * *

Marshall Islands

Kira and Lacus stood on the beach as the waves lapped against the shore. In the distance, they could see an approaching Orb VTOL transport, sent by the Taiyonohas to bring them to Orb in the wake of the total destruction of the orphanage.

"There's a storm on its way," whispered Lacus. Kira was silent, releasing his senses.

Darkness was everywhere, figuratively and literally. There were points of light piercing it, one of the greatest of which stood next to him. He could see another, even greater light in multiple colors approaching aboard the VTOL.

"Yeah," he said. "I know."

* * *

Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

A masked man sat down at a desk covered with a number of monitors and a lone console. He pushed a button on the console and the screens came to life, revealing group of masked individuals.

"Junius Seven has fallen. The war will soon begin," said the leader of the group, known as the Prophet. His mask was pure black with no facial features, mouth hole or eyeholes. "Is everything position?"

"_Yes sir,_" answered Void. His mask was dark blue with purple vortex covering the center of the mask. "_Durandal is already preparing a major speech for the people as well as a massive relief effort to be sent to Earth._"

"The recording?"

Void nodded. "_It has been sent to Djibril. And per your orders, I am keeping the other materials until they are needed._"

"Excellent," said the Prophet. "There is one other thing I would like you to do. I have recently learned of a young woman that Durandal has located and is planning to use for his goals. She could be quite useful in the aftermath of the war, with the proper and motivation, of course. Keep an agent close to her at all times."

"_As you wish._"

"Harlequin, report," ordered the Prophet. "What is the status of the other side?"

"_Fortunately, the Alliance secured their equipment in the danger areas before the incident was made public,_" reported Harlequin. The right half of her mask was a beautiful, grinning face, the left half, a scarred, weeping face. "_However, we just received word that Lodonia has been severely damaged by meteorites. They are already preparing to relocate the important personnel to the secondary facility before they liquidate the facility and the expendable personnel and test subjects._"

"An unfortunate turn of events," said the Prophet. "I want that new facility to remain hidden and secured. Make sure there are no traces of it within the Alliance's records. It must not be found. We cannot afford to lose so many future soldiers. Do I make myself clear?"

"_Yes sir._"

"What of Orb?"

"_As expected,_" said Harlequin. "_Publicly, the pressure from the Atlantic Federation has pushed the Seirans into seeking to bring Orb into the Earth Alliance, to prevent a repeat of the Invasion of Orb during the last war, while behind the scenes, the Seirans are playing the role given by Djibril quite well. I predict that they will likely try to manipulate the Chief Representative while usurping her power, essentially making her a puppet for their government._"

The Prophet chuckled. "So much for the so-called 'Neutral Nation of Orb'," he said, his voice filled with contempt for the nation of Orb. "If we're fortunate, that selfish, pitiful nation will burn by the end of this war. If there is nothing else to bring up, continue carrying out your orders as planned. I will contact you when and if the need arises." The Prophet paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. "Once this war has ended, regardless of the winner, everything will be in position to begin our operations. Then humanity's future will be in the hands of those worthy to guide humanity down the correct path. Free from those that bring destruction and stagnation to humanity. Free from the weak, spineless fools who refuse to change the world for the better. The reformation is coming. Soon, my brothers and sisters. Soon."

The transmission was then cut and the Prophet sighed. Then, he heard clapping behind him. He knew it was coming, and he knew that it would be mocking. He turned his chair to face a man none of the others knew about, the real mastermind behind everything.

"You do well, boy," said the man. "You make an excellent pawn."

"I'll kill you," snarled the Prophet, removing his mask. The man laughed, still mockingly.

"Of course," he said. "Why, that danger is half the fun. But it doesn't matter. In the end, I will be victorious. I'll prove my superiority to _her_."

"You'd see the world burn for a petty grudge?"

"Oh, it's so much more than that," laughed the man. "It's not a grudge. It's a contest, a game that we've been playing for some time, and the world is the chessboard, the people and nations, our pawns. If the world burns as a consequence, then so be it. But I _will_ _be victorious_."

The Prophet glared at this madman with unrestrained hatred. But there was nothing he could do. This man had utterly trapped him within the bonds he'd woven for himself years ago, and the only escape was death.

But so tight were the bonds that he'd have to find someone strong enough to kill him. He had several individuals in mind…

But no way to warn them, and no way to get them to kill him. They were far too merciful.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well now, that was all rather interesting. We get properly introduced to Suiren here, and she seems to carry the particular quirk of the "principal antagonist" type characters (with the exception of 00) of not wearing a pilot suit. She's not the first character I've featured who's like that, but she's the first that seems to be in a position by which she can become an antagonist.**

**Also, I would again like to remind everyone that the story's _are_ different. Just because the Prophet in my story is a puppet does NOT mean the same in Akatsuki Leader13's version, just as the fact that Liz pilots a Gundam in _SEED Dauntless_ does NOT mean she piloted one in _SEED: A Retelling_. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!**

***Pant pant* Okay, enough of that. Anyways, there's a fair bit of interesting stuff at the end, and some bits and pieces regarding Suiren, who's been confirmed as Aleksi's old commander and apparently knows Rey as well. A bit more will hopefully be explained in the future, but I make no promises.**

**A lot of you have probably noticed a difference between this Kira and the one in _SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. No offense to Akatsuki Leader13, but that was something that always bugged me: how Kira developed almost identical to canon and blamed himself for stuff that wasn't his fault. Given how I've developed him, he's not the type to blame himself for Chris's death. On a sidenote... nah, I don't want to spoil it. ^_^  
**

**Alright, enough of that. I still have no intention of boring you. Next chapter, I hope to depart a bit more from Akatsuki Leader13's version. Until then!**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	7. Phase 07: Land of Confusion

**I suggest everyone enjoy this, because it'll probably be my last unscheduled update for quite awhile. The next update will be up on Friday, the next one a week after that, and so on and so forth. I'm almost hoping to get to work on _The White Queen_ again soon, following the same schedule (though I might push it back to Saturday). I'm also pulling together everything I need for another fanfic in an entirely different category (that'll be awhile, though, since a lot of details need to be planned out ahead of time). Furthermore, I'm also trying to finish writing the basic script (*cough* plot outline *cough*) for a Destiny AU fic which features Kira replacing Athrun's role in the story and Orb not joining the Alliance. Also, I'm trying to get my act together and get the next chapter of _Dark Angel of Freedom _out, but I've been having some difficulties with this particular chapter, so it's taking a lot longer than I'd hoped.  
**

**Anyways, this chapter was originally going to be combined with the next chapter, but I decided to split them up, both to avoid an overlong chapter and to keep some information ambiguous for a little while longer.**

**And, major fans of _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, I have a special present for you: the return of some eighty percent of the (living) characters from _SEED Dauntless_!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply (translation: I'm lazy).  
**

* * *

Phase Seven: Land of Confusion

October 6th, C.E. 73

* * *

Aprilius One

Chairman Durandal took the podium and took a deep breath as the crews went through the final preparations for the broadcast. The worst of the dust clouds had scattered from the skies of Earth, allowing them to broadcast to Earth as well as the PLANTs, and it was vital that he send his message to the world as soon as possible.

"Ready Your Excellency?"

Durandal nodded. "Yes. I am ready."

"Then we'll begin in five… four… three… two… one…"

"Greetings people of ZAFT and Earth," said Durandal. "I have come to you because of the terrible tragedy that has befallen the Earth. There are no words that can convey the sorrow that we are all feeling right now. The fall of Junius Seven has been an accident of unprecedented proportion. The–"

"_That is a lie…_"

Static suddenly filled the screens behind the Chairman. Durandal stopped.

"What? What's happening?" he demanded.

"It appears that someone has hacked into the broadcast, sir," answered a technician.

"Who?"

"Unknown. But we're trying to stop them."

A young dark haired woman appeared on the screen, clad in a white EA uniform, standing behind a podium with an Earth Alliance flag draped down the front of it. Behind the woman was a large screen, displaying the same flag. She appeared to be of African or Middle Eastern descent.

"_People of Earth, a terrible tragedy __**has**__ befallen us,_" she said."_Cities have been devastated; countless lives have been lost. A horrible, horrible accident… Or at least that's what Chairman Durandal of ZAFT would have you believe. The truth is that it was not an accident, but an attack on us; a deliberate attack on us!_"

Durandal's eyes widened. This was Djibril's doing. It had to be.

Images of black and purple GINNs setting up Flare Motors appeared on the screen behind the female speaker.

"_Now undoubtedly, Durandal will claim that these are nothing more than terrorists working on their own,_" she continued. "_And that may be true. But I find myself asking, how could they get so many Flare Motors and mobile suits to move Junius Seven so quickly? Such a group couldn't manufacture such machines, and if they had been stolen from ZAFT, surely someone would have noticed and said something. I can personally say on behalf of the Earth Alliance, no such devices were stolen from us. Which could only mean one thing: they were given to the terrorists._"

Durandal paled as he heard those words. This woman was going to ruin everything. He had to stop her now.

"Cut the feed! Now!" he shouted.

"We've already tried, sir. It's no good. Someone has hacked our systems. We can't stop them."

"_I know what you are all thinking right now. 'Who would help out a group of terrorists that sought to destroy the Earth?' The answer is simple._" She thrust a finger, accusingly at the screen. "_The people that fear and hate us, the people who make Earth our home. The same people that built GENESIS and tried to destroy the entire planet with it. The same people that are still running ZAFT._"

Durandal scowled. He had an idea of where this was heading.

"_Durandal would have you all believe that he and ZAFT were not responsible for the actions of those few individuals, and maybe that's true. Yet, a fair number of ZAFT ships were close enough to respond to the crisis, including ZAFT's infamous Kessel Team and their brand new warship. Now doesn't that sound odd? One of ZAFT's best units and their new warship just so happened to be in the same area, just as this crisis was unfolding. Now Durandal would have you believe that this was all a coincidence. But that is a lie. He knew Junius Seven was going to fall to Earth and he made sure that ZAFT's forces would be in position to minimize the damage to our world. Why? Simple. To trick you, all of you, into believing that ZAFT and Chairman Durandal saved your from an unexpected disaster. Why? I do not know. Perhaps, Durandal wants you all to see ZAFT as your saviors, so you would be willing to bow to ZAFT when the time came, to be their obedient pets when the time came. To be their slaves!_"The girl slammed her fists on the podium in front of her, earning cheers from an unseen crowd."_People of Earth, take ZAFT's aid as you wish, but resist their lies. Ignore Durandal's false words and promises. Demand that he and his allies admit their crimes and receive the justice they deserve. And fight against those that would manipulate and control you from the hourglasses of space._" She thrust her fist into the air. "_For the future of our world and its people!_"

"_For the future of our world and its people!_" cheered the coward, thrusting their own fists into the air as well.

* * *

Orb Union

"Well now, that's interesting," said the woman, mildly sipping at her tea. "I wonder what our people will have to say about it when they arrive."

"Do you think it's true?" asked her guest as he took a sip of his own tea.

"You know the answer to that," she answered. "Those were GINN High-Maneuver Type IIs. Those machines are exclusive to ZAFT Special Forces, and even the Kessel Team doesn't have access to them. No simple terrorists would be able to obtain that many Flare Motors _and_ mobile suits without being noticed. But the way that woman speaks is rather telling. She has Blue Cosmos written all over her."

"She painted someone in ZAFT's upper echelons as being responsible, then immediately concluded that all citizens of the PLANTs and soldiers of ZAFT were responsible," he agreed. "What do you think? Your vision is far more acute than mine is."

She paused for a moment before shrugging slightly.

"I think it's time we move up our schedule," she said. "The X01 is now a priority. Once the systems there are complete, we'll be ready to start work on the Angels of Divinity and the Knight of Orb."

"Are things really gonna be that bad?"

"Probably," she answered, eyes unfocused as she concentrated. "Darkness is coming. You can see that much just as well as I can, Kira."

"I wanted to be certain, Makoto."

* * *

The _Minerva_

Many of the _Minerva_ pilots and crewmembers had been watching the broadcast from the ship's lounge. All of them were shocked by what had just happened.

"Whoa… Do you think that what she said was true?" asked a stunned Vino. "Were we there because the Chairman wanted us to be there?"

"No. It's just anti-Coordinator propaganda," answered Rey immediately. "The Chairman would never endanger Earth like that."

"Does that mean there's going to be another war?" asked a voice from the back of the lounge.

It was Shani, the only Orb pilot present, sitting in a corner of the room, his headphones hanging from his neck. Shinn scowled at him.

"Bet you would love that," he said. "More people for you to kill."

"Shinn, that's enough," said Rey, trying to prevent another fight.

Shani only continued to eye the ZAFT pilots and didn't say anything, unlike Shinn.

"You and that other guy just love to kill people. Another war would be just another excuse for you to start killing people again," he ranted. "People like you make me sick. You don't give a damn about the people you've killed."

"Say what you want," said Shani. "But not all of us can be like the Angels. Not all of us are good enough to fight without killing."

"That's just an excuse!" said Shinn. "If you really cared, you'd have killed yourself!"

This time, Shani ignored the hotheaded, self-centered brat (as he saw him, anyways—he suspected a lot of people he knew would feel the same way). John had already given all the explanation Shani felt was necessary, and the green-haired Orb pilot slipped back into his own world. However, this only served to infuriate Shinn further.

"If only your parents could see you now!" shouted Shinn. "You're nothing but an animal!"

"Shinn! That's enough!" said Rey.

Shani's eyes widened. His parents? A part of his horribly mixed memories suddenly rushed to the surface of his mind.

"_No daddy! Please! I'll do better! I promise!" he pleaded with his father._

_He had disappointed him again. No matter how hard he tried, he could never please him._

"_It's clear that you are a failure. And I will not tolerate a failure for son," said his father, his voice filled with disgust._

"_But I can do better!"_

"_No. I have a better use for you. You're going to become something useful, one way or another."_

Shani screamed, clutching his head in agony, startling everyone. Red filled Shani's vision. Before anyone could react, Shani jumped up and slammed himself against the wall, locking himself against it before he attacked one of the ZAFT pilots with his last bit of control. His hand slammed against the wall again, denting it.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Tristan, rushing forward to Shani's side. Shani let out an animalistic roar and pushed Tristan back, knocking the Coordinator to the ground. Before the former biological CPU could throw himself on the Greencoat, he was suddenly body slammed against the wall from the side, and before he could react, Clotho flipped him over and wrapped his arms around Shani's neck and head, locking him in a sleeper hold.

"Get a hold of yourself, you bastard!" said Clotho as Shani continued to struggle. "Damn it!"

Clotho slammed Shani back against the wall and pressed his elbow and all his weight between Shani's shoulder blades. Shani let out a cry of pain before Clotho grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall, knocking his teammate out.

"Sorry," he said, laying his unconscious friend on the ground before plopping down and letting out several labored breaths. "Damn it, who the hell set him off?"

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" demanded Shinn.

"Weren't you listening before?" asked Clotho, still gasping for breath. Shani was quite a bit stronger than him. "We don't even know who we are. All we have is a bunch of jumbled memories that we've spent the last two years trying to sort out. But every once in awhile, something causes a memory to snap to the surface, and our reactions range from being overcome with joy for particularly happy memories… to _that_, for the more horrific. Add in what those fascist bastards did to us to increase our aggression, and we had to learn how to subdue each other."

"Just… just what the hell are you talking about?" asked Shinn, his uncertain curiosity overcoming his hatred.

"I'm not saying it again," said Clotho, grabbing Shani's arm and throwing it over his neck as he stood up. "Can someone help me? He'll be better off in the brig or restrained in the infirmary than anywhere else, just in case he's still out of control when he wakes up."

"Sure," said Jessie, rushing forward and taking Shani's other arm. Given what had just happened, it served as a rather interesting show of courage on his part. "I'll show you to the infirmary."

The two then left, carrying Shani between them. Tolle walked in front of the lounge door from the opposite direction the three had left in, before turning to look inside.

"Who the hell set my teammate off?" he demanded icily.

* * *

Unknown Location

Within hours of the broadcast, people all over the planet began to lash out at the ZAFT forces that were providing aid to them. Many tolerated their help until they were no longer in any immediate danger or Alliance forces arrived, then they would lash out the Coordinators. But there were those that wouldn't even allow that; they attacked the ZAFT personnel, throwing rocks and debris at them as they yelled and ranted at them. In numerous cities that hadn't been devastated by the event becoming known as Break the World, anti-ZAFT riots started, demanding that Durandal and ZAFT answer for the event.

"Wonderful. Simply wonderful," said Djibril with glee, watching events unfold from his bunker. "As predicted, the people are up in arms against Durandal and the Coordinators."

"_Indeed. Soon the war will begin again and the foundation of humanity's future will be set._"

Djibril raised up a glass of wine, swirling the contents of the glass. "We're already preparing for the attack on the PLANTs themselves, including our new Peacemaker Force. Soon the PLANTs will be finished."

"_I've told you before, Djibril, a nuclear strike against the PLANTs at this stage is ill-advised and, put bluntly, a stupid mistake._"

Djibril scowled and turned to the speaker, displayed on the only screen that didn't show news reports. Instead, it showed an individual wearing a faceless black mask.

Gabriel, as the man called himself, though many of the masked man's subordinates called him the Prophet. He was the one that had helped bring Djibril to plan out the opening act and discover the plans to drop Junius Seven, though Gabriel's motives, as well as his identity, were a mystery to him. Gabriel claimed that his goals and the goals of LOGOS were close enough that if the Alliance found the war, his goal would be achieved.

Djibril still didn't trust him and his group. He would use them to further his own goals and when the time came, he would eliminate the group.

"_Durandal is no fool. He will expect us to target the PLANTs first. Your Peacemaker Force will be walking straight into a trap. Not only that, but the weak-minded fools out there will have second thoughts after seeing us attempting to wipe them out so soon,_" explained Gabriel. "_But I do have an alternative plan in mind. One that will greatly weaken the defensive line of the PLANTs for months to come, and will give us the time to stoke the fires of hatred on Earth to the point where the people will be screaming at us to wipe out the Coordinators._"

Djibril stroked his chin. "Tell me your plan."

* * *

Durandal's Office

Durandal sat down at his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose. That broadcast had been an unexpected surprise.

He had expected a rebuttal from the Earth Alliance after his speech, but he hadn't expected them to interrupt it. Worse, it implied that someone was working for the Alliance in ZAFT. Someone that had known when he was going to make his speech and would be able to cut him off as he gave the speech to the masses. It could only be someone of importance within ZAFT itself. The thought of someone in such a high position working for the Alliance chilled him to the bone.

Durandal activated the terminal in his desk. He needed to contact ZAFT's Intelligence Agency. The face of a dark skinned man appeared, Nathaniel Abaddon, the Director of ZAFT Intelligence.

"Mr. Abaddon, I trust you were watching that broadcast," he said.

He had black eyes and his head was completely hairless. There was a large scar covering much of his left cheek. "_Of course, Chairman. I've already assembled a team to investigate how they managed to interrupt your broadcast._"

"Good," said the Chairman. "Also, I want you to learn all you can about that woman. It seems that Djibril still has a few surprises, and I wish to be ready for as many of them as I can."

"_As you wish, Chairman Durandal._"

Durandal cut the line, ending the conversation. The PLANT Chairman sighed. This whole situation had given him a headache. He had hoped that Break the World and the speech he had written would cause many of the people on Earth to turn against the idea of war. But now, those hopes were dashed. Djibril had effectively changed things in an unexpected way. And worse, he wasn't even sure what else that man might have planned as well. He knew he would have to be more careful from now on.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Entering Orb Territorial Waters

"Wow," whispered Luna, genuinely astounded by what she was seeing. She'd heard that the Taiyonoha Fleet used mobile suits exclusive to them, as opposed to the regular military that used M1 Astrays and the new Murasames, but she'd never really thought it was true.

But there they were: the winged M2 Angelus, the fastest mass-produced mobile suit yet developed, and the M3 Guardian, the mass-produced variant of the legendary GAT-X machine of the same name and a machine that, if the reputation was true, could take on several ZAKU Phantom HM Types and come out on top.

"Ma'am, we're being hailed," said Meyrin, snapping Luna out of her daze. The _Minerva_ pilots and Orb citizens were all standing on the bridge; Suiren had wanted the ZAFT pilots to see the Orb machines, while the group from Orb was simply happy to be home.

"Put it onscreen," ordered Talia. Immediately, a green-eyed brunette about Talia's age wearing a Morgenroete Crew Chief uniform appeared on the screen.

"_Lady Cagalli, Lady Flay, it's good to see you're all right,_" said the woman.

"Yes, we're fine, Shizuka," acknowledge Cagalli with a slight nod.

"Shizuka, how's Alexander?" asked Flay.

"_He's fine,_" assured Shizuka.

"Miss Shizuka, I'm Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_," said Talia. "We'd like permission to dock."

"_You hardly need my permission,_" said Shizuka. "_We're already preparing a dock for your ship. We'll get the __**Minerva**__ back in top condition in no time._"

"Thank you," said Talia.

"_We should be thanking you,_" said Shizuka. "_But anyways, I didn't call for pleasantries. Captain, my niece, Lady Setsuna, has requested a chance to meet two of your crew face-to-face. Let's see…_" Shizuka lifted a notepad and looked at it. "_A former Orb citizen with red eyes who escaped the Battle of Orb and a heterochromic individual with red and green eyes._"

Everyone on the bridge stared at the screen, dumb-founded. Everyone except for Suiren.

"Very well then," she said. "I'd be one of those individuals. Commander Suiren Kyusai of ZAFT. The other is the pilot for our state-of-the-art prototype, the Impulse, Shinn Asuka." Suiren glanced at Shinn. Shizuka stared at Suiren for a moment before nodding.

"_Thank for granting my niece's request,_" she said before the communiqué cut.

"How in the world did she know your eye colors?" asked Aleksi, shaking her head in bewilderment.

"Who cares?" asked Luna. "This is Lady Setsuna of Orb we're talking about. A chance to meet someone of her standing—it's almost like meeting Lacus Clyne herself!"

Shinn was silent, utterly bewildered. Why would Lady Setsuna request a meeting with him and Commander Kyusai? How did she know his eye color?

Though it was somewhat of a contradiction and he often hid it, Setsuna was the one thing Shinn _didn't_ hate about Orb. He'd first heard Setsuna's singing mere hours after the death of his family, accompanied by a bizarre sense of warmth surrounding him, comforting him and giving him the sense that his family was still with him. Though he'd never understood the latter part, the song had always stuck with him because of it. Though he'd heard it in a time of tragedy, much like Mayu's voicemail pickup, it was something that reminded him of his family, and it had extended to most of the rest of her music as well.

The _Minerva_ slowly entered the dry-dock. Once the mighty ship was in position, the locks slid into place and the water was quickly drained. Talia, Arthur, Cagalli, Athrun, Flay, John, Suiren and Rey were the first to disembark from the ship, greeted by a crowd of Orb officials. Behind them came Shinn, Aleksi, Tolle, Shani and Clotho.

"Cagalli!" Yuna Roma Seiran called out as the group climbed the stairs.

"Yuna," said Cagalli as the man embraced her in an unwanted hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright," he said. "I was so worried about you."

Cagalli squirmed in the man's grasp, trying to break free while Athrun looked away from the scene.

"Ah… Um… Sorry about that." _Diplomacy…_

Unato Ema Seiran stepped forward. "Yuna, I know how you must feel, but this isn't the place. You're making the ZAFT officers uncomfortable."

Cagalli finally managed to break free from Yuna. "Unato Ema Seiran," she said, approaching the Prime Minister.

Unato and much of his entourage bowed their head. "Lady Cagalli. Welcome home," he greeted. "It's a tremendous relief to have you back, safe and sound.

"Forgive me for being absent during such an important time," said Cagalli. "What is damage assessment?"

"The coastal areas have been hit hard by large waves, but fortunately, Orb itself was spared," answered Unato. "I'll give you the full report when you return to the capital building."

Talia stepped forward, alerting the Orb officials of her presence. As they turned to her, she saluted. "I am Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_."

"And I am the Executive Officer of the _Minerva_, Arthur Trine," added Arthur, saluting as well.

"I am the Prime Minister of the Orb Union, Unato Ema Seiran," said Unato, returning the greeting. "I speak for all of us when I express our gratitude to all of you for safely returning the Chief Representative to us."

"Thank you, but it was the least we could do," replied Talia. "Though it was unexpected and unintentional, we regret putting Representative Athha in danger and taking her away from her homeland during such a crisis. Furthermore, we offer our condolences for the tragedy that has happened."

"We appreciate your kind words," said Unato. "I'm sure that you and your crew are exhausted from what you've been through. Please, feel free to allow your crew to disembark and receive some well deserved rest."

"Thank you."

Unato turned to Cagalli. "We should make our way to the meeting now," he told her. "There are urgent matters that you need to be informed of."

"I understand," replied Cagalli.

Yuna wrapped an arm around Cagalli's shoulder, pulling her with him and his father. Cagalli's head turned over her shoulder, looking back at Athrun. Yuna noticed this and turned to Athrun as well.

"Oh, thank you for keeping the Chief Representative safe, Alex," he said.

Athrun bowed his head. "You're welcome," he replied as politely as he could to the man with his arm on Cagalli.

"We won't need your report until later, so why don't you take some time to rest too," suggested Yuna as he led Cagalli towards the limo.

Athrun sighed as the two entered the limo and left.

"You know, you really should just tell her, before she does something stupid," Flay whispered to him.

Athrun's cheeks reddened. He opened his mouth to say something when a child's voice shouted out. "Mommy!"

A tall, well-built but old Orb officer emerged from the crowd, a red-haired toddler riding on his shoulders.

"Alex!" Flay called out, rushing past the others.

The man pulled the child off of his shoulder and set him down. The child half-walked, half-waddled, towards his mother.

"Oh, I missed you so much," said Flay, lifting her son up in a hug, relieved that he was fine. "I was so worried about you."

"Me too mommy," said the child, burying his head in his mother's chest.

Rey, Suiren and Aleksi eyed the child contemplatively. It was obvious to all three of them that this child was… different.

Flay turned towards the Minerva crewmembers, Alex still in her arms.

"This is my son, Alex," she explained. "Say hello Alex."

"Hello."

Rey, Suiren and Aleksi all smiled before Flay turned back to the Orb officer.

"So, what sort of condition are your machines in?" came another voice. Everyone turned to see Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha approaching. "Am I going to have to rebuild them from their skeletal structures again?"

"We didn't tear them apart, Shizuka," said John, smiling at her. "That said, you're a dangerous and controlling woman who likely thinks even a scratch constitutes being 'torn apart'."

"Before you start flirting with me," said Shizuka. "Need I remind you that I happen to be engaged to one of the few people alive who could put a bullet in your head first?"

John chuckled. "True," he said. "You're a beautiful and wondrous woman, Shizuka, but you're not worth a quarrel with my brother."

The ZAFT soldiers gasped in surprise.

"So, where's your niece, anyways?" asked John.

"I'll let Samuel answer that," said Shizuka, walking away. General Samuel Dante sighed.

"When you arrived," he started, turning to John. "They were prepping the X01 for a test, so…"

John blinked in confusion then groaned as Flay's head tilted to the side before the sound of an engine reached the ears of those at the dock. However, it wasn't a mobile suit engine, far too quiet and small for that.

"I've been getting far too familiar with that sound lately," said Samuel.

"What? What is it?" asked Shinn, confused as the noise continued to grow louder. Suddenly, his fellow ZAFT pilots spun to face a walkway on the floor above, just as the noise reached the doors and the double doors were busted open by a motorcycle flying through them. Morgenroete crews scattered as the bike landed on the ground and turned, skidding to a halt some ten feet away from Flay and Alex.

The rider, obviously a woman from her attractive figure, kicked down the bike stand and swung off of it, removing her helmet and placing it on the bike before turning to face the _Minerva_ crew.

The best description for her was gorgeous. She was about Suiren's age, perhaps a year younger, with long red hair that fell to her waist and exotic, almost jewel-like, emerald green eyes. She wore black jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt with fingerless biker gloves that extended under the sleeves of the shirt.

Through the doors she'd come in from, a pair of fuming women rushed in as the ZAFT soldiers stared dumbstruck and the Orb citizens all sighed.

"I'm gonna kill you!" spat the green-eyed brunette.

"_We're_ going to kill you!" corrected the azure-eyed pink-haired woman before the two leapt over the railing and landed with a grace that indicated they'd done this many times before. The two rushed at the biker furiously.

"You task us with your protection and pull something like this?!" screamed the brunette, rushing up and getting right in the biker's face.

"Repeatedly, I might add," said the pink-haired woman, the older of the two furious women. "You can't expect us to put up with this all the time!"

"Elizabeth, Louisa," said the biker mildly, smirking as she pulled something from her pocket and started twirling it on her finger.

A leather collar.

Instantly, both Elizabeth Dante and Louisa Kohls froze and started blushing furiously, leaving everyone but the biker utterly confused as the redhead turned to face the others, pocketing the collar.

"Sorry about that," she said, walking forward.

"I wish you wouldn't do that all the time," said Samuel tiredly.

"Oh, you worry too much," said the redhead, stopping in front of the _Minerva_ pilots and eyeing them, though her attention quickly focused on Shinn and Suiren.

Suddenly, she bowed slightly to them, placing her right arm across her chest, hand on her left shoulder, catching everyone off-guard.

"I'd like to thank you for your actions in orbit," she said before standing back up. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha, Heir to the House Taiyonoha."

"Commander Suiren Kyusai of ZAFT," said Suiren, returning Setsuna's bow.

"Uh, Shinn Asuka," said Shinn, almost nervously as he quickly bowed to Setsuna himself, surprising everyone. It was more respect than he'd paid Cagalli, to be sure.

"Why did you request a meeting with us?" asked Suiren. Setsuna gave the two a rather dangerous smirk in response.

"I have an interest in those who bear the SEED," she said cryptically. Shinn was confused, but Suiren's eyes narrowed slightly.

Meanwhile, Louisa greeted Shani and Clotho enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around each of them and managing to give both of them backbreaking hugs.

"Ugh… Louisa…" groaned Clotho.

"What? I missed you two," said Louisa, releasing them and stepping back. "Am I not allowed to greet my brothers?"

"Not when you try to kill us," coughed Shani.

"Ah, my girlfriend can take it," said Louisa with a pout.

"You're 'girlfriend' is made of much tougher stuff than we are," said Clotho.

"Lady Setsuna," said Samuel, stepping forward. "I believe perhaps we should be going if we wish to reach the meeting."

"Of course," said Setsuna, looking to the ZAFT pilots. "It was nice meeting you, and I hope we can talk more in the future. Excuse me."

* * *

The Orb Union Parliament Building

An hour later

"What?! You're preparing to sign a treaty with the Atlantic Federation?!"

Cagalli was shocked beyond belief. The Orb Union had always striven to maintain their neutrality since the formation of the nation. Their pledge of neutrality had been part of the foundation of the Orb Union. To turn their backs to it, especially in a time like this, was wrong.

"How could you be even thinking about that at time like this?" demanded Cagalli, protesting the very idea of a treaty that would break their neutrality. "Our priorities at the moment should be providing relief and support efforts to the areas that have been hit the hardest by this disaster!"

Unato opened his mouth to speak, when someone cut him off.

"It's simple, Lady Cagalli. These people are cowards," said Samuel Dante, entering the room, a file folder in his hands. Following after him was Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha, who moved to stand to the left of, and slightly behind, the seat of her mother, Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha.

Yuna rose from his seat. "General Dante, this is private meeting involving the heads of the Orb government. A military officer has no right to be here."

Samuel stepped up to the young man, towering over him by a head. "I am one of Lady Cagalli's advisors," he answered, staring Yuna down. "Therefore, I able to be present at any meeting she is a part of. If you have a problem with that, I'm sure we can _discuss_ this out in the hallway."

Yuna gulped and wisely took his seat. Samuel cleared his throat and continued to speak.

"I know all of you quite well," he said. "When the Earth Alliance invaded Orb during the last war, all of you were among the first to flee, while the leaders of Orb stayed behind and laid down their lives for Orb and its people. In fact, I know for a fact that the Seirans tried to force the ship they boarded to flee the moment they stepped on board, which would have stranded hundreds of people."

Many of the officials hung their heads in shame or bore expressions of guilt, while those that didn't glared at those who did with disgust and contempt, with the exception of the members of two of Orb's Noble Houses, all three of whom remained impassive.

"All of you disgust me," continued Samuel. "You would just turn you backs on Orb's ideals, the same ideals that many of your fellows died for."

"But if we don't sign the treaty and a war breaks out, we could find ourselves under attack without any allies," argued one minister.

"But if a war does break out and we have signed a treaty with the Atlantic Federation, we will be forced to fight someone else's war!" said Samuel. "Orb ceases to be a neutral nation and instead becomes a prime target for the enemies of the Atlantic Federation. But then again, what do you people care. Unless Orb itself is attacked, a war would be meaningless to you all. You won't be fighting in it. Your children won't be fighting in it. But these children will." Samuel grabbed the contents of the file folder and threw them across the table. They were photos of young men and women that were serving in Orb's military. "If you sign that treaty and a war does break out, these are ones that will fight and die in it. Remember these faces well. They may not be your children, but they are all someone's child. They and their families deserve your consideration. Personally, I have seen enough children die because of our mistakes."

"Enough, General Dante. Your rhetoric will not solve anything," said Unato. "Orb isn't the only nation being approached by the Atlantic Federation. They have approached every nation that is not a member of the Earth Alliance, and nearly all of them have joined the Alliance already. If we don't sign the treaty, we run the risk of being attacked by them in a war, or by ZAFT. And we all know how that will play out."

"You forget that if we join the Alliance and war does break out with ZAFT, we'll become a major target for ZAFT," replied the General.

"But we would have the support of the Earth Alliance military to aid in our defense."

"True," agreed the General. "But you're advocating that we should shackle ourselves to Alliance like everyone else? The people of Orb and our nation's technology becoming tools for the Alliance in a war? Our military and Morgenroete would be little more than slaves to the Alliance."

"You're mistaken. The Alliance wouldn't do that to us," argued Yuna.

Samuel laughed. "Are you saying that the same Alliance that would attack us again if a war broke out, to take our Mass Driver and Morgenroete, wouldn't exploit us if we joined them? You can't be that stupid, Yuna."

"What?! I… I… how dare you?! I am not stupid!" Yuna shouted at Samuel. "The Alliance wouldn't do that to us, because we'd be their allies!"

Samuel shook his head. "I'm not going to waste my breath on explaining the power structure of the Earth Alliance and how we would fit in such a structure to someone who is too mentally immature to grasp such concepts."

"I said enough!" yelled Unato, hitting his fist on the table. "We're trying to have a serious discussion on an important matter. If the two of you are going to continue like this, then I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."

"What?! But father–"

"Be quiet, Yuna, unless you have something important to say."

Samuel sighed. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "But I am passionate about preserving Orb's neutrality." He paused, staring at the people sitting at the table. "I know you are all afraid that Orb will become another target if another war breaks out—or at least, most of you are. But the problem is, we will always be a target in this world. That is our curse for the technological and economic wealth we have. If we are neutral, neither ZAFT nor the Alliance would have a valid reason for attacking us. But the second we sign that treaty with the Atlantic Federation, or a treaty like that one with any other major nation, we become a major target for their enemies of that nation. And if the nation we sign a treaty with is stronger than us, they can easily strong arm us into following their orders completely. Lady Cagalli, all of you, we must stay neutral to preserve our independence."

"A very rousing speech, General Dante," said Unato. "The late Lord Uzumi would be proud."

"Someone must speak for him and those who believed what he believed and can no longer speak," replied Samuel.

"Fair enough. Allow me to give the counter argument," said Unato. "Lady Cagalli, at the moment, Orb stands alone. If something happened to our nation, the other nations would only help us if they felt generous. But if we sign the treaty with the Atlantic Federation, they would be obligated to help us. And Lady Cagalli, you were concerned about lending aid to the areas that have been ravaged by debris. Signing the treaty would make such operations far more efficient. Now, we all know that only a handful of Coordinators were responsible for the fall of Junius Seven. But there are many who have suffered horrible losses. They are angry with the Coordinators and wish to see someone pay for what has happened. We have the largest Coordinator population on the planet. If we don't sign the treaty, there are many who would seek to attack us just because of the Coordinators within our nation. And despite what General Dante claims, our independence will be preserved. All we will gain is an ally to help us in times of need."

Cagalli knew that both arguments had merit. While Cagalli wanted Orb to remain neutral, like her father believed, at the same time, Unato had brought up some valid concerns about staying neutral.

"Chief Representative Athha, what do you think we should do?" asked Unato.

Cagalli hesitated. She couldn't decide. Cagalli could see both options leading to Orb burning in the fires of war once more. "I… I need some time to think things over."

Unato sighed. "Lady Cagalli, we are willing to give you time to consider the matter, but you need to come to a decision soon. This meeting is–"

"There is one last matter I wish to bring to the table," said Serenity, catching everyone but her daughter and Rondo Mina Sahaku off-guard, as she'd been silent throughout the meeting.

"Yes, what is it, Lady Serenity?" asked Unato.

"Actually, I believe I'll allow my daughter to bring it to the table," said Serenity. Setsuna nodded and stepped forward, next to Serenity's chair.

"As you are all aware, the Taiyonoha House was the key founder of Orb," said Setsuna. "In the past, at our nation's founding, it was we who led the Union, not the Athha. We later handed over the reigns of power, for we felt that they were something we'd held for far too long. Our bloodline can be traced back more than three thousand years, to the time of B.C.E."

Many shifted almost uncomfortably. It was almost always a harsh reminder of just how old the Taiyonoha Bloodline really was, a bloodline that had seen countless wars and led a nation for millennia before moving to a solely figurehead role. The blood of innocents, of tyrants, of warriors, of politicians and of leaders flowed in the veins of every Taiyonoha.

"Above all, we understand the importance of neutrality," said Setsuna. "My cousin and best friend, Makoto Michiru Arata, was a casualty of the last war, as were her parents. Heliopolis was likewise a casualty, and other casualties include Lord Uzumi, Lord Rondo Ghina Sahaku, and my father, Lord Misuumi. Now, it could be argued that my father and Lord Uzumi died as a consequence of trying to remain neutral and protecting our military secrets from the Alliance. What I ask you now is would you really have wanted our nation's power to be used for genocide? Had we joined either side in the last war, that would've been our fate."

"And what of current events?" continued Setsuna. "You might say to yourselves that the Alliance has changed. Publicly, I can't argue with that. But behind the scenes, it's obvious that the Atlantic Federation, which remains the dominant power of the Alliance, is still controlled by Blue Cosmos. If we sign this treaty, we would provide aid to the Alliance—but while I certainly believe the other nations would help us, would the Atlantic Federation? Does it not seem likely that Blue Cosmos would abandon Orb as soon as it had gotten what it wanted from us, allowing our 'despicable nation' to burn?"

"Surely you can't be suggesting we ally with ZAFT," said Unato. "And there is no evidence that Blue Cosmos controls the Atlantic Federation."

"On the contrary, there is ample evidence once you open your eyes," said Setsuna. "That woman who acted as the Alliance spokesperson. Didn't she seem awfully quick to blame ZAFT? After all, why would anyone in ZAFT feel the need to alert the nations of Earth to the theft of Flare Motors? Until Junius Seven started moving, there certainly wasn't any evidence that it was a threat to the Earth, and Chairman Durandal never got a chance to explain his side of things."

"Then why wasn't anyone told of the thefts when they found out Junius Seven was moving?"

"Would you bother, or would you focus on stopping it?" countered Setsuna. "And they couldn't be completely certain until they'd confirmed the Flare Motors visually. In any event, I am not suggesting Orb ally itself with ZAFT. I, personally, believe that Orb should maintain its neutrality, but work out a treaty by which any nation would come to the defense of the Union if it were to be attacked by their enemies, if it does indeed come to war. However, I also doubt you will be able to work out such a treaty with either side."

Setsuna sighed. "I've made it no secret that I do not trust Gilbert Durandal," she said. "But neither do I trust the Atlantic Federation."

"You're beginning to make circular arguments," said Unato impatiently. "Get to the point, Lady Setsuna."

"Yes, the point," agreed Setsuna. "It's simple really. All I said previously was merely the reasons for the decision of the Taiyonoha."

"What decision?" asked Yuna, confused. Serenity suddenly stood up.

"As of this moment, the House Taiyonoha is withdrawing from the Orb Union," said Serenity. Gasps filled the room. No one had anticipated _this_! "We above and beyond all others hold our nation's neutrality very dear to our hearts. I have no desire to see Orb burn or its citizens suffer, but it has become clear to me that there is nothing I can do. I will not see my grandfather's company exploited, either. Morgenroete is owned by the Taiyonoha, and therefore, our withdrawal also means the withdrawal of all Morgenroete contracts with Orb."

"You can't be serious!" said Unato, shooting to his feet angrily. Morgenroete was Orb's greatest asset! What would Djibril think when he learned of this?!

"There are few things I have ever been as serious about," answered Serenity.

"But where will you go?" asked Unato. "There is nowhere, especially if you really intend to take Morgenroete with you."

"Ever hear of foreign outsourcing?" asked Serenity. "That will be the basic setup during the transfer. In any event, Izanami has born fruit. That is where we will be headed."

Unato scowled. He hated the Taiyonoha and Sahaku Houses with a passion. In his mind, they were the centerpieces of every tragedy that had ever befallen Orb. Now they were going to pull a stunt like this!

"We've actually been planning this transfer for some time," continued Serenity. "We'll be leaving a number of our people and businesses, including Morgenroete's facilities, for some time. If any attempt is made to take the technology we continue to develop, well… I guess that tells us the true colors of whoever made the attempt, be they Alliance or ZAFT, Natural or Coordinator… or perhaps even Seiran. Don't give me that look; we all know how you feel about my family, Unato. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I no longer have a place in this meeting."

Serenity stood up and left the room, Setsuna at her side.

"This… this meeting is adjourned," said Unato, sounding stunned.

The men and women that were attending the meeting slowly filed out, all of them just as stunned Unato, leaving Cagalli and Samuel alone.

"That was… unexpected," said Samuel.

"Thank you for your words," said Cagalli.

Samuel shrugged. "I was merely doing what I could. Unfortunately, your father's sacrifice has left us in a difficult position," he admitted. "Most of his supporters sacrificed themselves alongside him, leaving primarily political enemies left; people like the Seirans, who are little more than the spineless worms of the Atlantic Federation. But I doubt my words had much impact on things. Most of those people support the Seiran family. They won't turn from them, not even in the face of Lady Serenity's actions."

"What do you think I should do?" asked Cagalli. She wasn't like the Taiyonohas. She couldn't simply withdraw from the Union.

"You already know what I think. It's what you believe as well. You're just afraid of what would happen," replied Samuel. "But you have to decide for yourself. You cannot be the leader of a nation and not make the hard decisions. In all the years I knew your father, he made many hard choices, just like you are now, and every time, he came to his decision based upon what he felt was best for the people of Orb. Follow his example. Do what you feel is best for Orb and it's people. That's all you can do."

"I just don't know which to choose. I can see how both decisions can lead to Orb suffering again," admitted Cagalli.

"As can I. Like I said Cagalli, Orb will always be a target in the current world," said Samuel. "I believe that we are safest if we are neutral, especially with the loss of Morgenroete, until the day that all the nations of Earth can come together in an equal and fair alliance of nations. Only then, can we discard our neutrality. But that is what I believe. You follow your own beliefs, Cagalli. No fit leader can lead their nation by doing everything that others tell them to do. You must think about this decision carefully. I could be wrong, but so could Unato. You must come to your own decision."

* * *

The Allster Estate

"I see," said a concerned Lacus as Flay finished explaining what happened in space. "The media has already been reporting similar stories."

After Flay had returned home, she, Lacus, Kira, Liz, Murrue, Natarle, Victor and Andy had gathered to discuss what had happened, and what was going to happen now.

"And then there was _that_ broadcast not too long ago," added Andy.

"The one with the woman from the Alliance?" asked Flay.

"Yeah. Her broadcast has gotten a lot of people angry at ZAFT," replied Andy. "It's looking a lot like how the last war started."

Flay nodded. "John called it the second coming of the Bloody Valentine."

"I'd have to agree with him," said Victor. "It's a reversed version of the Bloody Valentine." He paused for a moment. "At this point, war will be the likely next step."

"There has to be something we can do," said Liz. "We just can't let another war break out. We have to do something."

"Makoto doesn't seem to think there's anything that can be done," said Louisa as she entered the room with Shani, Clotho and Tolle behind her. "I just heard from her. The Taiyonoha House has withdrawn from Orb."

"What?!" asked Natarle, shocked. Kira, however, nodded.

"I expected that," he said. "It's a bold move, but it keeps to the ultimate goals of the Taiyonoha. Neither side will be able to exploit Morgenroete now."

"Bah! Get off!" Alex shouted from another room. "Mommy! Birdie won't get off my head!"

Alex stumbled into the room, Birdie sitting atop his red hair. Everyone in the room couldn't help but laugh, momentarily forgetting about the current state of the world. Only Kira didn't laugh. His mind was elsewhere.

_"__Why does that thing like to sit on my head?!"_

_"__Oh come on, Birdie is just trying to be friendly."_

_"__No. It's trying to make a nest on my head."_

_"__It's just a robot. Birdie doesn't even know how to make a nest."_

_"__Well, if I wake up one morning with twigs in my hair, I'm dismantling that thing."_

Kira smiled slightly, watching Alex. The boy was a reminder of Kira's best friend, wingman, and metaphorical brother, someone that he'd been able to count on to watch his back as only he and Makoto could. As soon as he learned of Flay's pregnancy, Kira had sworn to protect the child—Chris's child—to his last breath.

"You know, your father had the same problem," said Liz, distracting Kira from his memories. "Birdie loved to nest on his head as well."

Liz knelt down to pull Birdie off her nephew's head, only to have Alex's hands reach up and grab Birdie's legs, holding him place. "No. Birdie stays," he said before turning around and leaving, the mechanical bird chirping as they left.

"He still greatly misses his father," commented Lacus as Liz took her seat.

"I've caught him several times hording photos of Chris and any of the few possessions of his that are still around," replied Flay quietly. "You might have a fight on your hands Kira if you try to take Birdie away from him."

Kira nodded, but didn't say anything.

Andy cleared his throat. "Back to the matter at hand, there's little we can do to stop things at the moment," he said. "Which is probably why the Taiyonoha made the move they did. A group of Coordinators dropped Junius Seven on the planet, intending to wipe out all the Naturals on Earth. And there are a lot of people here on Earth that are hurt and angry because of what's happened. Nothing we say or do will change that. If a war is going to break out, we won't be able to stop it from happening. The best we can hope for is that we can end it as quickly as possible, before a possible genocide can occur."

"Makoto's accelerated the X01," said Kira. Flay, Liz and Louisa nodded.

"We know," said Flay. "Samuel said she was going to perform a test flight today."

Kira nodded. "I've already sent orders to the Terminal," he said. "As soon as testing for the X01 is complete, they'll begin work on the development of the Knight and Angels. The Sentinels are currently in development."

"Anything from Makoto's agents?" asked Natarle.

Terminal was the successor to the Three Ships Alliance. It was a political, military and intelligence organization, each branch led by one of three individuals: Lacus led the political branch, Kira led the military, and Makoto headed the intelligence. Only the three of them knew the identity of every major Terminal agent, and only each of them knew the identity of all within their respective branches. With access to technological developments of the Alliance, ZAFT, Orb and Morgenroete, the technology wielded by Terminal was easily the most advanced out there, and their intelligence was unprecedented. The weakest branch was largely the political one, but that was due more to the difficulty of working politics from the shadows, especially in a situation like this.

"No," answered Lacus. "Kira, what else is being worked on?"

"The Last Archangel Project, the Eternal Project, the DOM Project and the Templar Project," answered Kira.

"The schedule's also been upped on the M4," said Tolle. "I hear Asagi will be the test pilot. Guess that makes her conscription into the Taiyonoha Fleet official."

"Guess so," said Victor. "Cagalli won't be happy about that. Asagi's a good pilot."

"She'd better be, after all the trouble we've gone through to help her survive," said Shani.

"Oh yes, you did _so_ much to keep her alive," said Clotho sarcastically. "You only… hmm… what was it again? Oh, right. You only tried to cut her M1 in half at Mendel."

"Hey, you're the one who nearly destroyed the Raven during that fight!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," said Louisa tiredly. "In any case, we need to be ready to move at a moment's notice."

"She's right," said Kira, eyes unfocused as he looked to the future shown to him by the SEEDs. "We don't have much time."

* * *

**Author's Note: That was pretty fun to write. Overall, there's not much editing of the original content from Akatsuki Leader13's _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_, and most of the new stuff is instead additional content. That said, there are some definite changes here, such as Shani's breakdown, which played out far differently from the original version.**

**There's been a lot of talk about the X01 lately, but let's forget about something I've already told you about, and move onto the mysteries: what are the Angels of Divinity and the Knight of Orb? Ah, who am I kidding, a better question is the way they termed it with Chris dead. We've also been getting a lot of talk about the M4, and it seems like we'll finally get to see it soon. Also, you have to wonder (emphasis on _you_) just what the Sentinels are, and the same goes for the "Last Archangel", the "Eternal" and the "Templar" Projects. Perhaps you can figure some of it out, it shouldn't be that hard, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that people have no apparent ability to read between the lines (given that I've already told everyone how all of _SEED Serenity_ and even the sequel, _SEED Divinity_ will play out and no one's realized it).**

**Finally, the big surprise: the Taiyonohas withdrew from the Orb Union?! And they took _Morgenroete_ with them?! Holy hell! I bet no one saw that coming. Then again, maybe you did. You're going to get quite a few more twists in the future. Like Izanami! Yes, that was more than me just saying something random on the fly, "Izanami" is something that is very real and, later on, of quite a bit of significance to the story.**

**Also, just to clarify: no, Kira and Makoto can't see the future. It's more or less the same ability that showed Makoto that Cagalli would die if she remained on the _Archangel_ for the clash at the Marshall Islands.  
**

**Okay, enough of that. I'll see you all in five days! Please leave a review!**

**Ja ne!  
**


	8. Phase 08: Junction

**Ah, here we are. Phase Eight of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity_. We get the return of several more characters, as well as some insight into a number of characters. Not to mention an unusual touch of blatant foreshadowing, but at this point, I'm not worried. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people won't see what I'm plotting until it's too late.**

**Anyways, I'm pretty comfortable with the current update schedule, so I suggest you enjoy this, another chapter won't arrive until next week. On the bright side, I think I can generate an enormous improvement in quality. Even better, there's a good chance I'll be continuing work on _The White Queen_ soon. Look forward to it!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply (I'm still lazy).  
**

* * *

Phase Eight: Junction

October 6th, C.E. 73

* * *

The Taiyonoha Estate

"Well, you two have certainly caused a ruckus," said Shizuka, eyeing her elder sister and niece disapprovingly. "So, where's your 'mission accomplished'?"

"Not until Cagalli dumps the whining attitude and gets her act back together," said Setsuna, sighing lightly. "I _told_ her she'd have to take control of the government. Mina was too busy taking care of Ame-no-Mihashira, we were too busy putting Morgenroete back together, and Samuel is a military officer, not a politician."

"Aren't you a military officer as well, Makoto?" asked Serenity pointedly. Setsuna—or rather, Makoto—smirked at her mother.

"Sure, but I also got plenty of political training," she said. "Of course, why Uzumi didn't do the same for Cagalli is something I don't think I'll ever figure out."

"I think it was something about believing she was too hotheaded to learn from anything but practical experience," replied Serenity. The other two Taiyonohas sighed.

"Faith," called Makoto. In seconds, Faith materialized in the room. "How's the X01?"

"Preparations are complete," replied Faith. "Asagi is testing the M4 now, as well."

"Good, though I don't think we'll be able to produce any beyond the prototype before the war gets going," said Makoto. "Alright, tell Erica that I'm on my way."

* * *

Onogoro Coast

A black convertible raced along the ocean-side road. The sun was slowly setting, casting everything with reddish-orange light. But Athrun's mind was elsewhere. He needed to see someone.

It wasn't long before he spotted a group of children playing on the beach, and with them were a pink-haired young woman and a brown-haired young man. Athrun stopped his car and climbed out. Immediately, the children rushed towards him, bombarding Athrun with questions.

"Hey, it's Athrun!"

"Hi Athrun!"

"You went somewhere, right?"

"Where did you go?"

"Where's Cagalli?"

"Welcome back, Athrun," greeted Lacus with a smile as she and Kira reached the group. "It's good to see that you're alright."

"Same here," replied Athrun, returning the smile. "I heard you're staying with Flay and everyone else after your house washed away."

"Yeah. A big wave came and smashed it to pieces," said one boy.

"All our toys are gone," added a girl in a sad tone.

"House can be rebuilt and toys replaced," said Lacus to children. "Kira and Athrun want to talk for a bit, so why don't we play some games while they go out for a drive?"

The children cheered and Lacus led them back to the beach, leaving Kira and Athrun alone. "So how's Cagalli doing?" asked Kira.

"She's buried under a mountain of work at the Parliament Building," answered Athrun as the two of them sat entered the car. A moment later, they took off down the road.

"Everyone already knows who was behind the drop, right?" asked Athrun.

Kira nodded. "Yeah."

"One of them spoke to me. 'Have you forgotten about the innocent lives thrown away here? You're living in a damn dream world, laughing with the butchers who caused this!'" said Athrun, repeating the words of the dead fanatic.

"So you fought," commented Kira.

"Yeah… I went there to help with breaking Junius Seven up and they were there, waiting for us," answered Athrun. "Whether they stayed to stop anyone from preventing the drop or were planning to ride it all the way down, I don't know."

The two were silent for a few minutes. "Do you remember that day in Orb, during the war, when I asked you what we really should be fighting against? And you said that we'd find the answer together," said Athrun as they pulled into the yard of the Allster Estate. "But I still haven't found it…"

Kira put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll find it in time, Athrun."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Several hours later

"What will you do now?" asked Rondo Mina Sahaku, staring at her friend. "How much difference do you truly expect this to make?"

"We'll have to wait and see," said Serenity sadly. "Mina, I'm counting on you." Mina sighed.

"I wish you wouldn't," she said. "I'm not the most reliable person."

"Tragic though it may have been, Ghina's death has made you a better person," said Serenity. "Growing up, you asked me why we never sought to establish Orb and spread its principles through the world. And I would always tell you that you had to find the answer for yourself. Have you found it?"

Mina was quiet for a while as Serenity eyed her childhood friend. Finally, Mina let out a soft sigh.

"Because it's tyranny," she said. "And tyrants always fall, leaving a slightly more bitter world in their wake."

"Not quite how I would've phrased it, but that pretty much sums it up," said Serenity. "Mina… I'm counting on you to protect the people of Orb. Because the Taiyonoha no longer can."

* * *

Morgenroete Dry-Dock 1-B

The Next Morning

"We should be able to leave the hull repairs for the Morgenroete crews, but I want our crews to handle all of the internal repairs," said Talia to Chief Abes as they inspected the _Minerva_.

Abes nodded. "Of course Captain."

"Since they're lending us their aid and supplies, you should be able to get the worse of the damage repaired," continued Talia.

"But Captain, are you really sure that this okay?" asked Arthur. "Resupplying is fine, but I feel that we should wait until we reach Carpentaria before we make repairs."

"I know what you're trying to say, but what if something happened out there?" replied Talia.

"Yes. After all, you don't want to risk the safety of ship to preserve its secrecy," said a brunette Morgenroete worker as she approached the group. "It can be pretty tough on a Commander if a ship, especially a warship, isn't in top form at all times."

"And you are?" asked Talia.

"I beg your pardon. I'm Maria Bernes of Shipbuilding Department B," said the brunette. "I'm the one in charge of your ship's work crew." Maria extended a hand to Talia, who shook it.

"I'm Captain Talia Gladys," she said, introducing herself. "It's nice to meet you."

"I've heard that the _Minerva_ has yet to have an official launch, but despite that, this ship has something of history already," commented Maria as the two of them walked towards a lift.

The two stepped onto a lift. The platform rose up, allowing them a view of the entire hanger and the _Minerva_.

"Unfortunately, yes. I wasn't expecting something like this happen." Talia shrugged her shoulders and continued. "But I guess it can't be helped. It's just how things turned out. And that's true about everything. You have no idea what will happen in the future. And I believe that now more than ever."

Maria was silent for a moment before a small smile graced her lips. "I feel the same way," she replied.

"I have the feeling that Orb really isn't in the position to be seen lending aid to a ZAFT ship at this moment," commented Talia as she stared out at the repair efforts being done to the _Minerva_.

"Perhaps, but this is Morgenroete's work, not Orb's," replied Maria, turning to Talia. "I'm guessing you haven't heard, and I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but everyone will know soon enough anyways. Morgenroete is predominantly a business of the Taiyonoha House. Lady Serenity withdrew her house from the Union yesterday."

"What?" gasped Talia. Maria nodded.

"I'm not clear on the details, but if the rumors are true, this is something that's been planned for some time now," said Maria. "I believe it's to prevent either side of the crisis from exploiting Morgenroete. As much good as your ship has done, I can see evidence of Morgenroete technology in it. The same is true of the Alliance's _Archangel_-class and the beam weapons of modern mobile suits. The Taiyonohas have probably gotten tired of the use of Morgenroete technology by two factions that have been responsible for the deaths of many in their family."

"I guess I can understand that," said Talia. "Maybe it seems selfish of them, but I doubt I'll be complaining if it denies the Alliance any chance of sending Morgenroete's developments after my ship if war breaks out."

* * *

The Athha Residence

Athrun sat, watching the various news reports on his laptop as he finished his breakfast. The whole situation was a mess. Chairman Durandal and ZAFT were trying to apologize and distance themselves from the terrorists while many people from the Alliance were hurt and angry about the devastation that had befallen Earth. Needless to say, tensions between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance were running high. At the moment, a single wrong move could spark another war.

"Good morning Athrun," Cagalli called out as she entered the room, pulling her arm through the sleeve of her maroon coat. "I'm sorry about yesterday. All of the meetings were running late and I–"

"Don't worry about it. I understand.," he replied, turning to Cagalli. "So what's Orb's stance on this situation?"

Cagalli didn't say anything, but her face spoke volumes. "I see."

"I don't think it can be helped, given the way the world is moving. Although nowhere near as bad as other places, Orb did suffer damage," said Cagalli, turning towards one of the windows. "I understand what the Prime Minister and the others are saying. But sharing everyone's pain doesn't mean we have to join those screaming for vengeance. And it doesn't mean we have to hate the PLANTs."

Athrun was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again.

"I'm going to the PLANTs," announced Athrun.

Needless to say, Cagalli was stunned. "What? Why?"

"I feel bad leaving when Orb is like this," said Athrun. "But I just can't sit here and do nothing."

"But Athrun, that's–"

"I'm worried about the situation in the PLANTs," he said. "With a man like Chairman Durandal in charge, I don't expect the PLANTs to take the worst possible path, but there are still those out there who believe in my father's words. I want to speak with the Chairman, and see if there's something I can do to help out. Whether it's as Athrun Zala or Alex, I have to try. If another war breaks out between the PLANTs and Earth, then what have we been working for this whole time? It will have all been for nothing.

* * *

Later

"It's been a while since I set foot in Orb. It's still as nice as ever," commented Tristan as he, Aleksi and Jessie walked down a busy street. "Of course, I haven't been here since before the war. My family used to vacation here. Have either of you ever been here?"

"Yeah," said Jessie. "Actually, I lived here up until the Atlantic Federation attacked. My family was among the lucky first evacuees."

"I see," said Aleksi. "I guess that explains your problems with Shinn."

"Yeah, our views clash a lot in that regard," agreed Jessie. "What about you, ma'am?"

"I'm not your superior," said Aleksi. "And we're off-duty anyways. But to answer the question, yes, I have been to Orb. The last time I was here, though, was during the Bloody Valentine."

"That can't leave much in the way of pleasant memories," commented Jessie.

"Doesn't matter," said Tristan. "No matter how you look at it, this is the best place on the entire planet."

"You're only saying that because this one of the few nations of Earth that readily welcome Coordinators," countered Jessie.

"That is but a small part of what makes Orb great," said Tristan. "There's the beaches, the–"

Aleksi quickly cut him off. "Alright, alright, we don't need a list," she said. "Let's just find a place to get a drink first and foremost."

It didn't take them long to find a place overlooking the beach. When the bartender saw their IDs and realized who they were, he offered the first round on the house, but they only wanted one round.

"Here's to Dale, the best damn poker player in ZAFT," said Jessie, raising his glass.

"And here's to Shawn, luckless with the ladies, but a damn good friend," added Aleksi, raising her glass as well.

"Here, here," said Tristan, raising his own glass.

The three took a drink, finishing the toast. None of them noticed a pair of mismatched eyes watching them closely.

"Ah…" murmured Aleksi. "It's good to have a little R&R after all we've been through."

"Yeah," agreed Tristan. "Armory One, the Debris Field, Junius Seven, all within the same week. That's enough to drain anyone."

Aleksi raised her glass. "Here's hoping that it doesn't turn into a full-scale war."

"Here, here," added Tristan as he and Jessie raised their glasses as well.

"What do you think everyone else is up too?" asked Jessie. Aleksi shrugged.

"Luna went out with Meyrin, Yolant and Vino earlier," she said. "I imagine she'll probably try to get a closer look at the Taiyonoha Fleet's mobile suits. Not that I can really blame her. From what I hear, the M2 Angelus is the equal of our ZAKUs, and the M3 Guardian is even more powerful. And unlike our machines, these are part of the Astray line, so they emphasize grace, which is enough to catch any mobile suit fangirl's attention."

"Is that what you call her?" asked Tristan. Aleksi smiled.

"Can _you_ think of a better description?" she asked. The others had no answer to that. "Anyways, Rey is staying in, and Shinn… well, I honestly don't know what. He's got no respect for authority, so he could've run off to the Atlantic Federation without telling anyone and I'd only be surprised he went to the nation that attacked Orb. I don't know how Commander Kyusai plans to deal with him."

"Asuka's an arrogant jackass with a big mouth," commented Jessie.

Tristan shook his head. "Enough of that already," he said. "The two of you have been fighting since the day you met."

"What can I say?" asked Jessie. "He's a jackass who's so busy moaning and complaining over his personal loss that he can't see the bigger picture and won't accept anyone painting him one more accurate than the delusion he's painted for himself."

"A jackass?" questioned Tristan. "Says the guy who headbutted him for no reason."

The figure watching the three raised an eyebrow curiously at that comment.

"You mean that actually happened?" asked Aleksi with a slight chuckle. "I thought that was just a story."

Tristan chuckled. "No," he said. "It was real. As was the 'no reason' part. One day, he just walked right up to Shinn, without saying anything, and headbutted him. Naturally, a fight broke out and the two of them were scrubbing toilets for month."

"I had plenty of reason," said Jessie. "Plus, there was that rumor he started."

"Wait. _That_ rumor?" asked Tristan, chuckling. "You gotta be kidding me, that was months earlier."

Jessie grunted. "He had it coming for that alone."

"Nah, he didn't," said Tristan. "He didn't start the rumor. Dale did."

Jessie was stunned. "What? He started it?"

"Yep," replied Tristan cheerfully. "He started it after you didn't pay him what you owed from that one poker game that you got trounced in."

"Son of a…" muttered Jessie. "How long did you know?"

"Shawn and I both knew it from the start," he replied. "You headbutted the wrong guy."

Jessie paused for moment, and then he shrugged. "There were other reasons," he said. "And even if there weren't, it was still worth it."

Both Tristan and Aleksi laughed.

"As amusing as I'm sure all of this is, I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt," came a voice suddenly.

"Ma'am!" said the three in shock as they looked to the source to see Suiren standing right next to them.

"Relax," said Suiren. "We're off-duty, so none of this 'ma'am' or 'commander' stuff, okay? Anyways, I thought you might like to join me. It seems a combat test of the newest model mobile suits from Morgenroete is scheduled for later today, and an invitation has been extended to the _Minerva_'s pilots."

"What? They'd let us see something like that?" questioned Tristan. Suiren shrugged.

"However unintentionally, we showed them our latest models," she said. "Not to mention our warship. It's not like what they brought to aid us was anything truly new, so I imagine this is more a matter of showing appreciation for revealing what we did, as well as thanking us for our actions in orbit."

"I'm game," said Jessie, standing up and finishing his drink. Aleksi and Tristan both nodded in agreement, standing up and downing their drinks as well.

* * *

Meanwhile

Athrun watched as his Heli arrived. Cagalli stood behind him, unsure of what to say. Athrun paused, sighing before setting down his bag and turning around to face her.

"I know about the situation with Yuna Roma," he said, reaching into his pocket. "But that doesn't mean I like it."

His other hand reached out and grabbed Cagalli's left hand. Athrun pulled out a ring from his pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. But it wasn't just any ring; it was a wedding ring.

Cagalli was left dumbstruck, staring at the ring in disbelief. "What?"

Athrun looked away, his cheeks turning red. Cagalli blushed as well, searching for the right thing to say. Ultimately, she said something true to her nature, handling the situation the only way she knew how.

"Giving a ring isn't something you just spring on someone you know!"

"Uh, sorry," replied Athrun.

Cagalli, her body being overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions she was feeling now, started to tremble. Athrun reached out and hugged her. Cagalli's body stopped and for a moment, they stood there in each other's arms. Then the two kissed.

But all good things come to an end. Athrun pulled away from her.

"Be careful and keep in touch, Athrun," said Cagalli.

"You too, Cagalli. Everything will work out in the end," replied Athrun before heading for his ride.

* * *

Morgenroete Proving Grounds

An hour later

"Wow!" exclaimed Luna, watching as the mobile suits took-off. The others couldn't fault her, either—'wow' was just the tip of the iceberg.

A squadron of M2 Angelus's spread their wings and took to the air, moving with a grace no ZAFT mobile suit possessed, save perhaps Suiren's custom prototype. They looked virtually identical to the M1 Astray, but with wings in place of the M1s backpack and a pair of curving anti-armor swords on the hips. Those wings were said to house high-speed burst thrusters based on those of the GAT-X204 Surge, which made them incredibly fast.

Elsewhere, a series of M3 Guardians likewise took to the air. They were visually indistinguishable from the legendary GAT-X308 Guardian, aside from their color scheme, which followed the basic M1 pattern, simply replacing a few colors here and there. They also possessed lesser firepower than the original Guardian, plus weaker armor, but their lighter frame and design made them overall equal to their ancestor.

The M3s shifted to mobile armor mode and began flying in precise five-plane fighter formations. Right now, they seemed to be focused solely on showing off.

Then, as more M2s and M3s continued to fill the air, a new machine emerged. This one was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. If the G-series prototypes and their 'descendants' looked like mobile suit samurais, this new machine looked doubly so.

It was clearly a part of the Astray series, but its head possessed more of a samurai-helm look, and in place of the normal armor was samurai-styled armor. On the hips were no less than four curving swords, one on each of the hips longer than the other on that hip—katanas and wakizashis. A braid-like attachment hung from the head, and a pair of Japanese sword hilts was mounted behind the shoulders. On its back was a pair of wings similar to those of the M3 Guardian, but it seemed like each one had another stacked directly on top of it, and in the chest over the cockpit was what seemed to be a beam cannon.

All in all, it was one of the most formidable looking mobile suits any of them had ever laid eyes on.

"Lieutenant Caldwell, you may begin the test," said Erica Simmons.

"_Roger that. Asagi Caldwell, M4 Yamato, launching!_" came the voice of the mobile suit's pilot before the prototype MBF-M4 was launched into the air.

To begin the test, Asagi ran the M4 through a series of delicate and tight maneuvers beyond anything its predecessors could match. Watching it closely, it was easy to see it even outperformed the ZAKU Phantom HM Types… and the M4 looked far better armed than those machines, too.

"Alright, looks good," said Johanna Dante. "Kanai Squadron, you're clear to engage in the test battle."

"_Yes ma'am._"

"Don't call me that," said Johanna. "I'm not a military officer."

Five M3 Guardians broke formation with the other mobile suits launched before the M4's appearance, the five transformable machines gunning for the samurai-like mobile suit.

The M3s opened up with their rifles and beam guns, but Asagi skillfully maneuvered out of the line of fire before returning fire with her beam rifle. The M3s broke formation, scattering as they transformed back into mobile suits and fired with their long beam rifles. Asagi faced the incoming fire directly, and countered by firing the scattering cannon in her chest, creating a field of beam fire that acted as a shield against the five shots. This maneuver caught everyone off-guard, and Asagi took the opportunity to land several hits on one of her opponent's, removing the mobile suit from the test.

"That was rather clever," commented Suiren.

"It was," agreed Shizuka. "Hmm… it doesn't strike me as the sort of thing Asagi would devise, though. I wonder whose idea that was."

"Alright, that's enough for the ranged combat," said Erica. "Let's test the M4 at its own range."

The M3 Guardians responded by discarding their rifles, while Asagi discarded hers as well. While the M3s proceeded to draw beam sabers, the M4 reached back to the sword hilts behind its shoulders, drawing them, and activating the beam katana and beam wakizashi.

The five mobile suits then charged forward.

What happened next was quite the show for the ZAFT pilots and mechanics. The M3 Guardians were powerful and outnumbered their foe, but the M4 Yamato was even more powerful and the pilot clearly superior as Asagi deflected sabers and struck back swiftly. Initially, the fight seemed to be a draw, but the M4's chest-mounted cannon more than leveled the playing field in Asagi's favor, and after several minutes, the mock battle ended with the four transformable mobile suits slinking away in defeat.

"Very impressive," said Shizuka. "Asagi, take a break. Everyone else, clear out as well. We're sending _them_ in for this next test."

Her words left the ZAFT pilots confused as the Orb mobile suits all cleared out of the skies. A moment later, new machines filled the air, several of them familiar to the ZAFT group.

The MX1 Athena, equipped with an Aile Striker, as well as the Forbidden and the Raider were there. Accompanying them was a custom-colored M3 Guardian that seemed to be carrying two rifles instead of the singular one used by standard M3s. There was also the Strike Raven, Farsight III, and another machine that Suiren and Aleksi realized was the Talos II. However, their eyes narrowed at the sight of another machine that only they recognized.

The GAT-X264 Twilight.

"What is that?" asked Luna, eyes locked on the Twilight.

"The Twilight Gundam," answered Suiren. "The supposed nemesis of the Dauntless Angel of Faith, and the strongest mobile suit in the Earth Forces arsenal during the war."

"Are you serious?" asked Vino. Suiren nodded.

"I fought it at Jachin," she said. "It's a very formidable machine, but its original systems were outlawed by the Junius Treaty. I wonder what changes they've made to it."

* * *

Morgenroete Hangar

Makoto stared up at the mobile suit before her. She'd briefly tested it, but this moment would be the true test for her new machine.

It looked much like the Freedom and Faith, but there were some differences evident, particularly the entirely new design for the head.

This was her machine. It was the manifestation of her will. It was her vision, brought to life as never before.

It was the new sword of the Dauntless Angel of Faith.

Makoto stepped forward, grabbing hold of the zipline and letting it carry her up to the cockpit. She opened it, and dropped down into the chair. She looked around at the blank sphere that made up the cockpit, then at the terminal in front of her.

She pressed the activation button as the machine began to rise from the hangar and into the Proving Grounds. The startup screen flashed on the console before her.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**  
**/SINCERITY - 0001/  
G**uardian**  
U**nlimited**  
N**exus**  
D**euterion**  
A**ssault**  
M**aneuver**  
G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis Complex****  
SEVEN SWORDS**

Makoto gripped the controls, and the blue eyes of her mobile suit flashed to life as the Variable Phase Shift Armor activated, turning the mobile suit silver with blue trimming, the torso and wings turning black, the hands turning grey and the joints turning white. The VPS also activated on the weapons, turning the heat rod from gray-black to white and the swords from gray-black to silver.

"Deuterion Drive System functioning at optimum levels," said Makoto.

"_Roger that. MAF-X01, you are clear for launch._"

"Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha, Sincerity Gundam, launching!"

* * *

Orb Coastal Park

Dusk

Shinn had eventually decided to leave the _Minerva_ for a while. He had been lost in his thoughts and memories, not paying attention to where he was headed. After what had happened, Shinn had never wanted to set foot on Orb again. Being here again, unlike Mayu's voicemail and Setsuna's music, only brought back the pain. Why the hell had the Athhas been so insistent on fighting a battle that they could have never won? Why hadn't they just submitted to the Earth Alliance and saved countless lives? It just didn't make any sense to him. Why had those wretched Athhas done this?

Shinn was pulled from his thoughts when he realized where he was: the place where he had lost everything. But it had changed since that time. A paved path, a number of flower gardens along said path, benches, and statues-like pillar at the end. No one would be able to tell what it looked like before. Expect for Shinn. All he could see was the bodies of his family. His parents, their bodies twisted in unnatural ways, and Mayu, lying there peacefully, like she was just asleep and would wake up at any moment. He wanted to scream, to yell at the heavens for what they had taken from him.

As tears formed in his eyes, Shinn pulled out his sister's phone and played the message again. "_Hi! Mayu here. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep._"

Suddenly, some indelible sense cause Shinn to look to the side where he noticed something he had missed. Atop a cliff overlooking the ocean was what appeared to be a tombstone and a young man was standing before it. As Shinn approached him, he turned to face him.

"Is it… a memorial?" asked Shinn.

"Yeah, looks like it," said the young man after a moment. "But… I'm not that sure. You see, it's my first time here myself. I always… meant to make the effort." In the distance, the beautiful voice of a young woman singing floated to the two. "The flowers have started to bloom; unfortunately, they're going to wither in the spray from the breaking waves."

Shinn was silent for a moment as the singing became more defined, and Shinn listened to it as he thought about what the young man had said. The singing, in a way, reminded him of the music of Lady Setsuna, which always caught his interest. But his focus was on the memorial and the withering flowers.

"Perhaps it means they can't be fooled," he said, sorrowfully and with a touch of bitterness.

"Huh?" questioned the older teen, giving him a funny look.

"No matter how beautiful he flowers are, people will just wipe them out," explained Shinn.

"What?" murmured the teen as a pink-haired girl walked up to him, ceasing her singing.

Shinn sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I… didn't mean anything." He then started to walk away.

"Hmm."

As Shinn walked away, Lacus gently placed the flowers she'd picked atop the memorial.

"There's a great destiny before him," said Kira. "I can see why Makoto's interested in him. His is the power to create the world… or the power to destroy it."

"Will he use it?" asked Lacus as the two started to walk away.

"I don't know," answered Kira. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

Road from Morgenroete Proving Grounds to Dry-Dock 1-B

"I have to admit, I'm impressed," said Suiren as Setsuna drove her back to the _Minerva_. "That machine of yours is incredible."

"The Sincerity is a technological revolution," answered Setsuna. "It's not just a mobile suit. Sincerity's a Gundam. The first in a new generation of Knights and Angels in the service of the White Queen."

"You mean Lacus Clyne?" asked Aleksi from the backseat.

"Interpret it as you will," said Setsuna. "But the Knights and Angels fought for the sake of peace. I designed the Sincerity in honor of my cousin, Makoto, who died in the previous war. I wanted it to be the first incarnation of the power to save the world. You'll find no mobile suit like the Sincerity anywhere."

"I'll say," said Luna. "You beat the _Black Hawk_ and a half-dozen other war veterans with the Sincerity. Given that you never fought in the war, that's nothing short of incredible, even if the fights were all one-on-one."

"Perhaps," said Setsuna.

"It uses Phase Shift weapons, right?" asked Tristan, leaning forward. "I heard those were phased out of use altogether."

"They were," said Suiren. "Only three mobile suits ever used them. They're bulky, they're clumsy, and they're unnecessarily power-intensive and less versatile than a beam saber."

"That's true," agreed Setsuna as she pulled into the parking lot outside the Morgenroete docks. "But… well, no, I'll just leave it at that."

The car pulled up in front of the entrance to the docks and everyone stepped out of the vehicle. Suiren turned to Setsuna.

"Thank you for the demonstration," she said. "It was rather interesting to see."

"I'd certainly hope so," said Setsuna. "It was nice chatting with all of you. Goodbye, Suiren."

"Goodbye, Lady Setsuna," said Suiren formally, bowing to the former Orb Noble. Setsuna only smiled as she stepped back into the car and left.

* * *

Two days later

Shani sighed as he entered the Morgenroete lounge and finally found the person he'd been looking for. Suiren Kyusai sat in the lounge, relaxing as she stared out at the ocean. Shani walked over to her.

"Have you been avoiding us?" asked Shani, stopping next to her. Suiren was quiet for a moment before shaking her head.

"No," she said. "Not really. A lot's been going on lately, and I was uncertain how to approach you. The other two, honestly, are easy. You're far more difficult."

"Why's that?" asked Shani. Suiren sighed.

"A man named Andras murdered my parents," she explained, catching Shani off-guard. "He was Blue Cosmos right to his core, and hated them because they made me a Coordinator. The only reason I survived is because I wasn't there at the time, and my adoptive father rescued me. That was a long time ago, but it still left me uncertain about you. There's no association between you and the man who murdered my parents, but at the same time, your name only served to remind me of them."

"I see," said Shani. "I guess I can understand that. I don't really remember my parents at all."

"I heard about that from Aleksi," said Suiren. "I can't imagine what that must be like. To have all your memories there, but only as an indistinguishable blur that sometimes jumps out at you and causes you to lose all control of yourself. It must be horrible."

"It is," said Shani. "It doesn't happen often. For the most part, tiny bits and pieces have fitted themselves back into place in our memory, working backwards from the ending to our younger years."

"That sounds like it could only be incredibly confusing," said Suiren. "How many years do you remember?"

"I'd guess no more than a year for me or Clotho," said Shani, sitting down in the chair next to Suiren. "Early on, there was a lot going on, and we were focused on that. Our memories only seem to get properly organized when we're completely relaxed, so even knowing something is going to happen or preparing for the possibility slows down the process."

"That makes me doubly sorry this is all happening," she said softly. "It'll likely make it tougher for you to recover your memories, even with the withdrawal of Taiyonoha from the Orb Union." Shani shrugged.

"I can wait," he said. "But the world won't wait for me."

Suiren looked at Shani, almost curiously before she smiled slightly.

* * *

Elsewhere

"So, Meyrin, what did you think of the M4 demonstration the other day?" asked Tolle, leaning back in his chair.

"It was amazing," said Meyrin. "Though it was kind of overshadowed by that other machine. The Sincerity… Gundam, was it?"

Tolle chuckled. "Yeah, the Sincerity," he said. "'Gundam' is sort of a nickname my friend Kira devised for the G-series back in the war. In terms of appearance, any prototype that looks like the M1 Astray—especially the head—is a Gundam, including those machines stolen from Armory One, plus the Impulse and that Rose Gundam."

"I see," said Meyrin thoughtfully. "I like it. It sounds really strong."

"It does, doesn't it?" said Tolle. "The Gundams were the strongest machines in the last war. Ultimately, they were the mobile suits that determined the course of that battle as nothing else except GENESIS could. And even GENESIS fell before the power of a Gundam."

"The Justice?"

"Yeah, that would be qualified as a Gundam too," said Tolle. "I guess what you should really be looking at is the face, though other factors are things like that V crest and the head spikes."

"What about you?" asked Meyrin. "Did you ever pilot a Gundam?"

"In a sense, yes," said Tolle. "You could sort of look at the Astray series as being mass-produced versions, though they lack the armor systems, which can be considered another mark of a true Gundam. Anyways, shouldn't we be talking about something else?"

"Tell me about yourself," replied Meyrin. Tolle chuckled.

"Well, alright, though that seems a rather interesting subject to bring up," he said. "Growing up, though, I was just your average guy, and before I got involved in the war, I was a technical college student on Heliopolis. That colony is where it all began for me, when I met an ingenious young Coordinator by the name of Kira Yamato…"

* * *

Onogoro Mizuryū Beach

A few hours later

"You're late," said Makoto to the black-haired young man walking up to her from behind.

"Sorry about that," he said. "_Ortigia_ isn't the fastest ship in the world, you know, and we can't all be comfortable sitting in the cockpit of a mobile suit for days."

"Fair enough," she replied. "So, how have things been going for you, Canard?"

Canard Yamato sighed as he stopped next to the redhead. "Well enough, I suppose," he said. "If GENESIS Alpha hadn't been attacked by those Blue Cosmos bastards, we could've stopped Junius Seven, but…"

"Well, it's in the past," said Makoto. "No use regretting it now. We need to figure out how we fix this situation."

"Weren't you the one who said we should sit things out?" asked Canard.

"I talked to Kira and Lacus," she replied. "We all agree. For now, we'll remain in the shadows, but we're preparing ourselves to intervene, particularly if Orb gets involved."

"Orb will get involved," said Canard, scowling. "I'll bet you my machine that Durandal wants that, too."

"Probably," agreed Makoto. She and Kira didn't trust Durandal because of Canard. It was information they'd kept between the three of them, but Durandal was the one who originally set Canard on the path of trying to kill Kira. Canard hadn't even realized it until he saw who the latest Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council was, but it had immediately setoff warning alarms in all their heads. If Durandal had found Canard and even encouraged him towards killing Kira, it seemed likely he was involved in Canard's kidnapping—and likely involved in the sabotage of Divinity in some way, shape or form.

That information, they knew, would draw the ire of a lot of people who'd lost family to the Divinity sabotages, including Makoto's mother and aunt, Canard's parents, and even the Dantes would be enraged. That was part of the reason the three of them had kept it private, but it was also because they'd decided to keep such matters between the three of them—the only known surviving Children of Divinity—until they felt it was necessary for others to know.

"I was surprised to hear about your withdrawal," continued Canard. "Have the Taiyonoha really lost that much power within the Union?"

"Within the government, yes," said Makoto. "In that respect, we're no different from the Athha, the Sahaku and the Yagami. Cowardly, Blue Cosmos-supporting Seiran bastards."

"I think we know your opinion of the Seirans already," said Canard dryly.

"Well, the withdrawal has a lot of other benefits," said Makoto. "Orb will be a lot weaker when Cagalli takes control of it, which is both good and bad, as it will leave Orb's greatest value as Kaguya. But it will also protect a lot of people by drawing them away from the battleground I see this nation becoming. Despite the power we've lost within the government, at the moment, we have more power over the people than the other four houses put together."

"Not to mention commanding Orb's strongest military force?"

"Well, there's that too," agreed Makoto. "The loss of the Taiyonoha Fleet will also serve to weaken Orb. If we're lucky, this will prevent the Alliance from calling on Orb for any heavy military assistance, and all Orb will really be used for is a via point for space."

"If we're lucky," muttered Canard. "What about mom and dad?"

"They'll be among the first to be given transportation to Izanami," said Makoto. "Anyways, Canard, I have a job for you."

"A job?"

"Yes," whispered Makoto. "I want you to find any and all information you can on the ZAFT officer known as Suiren Kyusai."

"Isn't that a job you should leave to your agents? _Ortigia_ is an inactive part of the military branch."

"My agents are too busy elsewhere," said Makoto, shaking her head. "And I don't want this getting around, either."

"So why are so interested in this 'Suiren'?" asked Canard.

"It's the way she moves," said Makoto, turning to face Canard. "After the death of Kazuo Endo, my family became the only true practitioners of Shinsei Tsurugi. I am teaching several people, and I've taught Kira a fair bit, but the only true practitioners should still be those within the Taiyonoha House."

"What does that have to do with it?" asked Canard, now completely confused.

"The way Kyusai moves," repeated Makoto. "She's a true practitioner—and a very good one—of Shinsei Tsurugi."

* * *

PLANT Supreme Council Chambers

Two days later

"These demands are ridiculous!" exclaimed Alan Clarzec. "Why in the world are they demanding that we arrest the terrorist group and hand them over? Don't they realize that they're dead?"

"On top of that, they're demanding reparations, that we dismantle our military, dissolve our current government, and the placement of Alliance inspectors on the Supreme Council," added Louise Leitner. "There's no way that they can actually believe that we'll accept these demands."

"Perhaps, but they aren't all that different from the demands that we made of them after the Bloody Valentine," commented Ian Kessel. "They're lashing out at us just as we lashed out at them. It wasn't right back then and it isn't right now."

"It's garbage," said George Adaman. "They just want to start a war while making us look like we're stubborn and unreasonable."

"It's more of their warmongering and bigotry," said Neu Kazaefsky with a sneer. "If this didn't happen, they would have found another reason to start a war."

"Well then, what are you proposing that we should do?" asked Ian. "Attack them before they attack us?"

"Maybe we should. They want to attack us anyway. So let's him them before they can hit us."

Those words sparked an argument between many of the Council members. Some were supporting the idea, others were opposing it. Durandal found himself struggling to maintain order on the Council.

"Please! Council members, please calm down!" he yelled, breaking up the fighting.

Everyone fell silent. "I understand how you all feel, but if we rise to their bait, history will repeat itself," said Durandal. "No matter what the Alliance says, we need to strive to find a diplomatic solution. If we don't, the people who have perished in the last war will have died in vain." He turned to Ian and Louise. "Now I believe the two of you have a report on the investigation into the terrorist group."

Ian nodded. "As you know, the Justice Department and the National Defense Committee have been working together to investigate the terrorist group responsible for the Junius Seven drop, and what we've found, and more importantly, haven't found, is shocking," he said. "From comm.-chatter recordings, we've managed to identify several members of the group. They're all ex-ZAFT. More specifically, they're soldiers who lost loved ones in the Bloody Valentine, or those that we noted as strong supporters of the late Patrick Zala. But worse than that, this was not an isolated incident. We've received reports from Earth that there were terrorist cells hidden across the Earth in case the colony drop failed to destroy the planet. In the aftermath of the drop, they attacked cities all across the planet. The most disturbing incident had happened in Fortaleza." He paused, pushing a button on his table. "We've gotten a hold of a copy of a recording sent to a number of news networks in the area."

On the screens in the room, a trio of children appeared, the oldest of whom was around ten or eleven years old.

"_My father's name is Alphonse Ross. My mother's name is Katrina Ross,_" the boy spoke. "_They were both doctors. And they were murdered by Naturals, because they were Coordinators. The Naturals are nothing but savages. It's their fault for the war and everything else. But now we are going to get our revenge. Death to the Naturals! Death to Blue Cosmos!_"

Many of Council members were stunned by the child's words.

"A GINN was piloted into the city and started firing, killing several dozen innocent civilians before a single Earth Forces soldier in a tank shot it down," explained Louise quietly. "Inside the cockpit were those three children. Dead."

Many of the members looked sick. "You mean…"

"Yes. A group of children, the oldest of whom was ten, got a hold of GINN so they could kill as many Naturals as they could." Ian shook his head. "Madness. Absolute madness." He sighed and rubbed his temples for a moment. "As I've said, we've begun a preliminary investigation into this group. We've identified these children. As the boy said, they were orphaned during the war when their parents, who were working for the Red Cross, were killed. It's unknown whether they were killed because they were Coordinators or were caught in the crossfire of a battle. How those children managed to reach Earth and got a hold of that GINN, we don't know. Likely, they were picked up by these terrorists to use as fodder."

Images of older ZAFT mobile suits engaging in combat appeared on the screens. "As for their weaponry, unlike the forces at Junius Seven, it all appears to be older models that have been modified," continued Ian. "Mainly old GINNs, BuCUEs and ZuOOTs. Forces typical of any guerilla group. But the pilots at Junius Seven were using our newest GINN High Maneuver Type model, a machine they should not have been able to acquire in such numbers. We've done an inventory of those machines we have in use and in storage. Just over a dozen are missing, compared to the estimated four dozen they had. As to the Flare Motors, we've searched our records as well as the records of IDB, the manufacturer of those Motors, and according to those records, they shouldn't exist. There have been no reports of missing or stolen Flare Motors. Currently, we have men doing a visual count to confirm the records, when we have the results, we'll report them to you."

"Do you have any theories on where those machines came from?" asked Ricardo Orff.

Ian sighed again. "The only theory I have it that is… that they had help from someone powerful or a group of such people," he said. "Either in the upper echelons of ZAFT's military, the heads of IDB, or… anyone sitting at this table."

"That is a very serious accusation, Mr. Kessel," commented Durandal quietly.

"I know, Chairman," he replied. "I desperately wish that we were wrong. But there was a conspiracy to drop Junius Seven and the ringleaders weren't the men and women at Junius Seven. They were here; sitting back and watching the disaster play out. There's no other way for them to have gotten all that equipment without us noticing."

"But why? What possible motive could they have to do this?" asked Ali Kasim.

"To succeed were Patrick Zala failed," answered Ian. "To wipe out every last Natural and damn us all to extinction. Needless to say, we must throw everything we have into finding those behind 'Break the World' and hand them over the Alliance to stand trial for crimes against humanity. It's the only way that we can stop all of this."

"So you're accusing one of us of helping those lunatics?"

"I'm saying that someone helped them drop Junius Seven. And yes, possibly one of us."

"All the more reason for us not to rush in," said Durandal. "Those responsible for what happened want a war. They want us to fight the Alliance, to finish what men like Patrick Zala started. We must continue to try to resolve this diplomatically while we try to uncover this conspiracy."

* * *

ZAFT Supercarrier _Gondwana_

A few days later

Saul and Shiho stepped off the elevator and onto the _Gondwana_'s bridge and tactical control center, where a group of ZAFT officers had started to gather, waiting for the briefing to start.

The Kessel Team had suffered serious casualties. Both the _Loki_ and the _Einherjar_ were in dry-dock for repairs. The _Odin_, the flagship of the Team, had been so badly damaged that it was beyond saving. The ship had been scuttled and the Commander had transferred her flag to the _Baldur_. With three of their ships out of commission, the surviving pilots from those ships had been transferred to the _Gondwana_ until new ships were made available or the damaged ships were repaired. Despite that, everyone knew it would've turned out a lot worse if the forces of the Kyusai Team hadn't intervened, in particular that red ZAKU that had stopped the Specter.

"Saul! Shiho!" a familiar voice called out.

Both aces turned, stunned, to see Nicol Amalfi, their old comrade from the war standing there, waiting for them in his old Redcoat uniform.

"Nicol? What are you doing here?" asked Saul as Nicol floated over to them.

"I rejoined," explained the green-haired musician. "Things are getting tense, so I felt like I should do my part, now, before another incident can occur."

"That makes sense," said Shiho. "Good to have you with us, 'Reaper'." Nicol scowled slightly at the nickname.

During the war, he'd piloted the Hellfire Blitz—one of the most formidable non-nuclear powered mobile suits in the entire conflict. The demonic mobile suit had played a big part in his performance, but even Nicol could admit that such a machine would need a talented pilot. Its appearance—and more particularly, the lethal Jigokuogama scythe that served as its primary weapon—had ultimately earned the pilot the moniker 'Grim Reaper', a nickname not at all suited to Nicol's personality.

Perhaps adding to his reputation was the fact that Nicol, like Kira and Makoto, was marked KIA. When it got out that the Grim Reaper was the thought-dead pilot of the Blitz, it served to up his reputation to near-legendary status, that of a deceased pilot who returned as an incarnation of death itself, such that he was probably the most feared mobile suit pilot in the world outside of the Knights and Angels, despite the fact that he could name plenty of pilots from the Three Ships Alliance who were his better in just about every respect regarding the military.

"So, what did they get for you?" asked Saul. "A plain-old ZAKU?"

"Apparently someone—probably your father—thought the Grim Reaper should have the best," grumbled Nicol. "They've readied a ZAKU Phantom High-Maneuver Type for me, and apparently, they want to make it evident just who the pilot is."

"Oh, this I gotta see," said Saul.

"Later," replied Shiho. "Your mother's here."

At that moment, Admiral Rebecca Kessel appeared, approaching the large holo-map in the center of the area. All of the ZAFT officers snapped to attention, and Rebecca returned the salute.

"At ease," she said. "As you all know, talks between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance have deteriorated. They have demanded that the PLANT Supreme Council be dissolved before midnight tonight and they run the PLANTs until those within ZAFT that helped the terrorists are found and arrested. Naturally, such a demand is unacceptable and now we have an Alliance fleet coming to threaten us with force. Hopefully, that will be just for show, to intimidate us into surrendering. But if not, we will be prepared for them."

The holo-map activated. The moon, the PLANTs, Space Fortress Messiah and the _Gondwana_ appeared. A cluster of red triangles left the moon, leaving a red trail as they advanced towards the PLANTs.

"As you can see here, the Earth Forces fleet is taking the long way to the PLANTs, going around our Messiah Fortress so they can strike at the PLANTs directly," said Rebecca. "In response, we are setting up a defensive line here, with Messiah at one end and the _Gondwana_ at the other." A line of green triangles appeared in front of the PLANTs, forming a line from Messiah to the _Gondwana_. "Our objective is simple; defend the PLANTs no matter the cost. As always, we are outnumbered. Our estimates put the number at two to one in their favor. However, our new ZAKUs are superior to their Dagger Ls, which should help us with their numbers, even if the bulk of our forces are in GuAIZ Rs."

"But the main concern we have with this force is not their numbers, but rather what their ultimate objective is," continued Rebecca. "The last two times the PLANTs themselves saw fighting, nuclear weapons were used. Needless to say, the threat is very real. I want everyone out there to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious and to report it immediately. I'm hoping that I'm just being paranoid, but we can't take any chances. Good luck out there ladies and gentlemen. And all pray that this whole affair ends quickly."

* * *

Lagrange Point 5

Over the next few hours, the ZAFT warships formed a defensive line, blocking the path of their Earth Alliance counterparts. The Alliance fleet stopped just outside of the maximum firing range of both fleets, and like the ZAFT forces, waited for the clock to run down to zero.

Everyone was tense, waiting for the clock to reach midnight, some praying that this whole affair would end peacefully before then. Others, not so much. Some were scared to go into battle, others were mentally preparing themselves for it. The people of Earth, the Moon and the PLANTs watched on. Like those in the fleets, there were many different feelings being felt amongst them. Some were angry and wanted to lash out at the other side. Some were worried about family and friends serving in the military. Others prayed that it would end peacefully, without fighting. And a few, a small few, watched on eagerly for ensuing conflict.

It was the calm before the storm. And it would not last.

The clock struck midnight. The peace had ended.

The Alliance warships started to deploy their Dagger Ls as ZAFT ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs were launched in response. Warships began to advance, firing their main cannons at the opposing warships.

The Second Bloody Valentine War had begun.

* * *

Location: Unknown

She watched grimly as the first shots were taken. Another bloody, meaningless conflict, the legacy of a world gone made with envy and arrogance. This, she knew, would not be the end of it, either. He would not reveal himself yet, the arrogant, mad fool that he was, ready to see the world burn for his vanity.

She turned to the monitor next to her, displaying seemingly indistinguishable devices labeled "Solar Drive System" and "True Solar Drive System". Another set of monitors displayed two more devices: Valor Enhanced Data Augmentation System and Brainwave Interface Omega-Sensor.

These would be the key to ending it all. It was the power of the Children of Divinity. It would be the tool the six of them wielded to bring all of this to an end.

"And so the second stage of the War of Divinity begins," she whispered to herself. "I just hope we can end it soon."

* * *

**Author's Note: That was the most blatant bit of foreshadowing I have ever written. I wonder how many people will actually see it. Trust me, the answer is probably none.**

**Anyways, we get the return of Nicol Amalfi, Canard Pars and Asagi Caldwell. There's another cameo, see if you can spot it. It's interesting that Nicol's earned such a moniker, but you can call it my response to all those comments about the contrast between the monstrous Hellfire Blitz and its pilot. Next chapter will feature the opening shots of the war, and the first significant contrast between my story and that of Akatsuki Leader13, though at this point, I don't think it'll have any sort of impact. I just sort of found it interesting how ZAFT was handed several very powerful political weapons in _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_, yet Durandal didn't seize on them. I'm going to fix this issue by denying Durandal most of those weapons right from the off.**

**Anyways, I don't have much to say today, so I'm just gonna wrap this up here.**

**I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review! I'll be back in a week!**

**Ja ne!**

* * *

**_Junction _****Mecha Spec Page**

**M2 Angelus:**  
Description:  
Deployed only as the backbone of the Orb Union's Taiyonoha Fleet, the M2 Angelus is the true successor to the M1 Astray. The M2 Angelus employs the same basic weapons as the M1 Astray, but also includes a pair of power-conserving anti-armor swords. The primary difference between the two, however, is the wings mounted on the back of the M2 Angelus, which incorporate a variant of the high-speed thrusters of the Surge Gundam. This makes the M2 Angelus the fastest of all mass-produced mobile suits, and cements its place as one of the strongest such mobile suits yet developed.

**Model Number:** MBF-M2**  
Code Name:** M2 Angelus**  
Unit Type:** Mass Production Assault Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.99 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 57.61 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Dual Mobile Assault Wings; "Lightwave Wings" High-Speed Propulsion System;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x DES-G07D+ Anti-Armor Sword, set includes long and short sword, stored on left hip, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 70J Kai Beam Saber, stored in shoulder racks, hand-carried in use; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Shield, mounted on left arm;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle**  
Pilots:** Athrun Zala, Asagi Caldwell, Jean Carry, Barry Ho  
**Appearance:** The M2 Angelus looks pretty much identical to the M1 Astray, but it has wings like those of the Destiny in place of the M1s backpack.**  
Color:** Same color scheme as the M1 Astray. The wings are red, the same as Destiny's.**  
Notes:** My first mass-produced OMS. The M2 Angelus is an improvement over the M1 Astray all-around, faster, more maneuverable, and better armed. The wings have hardpoints for mounting optional "heavy hand weapons", like large beam cannons and anti-ship swords (again, like the Destiny). Overall, a simple enough machine.

**M3 Guardian:**  
Description:  
In Cosmic Era 71, the Guardian Gundam continually proved itself one of the strongest mobile suits of its time, and the Morgenrote developed M3 Guardian is a mass-produced variant. Although it lacks the Phase Shift Armor and sheer firepower of the original, the M3 Guardian retains the primary aspects of the Guardian Gundam, and is the most powerful mass-produced mobile suit yet. Despite this, the M3 Guardian is used exclusively by the Taiyonoha Fleet, and is only produced in limited quantities thus far as a supplement to the M2 Angelus. Customized variations are also favored by the most highly placed aces of the Taiyonoha Fleet, such as Andrew Waltfeld and Elizabeth Dante.

**Model Number:** MVF-M3**  
Code Name:** M3 Guardian**  
Unit Type:** Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:** Unknown  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.81 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 54.73 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Dual Mobile Assault Wings; High-Speed Mobile Armor Transformation; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x Type 70V Kai Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam guns in mobile armor mode; 2x Type 70W Beam Blade, mounted on wings; 2x Type 69E 175mm Grenade Launcher, mounted in forearms; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Shield, mounted on left arm, mounts over main body in mobile armor mode;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Type 86 Kai Dual-mode Long Beam Rifle, can mount under shield nose in mobile armor mode**  
Pilots:** Andrew Waltfeld, Elizabeth Dante, Ledonir Kisaka, Jean Carry**  
Appearance:** The same as the Guardian Gundam: identical to the Zeta Gundam, but with the shield and wings of the Wing Gundam.  
**Color:** As the M1 Astray, but with blue replacing red, a golden V crest, and white wings.**  
Notes:** Now this is a pretty fun machine. The Guardian Gundam has been one of my more popular machines (though not in the top three—see poll results, they're still available), and it was a pretty powerful machine, fast, agile and with a great deal of firepower and versatility. In some respects, the M3 Guardian is stronger than the Guardian was at the time of its completion, which is why Liz has taken one to replace her old Gundam and the reason Andy uses one over the Murasame—because honestly, which would you rather have, the Murasame or an upgraded version of this puppy?


	9. Phase 09: Bared Fangs

**Well, here it is. The beginning of the war. In terms of content, the core of it is the same as Akatsuki Leader13's, which isn't all that surprising--for the most part, the same characters are in the same places at the same times. How much difference did you really expect in that area? Of course, that being said, there are some surprises waiting for all of you, as well as additional character reflections.**

**Anyways, I won't bore you all to tears. I'm tired, so once these A/Ns are done and the chapter posted, I'm gonna just go crash.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply (I was gonna actually write something, but I'm propping my eyelids open with toothpicks as it is).  
**

* * *

Phase Nine: Bared Fangs

October 16th, C.E. 73

* * *

The _Gondwana_

In one of the large hangers of the _Gondwana_, crewmen rushed to finish prepping the mobile suits for launch. ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs were quickly lined up in front of the many catapults of the supercarrier.

"God damn it," muttered Saul. "Two years. Two years and one month of peace, and it's already over."

"_It's not like we could've done anything to stop it, Saul,_" said Nicol sadly.

"_It doesn't matter,_" said Shiho firmly. "_We're not gonna let anything happen to the PLANTs. Too much sacrifice has been made to protect them to let it all go to waste now._"

"Your right," said Saul. "Hey, Nicol, you ready for this?"

"_I might be a little rusty, but I'm not gonna get shot down here,_" said Nicol. Shiho snorted.

"_You could sit there looking pretty with that nasty little scythe of yours and you'd turn the tide of battle,_" she said.

"_I think you're exaggerating a little,_"

"Who cares," said Saul as the catapult doors opened up across the mammoth ship. "But then, you're not the type to sit there looking pretty."

"_Everyone ready?_" asked Nicol. Saul nodded.

"This is Saul Kessel," he called. "ZAKU Surge, taking off."

"_Shiho Hahnenfuss, ZAKU Duel Arms, launching._"

"_Nicol Amalfi, ZAKU Blitz, heading out!_"

The three ZAKUs launched, along with many, many more machines as the _Gondwana_ shot out mobile suits like missiles. Within moments, literally hundreds of mobile suits were racing towards the waiting Earth Alliance Forces.

* * *

The _Winter Eagle_'s Hanger

"Listen up everyone. We're at war again. And the last time the PLANTs were attacked like this they were nearly destroyed by nuclear warheads," said the new Commander of the Kyusai Team to his pilots. "So keep your eyes open for anything. I don't want anything getting near the PLANTs. Stick together and watch each other's backs. I want us all to come back home when this is all over. Am I clear?"

"_Sir, yes sir._"

He nodded his head. "Alright. Lock and load. We're moving out."

Truthfully, he knew that it was unlikely that they were all coming after the battle. That was just how combat was. He put his helmet on, locking it in place. He climbed into his ZAKU as the new second-in-command climbed into his orange ZAKU. The commander put on his helmet and powered up his machine. He was the first to step onto the catapult.

"_Do you have the same feeling of déjà vu that I'm getting?_" asked Westenfluss over a private channel.

"Depends. Are you talking about the whole situation or this particular battle?"

"_Both._"

"Yes to both. This situation is a lot like how the last war started. And this battle feels a lot like the Battle at Jachin Due." The Commander paused. "Keep your guard up at all times."

"_Don't worry. I will. You do the same—wouldn't want to tell the Commander you got yourself shot down in your first sortie after she promoted you._"

"I'll be fine."

A moment later, the crimson ZAKU Phantom was launched.

* * *

PLANT Airspace

The battle between the forces of ZAFT and the Earth Alliance was brutal. Alliance Dagger Ls clashed with ZAFT GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs while _Nazca_-class destroyers and _Laurasia_-class frigates slugged it out with _Agamemnon_-class carriers, _Nelson_-class battleships and _Drake_-class escort ships. A Gunner ZAKU Warrior fired its Orthros rifle, piecing the bridge of a _Drake_-class. As the Alliance ship started to drift, a pair of Daggers fired their beam rifles at the ZAKU, destroying it. A pair of Doppelhorn Daggers fired their beam rifles and twin cannons at a group of GuAIZ Rs. Two ZAFT mobile suits exploded while a third lost its head. But before they could finish the rest of the ZAFT machines off, a ZAKU Phantom shot the two of them from behind, destroying them. A pair of _Nazca_-classes fired on a _Nelson_-class, their combined bombardment overwhelming the Alliance warship. Explosions ripped through its hull, consuming the battleship. Three GINN High-Maneuver Type IIs raced across the battlefield, gunning down Daggers before they could get a clear shot on them. A dying _Drake_-class rammed into a _Nazca_-class, taking both ships out in a huge fireball.

"_Damn… This is getting dicey,_" said Lisa DaCosta as she dodged the incoming fire from a pair of Daggers and gunned them down with her rifle.

"That doesn't matter. They are attacking the PLANTs," said Diana, drawing a beam saber from her ZAKU Panther's shield. "It's our duty to defend our homeland. We're not going to take one step back." Diana shot forward, slicing through a Dagger with her saber as she shot down another with her assault rifle. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal, ma'am," replied Lisa.

At that moment, an _Agamemnon_-class fired its cannons. The beams pieced a _Nazca_-class and the warship exploded. Nearby, Lucius fired his beam assault rifle, the well-aimed shots taking down a trio of Daggers in rapid succession. "_Ma'am, perhaps we should deal with that ship,_" he said as he pulled out a grenade, primed it and threw it at a fourth Dagger.

Diana nodded. "Form up gentlemen, we're taking down that ship," she ordered.

Her squad formed up and surged towards the _Agamemnon_-class. A wing of Daggers moved up, blocking their path. The ZAKUs just tore through them, gunning them down with their assault rifles as they raced towards the Alliance battleship. The ship's point defenses opened up, firing upon them. But they were too fast and agile for the guns to hit them. The ZAKU High-Maneuver Types started firing upon the ship. Lucius fired on one of the twin cannons, destroying it, and Lisa took out the other with her beam sabers. Diana fired the fatal shot, taking out the ship's bridge. The ship was effectively dead.

* * *

Near Space Fortress Messiah

As the two fleets battled, a smaller Alliance battle group was moving into position, heading straight for the PLANTs. But they didn't escape notice. Hidden ZAFT scouts observed their movements and reported their positions. The group consisted of no less than a dozen _Agamemnon_-class carriers and an equal number of escorts. At the center of the formation was a vessel reminiscent of the legendary _Archangel_, the _Girty Lue_.

Aboard the _Girty Lue_,Neo rose from his seat. "It's time to show them our plan," he said. "Launch the mobile suits. Let them clear the path for the ships."

As his orders were carried out, Neo leaned back slightly in his seat, frowning. He didn't like any of this. Djibril had spoken of how important politics would be in this conflict, and Neo agreed with him wholeheartedly. But at the same, the leader of Blue Cosmos had ignored his own words, and decided to hand the PLANTs a potentially powerful political weapon on a silver platter, and Neo had no doubt that Durandal would use it.

Not that anyone but Stella had agreed with him. There was something different about Stella from the rest, something beyond her naïve innocence outside of battle. Where Mariemeia had latched onto Treize as a big brother, Stella had latched onto Neo as a sort of father figure, and he found that he couldn't treat her coldly. The discomfort that Treize's presence brought made him uncomfortable, and the fanaticism of every Extended besides Stella irritated him as well. Neo harbored no hatred for Coordinators—he was simply a soldier, a good one, and he would follow the orders of his superiors. The end result was that Neo wanted to protect Stella, saw Sting and Auel as fellow soldiers, and felt that the Third Generation Extended could go to hell.

Of course, he felt even more inclined to put a bullet in Treize's head when the Specter pilot shouted the motto of Blue Cosmos, as it caused his presence to flash even more uncomfortably than normal, a sort of dark rage that was directed at everything, including himself and his machine.

Neo silently eyed the Extended as they began to fight. In them, in this battle, and most particularly, in the Specter, he thought he could see everything coming down on Djibril's head.

* * *

PLANT Airspace

"Spread out and destroy them all," ordered Treize. "Not a single Coordinator survives."

With that, Treize pushed the Specter's boosters to their maximum, propelling the machine far ahead of the rest of the Alliance forces. GuAIZs, GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs opened fire on the Specter as it approached, but Treize was too fast, always being where their beams weren't.

"Too slow, Coordinators!" said Treize as he continued to dodge their shots. He drew the Specter's beam revolvers and started firing. Every one of his shots was dead-on, the beams tearing through the bodies of more than a few mobile suits as the survivors continued to fruitlessly fire on him.

"_He's too fast! I can't–ARGH! _"

"_Damn it! Keep firing! We need to try and pin him down!_"

"_It's no good! He's to –AAAAAGH!_"

"_Can't get a lock on him. He's just too–_"

Pilots were beginning to panic. The Specter, while nowhere near as fast as the legendary Faith, was living up to its name, its speed turning the machine into a phantom, there one second, gone the next, taking out several of their own in the process. The commander was growing increasingly worried—he couldn't understand how any Natural could pilot a mobile suit so well at those speeds; even a Coordinator would have to be extremely exceptional to do so! It was simply inhuman.

Suddenly, his rifle battery ran dry. He swore as pulled out the dead battery. Treize grinned, swapping one of the revolvers for his sword. As the man was about to load a battery onto his rifle, Treize lunged at the ZAKU Phantom with his sword. The commander threw his rifle up as he backed off. Treize's sword sliced through the rifle, but missed the ZAKU. The commander drew his beam tomahawk and roared as he lunged forward. He brought his axe downward but Treize block it with his shield and thrust his sword into the ZAKU's cockpit, crushing the man inside. Treize pulled his sword out and the ZAKU exploded.

Nearby, Gyunei fired off his Scylla cannon in rapid succession, and a trio of curving beams tore through a closely packed cluster of GuAIZs and GuAIZ Rs, destroying most of them. The Extended laughed as he sliced a survivor in two with a beam saber. Then the Rosso Aegis transformed and ensnared a GuAIZ R in its limbs and crushed it.

"Such flimsy machines," he said. "Do they really think that they can win with these things?"

A pair of ZAKU charged toward the Chaos, firing their rifles. Sting dodged the shots, but didn't fire back with his rifle. Instead, he deployed his mobile weapon pods and attacked with them instead. A beam pieced one ZAKU from behind while the other mobile suit was hit from above. Sting smirked as his weapon pods reattached themselves.

A pair of GuAIZs fired their arrestors at the Strike Noir. But before they could reach her, Maia sliced through them with her beam blades.

"How rude. If you wanted to dance up close, you should have asked first," she said to the pilots.

Maia let go of her blades and fired out the Strike Noir's hand mounted rocket anchors at the two ZAFT machines. The anchors embedded themselves within the chest plates of the GuAIZs, surprising their pilots. Maia then pulled the GuAIZs towards her as she took aim with the railguns built into the Noir Striker Pack. As they were nearly on top of her, she fired the guns. The rounds tore through their cockpits like it was tissue paper, killing the pilots. She grabbed the GuAIZs and threw them away just before they exploded.

Rache fired the Verde Buster's beam cannon and gun launcher at a _Nazca_-class, obliterating its bridge and sparking a chain reaction that destroyed the entire ship. A pair of GuAIZ Rs fired their rifles at him, but Rache evaded the beams easily and fired back with his own rifles, obliterating both machines. A third GuAIZ R flew towards him, trying to get close enough to restrict his cannons.

Rache laughed and charged forward himself, firing once in a mocking manner while effortlessly dodging the return fire. As they closed to melee range and the GuAIZ R tried attacking with its shield-mounted beam saber, the bayonets in the Verde Buster's rifles extended and pierced the GuAIZ R.

"Idiot," said Rache, smirking. "This machine is far stronger than the Buster you Coordinators stole could ever hope to be!" Rache kicked the GuAIZ R away as it exploded and spun around, firing on a formation of mobile suits with all of his machine's weapons.

Auel swung his halberd in wide arc, cutting through the chests of two GuAIZ Rs before ramming it into the chest of a ZAKU Warrior. A ZAKU Phantom and a pair of ZAKU Warriors fired on the Abyss. Auel jumped back, pulling his halberd out of the ZAKU. The beams missed Auel, and a stray shot even hit the ZAKU he had just taken out. Auel fired his twin triple cannons and chest mounted cannon at the trio. His shots tore through the ZAKUs, destroying them.

Auel laughed and, with a crazed look in his eyes, charged straight back into the fray.

Silber fired his twin beam guns at an incoming wing of ZAFT mobile suits, and like Treize, he earned spectacular results. Heads and limbs were blown off, mobile suits exploded. One GuAIZ R's leg was severed, causing its pilot to lose control and crash into another GuAIZ R. But as the surviving ZAFT machines drew closer, they switched to their close-quarters weapons. Silber pulled back his beam guns and drew his beam sabers as a pair of ZAKUs rushed forward, swinging their tomahawks at him. The Blu Duel ducked down and impaled them both on its sabers.

"Heheheheh," chuckled Silber. "For all your silly proclamations of superiority, you really are quite pathetic!"

The Viola Surge sped through a storm of fire from a formation of foolish Coordinator mobile suits that had gathered too close together. Miguel laughed as he flew through the formation, cutting apart machines with his beam sabers or the beam blades on the tips of the backpack wings.

The Viola Surge flipped over, and Miguel smirked, seeing only four mobile suits left. Anchors shot out from the hands and feet of his machine, penetrating the outer armor of the GuAIZ Rs and ZAKU, and Miguel spun about, using the Viola Surge's powerful thrusters to tug the ZAFT machines around without effort before pulling them together and releasing them, allowing them to crash into one another in a single massive explosion.

Nanai laughed as ZAFT mobile suit after ZAFT mobile suit blew up, not a single machine able to match the incredible power of the Divina Guardian. GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs fired everything they had at her, but none could hit the swift moving mobile suit, and many were caught in a barrage of missiles that left them crippled and easy for Nanai to finish off.

The Divina Guardian shifted to mobile armor mode and flew forward, beam cannons blazing, every shot obliterating another mobile suit. The machine was tremendously powerful, and although Nanai was no match in terms of skill for Treize, Rache or Silber, even they would be hard-pressed to survive a confrontation with the deadly combination of her love for explosions and the destructive power of her machine.

Unlike all the others, Stella took no real joy in killing Coordinators. As Neo had noted, she was different from the others, in almost every way possible. She took no pleasure in the revenge that killing Coordinators should've been for her.

As the Gaia pierced a GuAIZ with a shot from its rifle, Stella flew forward, shifting to mobile armor mode and pushing off from the defeated machine as it exploded, deploying the Gaia's wings to slice apart a Slash ZAKU Phantom.

Killing Coordinators was a grim reminder. To her, Coordinators were the things in the night that had taken everything from her so soon after she was born. But killing them wouldn't change any of that—it would prevent them from hurting her or Neo in the future, and it would ensure they couldn't visit that tragedy upon others, but that was all.

* * *

Elsewhere

A Blaze ZAKU Warrior gunned down a pair of Daggers from behind, and the ZAFT pilot sneered. "You Naturals aren't so tough. You're nothing but a pack of wild dogs. We should put all of–AAAAAGH!"

The blade of a beam saber erupted from the ZAKUs chest.

"Arrogant Coordinator," said the Alliance pilot as the ZAKU exploded.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Another ZAKU, moving much faster than any he'd ever seen, and it was heading straight towards him. The pilot fired on the ZAKU, but it dodged his shots and fired a pair of beam revolvers at him with such accuracy that the Alliance pilot had no chance to dodge as his Aile Dagger L exploded.

Two more Daggers appeared, firing on the ZAKU. The green mobile suit sidestepped their beams, racing towards them as it drew its Falx G7 from its backpacks. Before the Daggers move to counter him, the ZAKU's beam axe sliced the Daggers in two.

"Gee, it's like they're trying to celebrate the new war by creating a new Second Jachin," muttered Saul, flipping over and firing a cluster of missiles into a Dagger L that had tried to sneak up behind him. "Well, at least it doesn't seem we have to worry about genocidal weapons of mass destruction being thrown around."

Out of the corner of his eye, Saul spotted something: clusters of Alliance mobile suits suddenly breaking formation fearfully. He grinned, certain just what it was about as he switched over to the frequency the Alliance was most likely using.

"_Run for it!_"

"_No! N–ARGH!_"

"_The Reaper! It's the Reaper!_"

Similar lines continued to fill Saul's radio as the former Surge Gundam pilot chuckled and switched back to the ZAFT frequencies.

Just as Saul's radio had confirmed, the Alliance pilots were fleeing from a single black ZAKU Phantom High-Maneuver Type. But the machine in question wasn't just _any_ ZAKU HM Type. It was the most hideous, fearsome-looking ZAKU they'd ever seen.

Indeed, the ZAKU Blitz, for all that it was a state-of-the-art brand new machine that had originally been slated to test a new stealth system, looked like it had been cobbled together from the remains of other ZAKUs that had seen dozens of battles, covered head-to-foot in scars, its shields looking cracked, cursed—evil.

But just as with the Hellfire Blitz that Nicol Amalfi had previously piloted, the most frightening aspect of the machine was its head. In place of the antenna spike of normal ZAKU Phantoms, this one featured the headcrest spikes of the Blitz. And just as with Nicol's previous machine, the left side was in pristine condition while the right looked like it had been run through a garbage disposal, then cobbled back together. The entire right half of the visor was gone, exposing the glowing camera eye. Through the visor, it appeared blue, but without that cover, its demonic red light was revealed without inhibition, and the cycloptic nature of the ZAKU only made it all the more frightening.

"Guess its time to become the Grim Reaper once more," muttered Nicol, twirling the pole in his ZAKU's hands before gripping it firmly and igniting the Falx G9 beam scythe. Letting loose a battlecry, Nicol rushed forward, swinging his scythe through one mobile suit after another, easily evading and deflecting the pathetic counterattacks of the Earth Forces pilots. The Reaper returned fire with his Hydra gatlings and beam rifle, cutting down the Earth Forces pilots with ease.

Perhaps ironically, fear was Nicol's best weapon.

Nearby, Shiho easily fought off the Alliance pilots. Although they swarmed her, the mere sight of the ZAKU Blitz so close by panicked almost all of them, and it was throwing them off. Her Blizzard cut through one Dagger L as she raised the shield of her Laurus to deflect a shot before twisting it outward to obliterate the offending mobile suit.

Nearby, a GuAIZ R took a hit, losing its left leg. Shiho pulled her machine in front of her damaged comrade and shot down the Dagger that crippled the machine.

"Fallback," she said to the pilot.

"_Yes ma'am,_" replied the younger pilot, pulling back.

Elsewhere, Saul swung his axe, slicing through a Dagger while Nicol, switching to the unique combinable folding beam scythes of his ZAKU's shields, sliced apart three more. Suddenly, a fourth Dagger, its pilot braver than most, rose up behind Nicol.

"Nicol, look out!" yelled Saul.

As Nicol began to spin about—too late—and the Dagger began to fire, a beam axe tore through its chest. The Dagger exploded, leaving a crimson Slash ZAKU Phantom in its place. Before either Nicol or Saul could react, the ZAKU took off, searching for more enemies.

"Was that Zane?" questioned Saul, shocked.

There hadn't been any trace of Zane after the Second Battle of Jachin Due. He had completely disappeared. No one even knew if he had survived the battle or not.

"_I don't think so,_" replied Nicol. "_That ZAKU may have been blood red, but it had black birds painted on it._"

"What? Birds?"

"_Yeah. They looked like ravens._"

Saul shook his head. "This is getting to weird."

At that moment, more Daggers appeared, firing at the pair, forcing them to focus back on the battle at hand.

* * *

ZAFT Gibraltar Base

"What are the latest reports from the battle?" asked Commander Ienzo as he paced across the base command center.

"It's seems to be at a stalemate for now. The Alliance forces can't seem to push any further into our lines," reported an operator.

Ienzo nodded and said a silent prayer. Everything rested on this battle. If the Alliance won this battle… Ienzo suppressed a shutter. Given the state of world, he didn't want to imagine that outcome.

The radar operator's eyes widened in shock at what appeared on his screen. "Sir! Incoming mobile suits!"

Ienzo froze. "What?!" He rushed to the man's console, seeing the numerous mobile suit signatures heading towards the base. He slammed his fist into the console in anger. "Scramble all mobile suits! Activate all batteries!"

Clearly, the Alliance wasn't taking any chances. They were attacking both the PLANTs and their bases on Earth. If the assault on the PLANTs failed, then they would take ZAFT's only footholds on Earth, Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Worse, currently the base was at reduced strength due to the fact that many of their personnel were still aiding in the relief efforts.

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

The battle at near Messiah was steadily turning against the ZAFT forces, despite actually outnumbering their attackers and their new ZAKU mobile suits. While the ZAKUs were proving to be superior to the Dagger Ls that currently made up the backbone of the Alliance military forces, they were outmatch by the new Windams. Added to this were the Extended pilots and their machines. Wherever they were, ZAFT pilots died in droves, cut down by the Alliance super soldiers, none more so than Treize. He struck like a raging tempest, wiping out scores of ZAFT machines. On the _Girty Lue_'s bridge, Dr. Andras smirked.

"As I said, he'll be operating at his maximum from now on," he said.

"He is quite impressive," commented Neo.

"Of course," replied Andras. "Do you know that when I was creating him, I sought to create a pilot that was superior to the Freedom and the Faith from the last war?" The smirk on the insane doctor's face grew. "Personally, I would love to see him battle those 'Unstoppable Angels'. So he could destroy them and prove his superiority."

Neo suppressed a snort. Treize was good, but perhaps Andras failed to realize that the Specter pushed even Treize to his limits—and its push was _nothing_ compared to the Faith's. Even Neo, who had never seen the specs for the Faith, could recognize that. In his opinion, those claims were the product of nothing more than Andras's own arrogance, and while Treize might do well against the Angels—and possibly even outdo the Knights—ultimately, he'd fall, just like everyone else who'd ever been foolish enough to challenge those superhuman ace pilots.

"_The path is clear,_" came Treize's voice. "_We're ready for the next stage._"

Neo nodded.

"Deploy the attack force," he ordered.

* * *

PLANT Airspace

As the battle raged in space, a special detachment of the Earth Forces new Windam mobile suits, equipped with a special Striker Pack, headed towards the PLANTs. A GuAIZ R pilot spotted the group, his main camera zooming in on them. He paled in horror as he spotted the nuclear warning symbol on the mobile suits.

"Nukes!!!"

Word quickly spread across the ZAFT forces. ZAFT mobile suits broke away from their battles, racing towards the Windams. "Come on!" shouted Saul as he gunned the ZAKU Surge's thrusters to full, his voice filled with desperation. "We have to stop them!"

Aboard the _Gondwana_, men and women were rushing to move everything they could into the path of the Windams.

"Calm down everyone. We've prepared for this," said Admiral Kessel. "Move the _Marie Curie_ into position immediately. We only have one shot. We need to make it count."

In front of the PLANTs themselves was a small flotilla _Nazca_-class ships with a special _Nazca_-class fitted with a large array: the Neutron Stampeder. The specially equipped destroyer moved into the path of the Alliance mobile suits as the crew aboard the ship rushed to power up the weapon, knowing just how important this was.

The ZAFT forces closest to the nuclear strike force attempted to get at the mobile suits, but the Extended blocked them at every turn.

Suddenly, several shots pierced space straight towards the Windams. Most missed, but one hit a Windam, crippling it, though it unfortunately failed to detonate the nuke, which could've taken out numerous other missiles around it. Caught off-guard, the Extended turned to see a familiar ZAFT unit moving towards them, the group of seventeen ZAKUs and three destroyers spearheaded by the same raven marked crimson Slash ZAKU Phantom that had given Treize so much trouble at Junius Seven.

"Heine, Grace, take the Buster," ordered the Commander. "Dodge, Mason, take the Duel. Almark, Vashti, take the Surge. Sierra, Dylandy, the Guardian. Halevy, Aker, deal with the Strike and the Aegis. The rest of you, act on your own discretion and try to get those nukes. The Specter's mine."

"_Yes sir!_"

The Kyusai Team broke ranks, moving to their assigned targets. As soldiers under the leadership of Suiren Kyusai, they'd learned the value of teamwork and how to exploit it, as well as the value of personal ability and recognizing when one-on-one was the best way to deal with the enemy.

Treize smirked upon catching sight of the crimson ZAKU. Time to deal with this pest.

The Specter's verniers opened and boosted to maximum. They couldn't be maintained for long, lest the Specter lose all power, but Treize wouldn't need them to last that long.

Moving with incredible speed, the Specter appeared behind the crimson ZAKU, its Tempest sword stabbing forward. Treize's smirk grew, knowing the battle was already over.

Thus, he was caught completely off-guard when the ZAKU twisted, using the solid section of the sword that wasn't covered by a beam blade to push off and away from the Specter.

An instant later, the primed grenade left behind exploded.

"_You're pathetic,_" came the voice of the ZAKU Phantom pilot over the radio as he charged in with his Falx G7. Treize deflected with his sword, but before he could bring his revolver to bear, the ZAKU spun around and kicked the Specter away, firing its Hydra gatling cannons at him, forcing him to evade and deflect with his shield. "_I can feel it! You're a weapon! And that's why you'll never win! Without the heart, without the human element, all weapons become worthless trash! Like you!_"

The reflexes of Treize's opponent were superb, and the most powerful of the Extended found that no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to hit this guy. Growling in annoyance—this shouldn't be happening!—Treize blazed back in, Tempest sword held at the ready.

However, his blow was intercepted by the Falx G7, and then, to Treize's complete surprise, the ZAKU allowed itself to be pushed back. Thinking his opponent must have something planned, Treize cut the verniers.

Big mistake, as he'd just fallen into his opponent's trap.

The ZAKU released one hand from its axe, grabbed and primed a grenade, and slapped it on the Specter's hip before pushing back on the black mobile suit, and with the thrusters shut down, Treize had nothing to push back with in the zero-g environment of space. The ZAKU released its axe and, quick as a flash, drew both tomahawks and lashed out with them, the spinning weapons knocking away both Treize's sword and his revolver. An instant later, the grenade exploded, and while the VPS armor held, the Specter's other revolver was obliterated.

Treize was stunned. How…? This… this was impossible!

Meanwhile, other ZAFT forces rushed to stop the nukes.

"_Damn it!_" Nicol swore as they raced towards the Windams. "_We're not going to make it!_"

"We'll make it!" Saul yelled back, pushing his machine's thrusters as fast as they could go, far beyond their normal limits. "Push your thrusters into the red zone! We're not going to let those missiles hit the PLANTs!"

"_The Kyusai Team has bought us an opening! Don't miss it!_" said Shiho.

However, at that moment, the Windams fired their missiles. The warheads streaked towards the PLANTs as ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs vainly fired at the missiles, but they were just too far, and even the ZAKU Surge couldn't speed into position to stop them, hounded as it was by the machines of the _Girty Lue_ that weren't facing down the Kyusai Team.

The _Marie Curie_ was in position, its Neutron Stampeder powering up, the large array glowing with energy. Once it reached full power, _Marie Curie_ fired the Stampeder. The massive beam streaked towards the missiles, frying the array in the process. In a matter of seconds, it tore through the missiles and mobile suits and straight on through to the small fleet of ships they had come from… but nothing happened. The missiles continued towards the PLANTs.

"Ma'am! The Stampeder had no effect on the missiles!" shouted an operator aboard the _Gondwana_ in horror.

Everyone was stunned. That shouldn't have happened.

"Impossible… those nuclear warheads should have exploded," said Rebecca in complete disbelief.

The Stampeder was designed to prematurely detonate nuke weapons, destroying them before they reached the PLANTs. Not only that, but the Alliance shouldn't have the means to block its effects.

As the missiles continued on their course, the ZAKU High-Maneuver Types caught up with the missiles. Saul fired his rifle. The beam struck a missile and it exploded. Not in a large nuclear explosion, but in a smaller, normal explosion. Nicol and Shiho started firing as well, along with the rest of their team. More missiles exploded, but none of them were nuclear. It was then that the realization hit Saul.

"_They're decoys…_" he whispered.

"_Yeah,_" said Shiho, just as surprised. "_But why?_"

The Earth Forces ships all suddenly sent out flares, signaling a retreat, catching the ZAFT forces completely off-guard.

That was when Nicol realized what must be going on—he had some intelligence that his friends didn't, and for the first time in a long time, the gentle pilot bit off a vicious curse.

"This entire battle was a diversion!"

* * *

The _Girty Lue_

Neo watched the Extended return impassively as the Alliance forces retreated. He was glad Andras had left the bridge after his arrogant proclamation of Treize's superiority to the Angels. He'd have to make sure the doctor never learned of Treize's near-defeat, for the end result would see Treize's death.

Neo was no fool—Andras's arrogance would prompt him to subject Treize to even worse than what the pilot had already been through. He'd completely shatter Treize and leave him as a useless corpse in his desperation to create a perfect weapon. This problem might not occur if Treize were defeated by the Angels while piloting the Freedom and Faith, but against a mere ZAKU? Neo had no doubt as to the results, and knew he'd have to give all of the Extended orders to _never_ speak of it again. What's more, he'd have to activate Gyunei's block, otherwise the fool would no doubt gleefully inform Andras of what had happened, and Treize was far too valuable to lose, especially since ZAFT would no doubt take advantage of the political weapons just handed to them to strike back at the Alliance and level the playing field.

"Captain?" questioned Lee, wondering why his CO seemed so contemplative.

"It's nothing," said Neo. "I was just thinking about something. Lee, make sure Andras never learns of Treize's fight with that ZAKU."

"Yes sir."

That took care of one problem. Now, Neo would have to rely on Djibril and Miss Ryker to deal with the other one.

* * *

The _Gondwana_

Confusion was reigning aboard the _Gondwana_. Officers were struggling to figure out why dummy warheads had been used against the PLANTs, followed immediately by the withdrawal of the Alliance.

_I don't understand_, thought Rebecca. _Why are they retreating? Even with Messiah, a prolonged battle favors the Alliance, and they haven't done any crippling damage to us. Could this really have been a test to see if we had developed any anti-nuclear defenses?_ _Logically, we'd deploy any countermeasure against a nuclear strike to our homeland, so could that be the reason for the fake nuclear strike? To trick us into revealing it against a false target? No, this battle was too big for that, there has to have been more._

"Admiral, we're receiving word from Earth!" said a comm. officer. "Both Gibraltar and Carpentaria are under attack!"

Then it dawned on her. "Damn," she cursed. "This whole battle was one big diversion. "They made us believe that they were going to hit us directly with everything they had, even tricking us into revealing our anti-nuclear defense against a decoy. Gibraltar and Carpentaria won't hold up more than a few hours in their present condition." She paused for a moment. "We're in for a whole new war now."

* * *

Earth

Serena Ryker took the podium. Everything was going perfectly—the new world would rise, and she was proud to be a part of it. As she began her next speech, her smile was perhaps the most genuine she'd shown since she was a young girl.

"People of Earth, people of the PLANTs, today we saw the first battle of the war," she began. "It ended with a display of leniency on our part, because we in the Earth Alliance believe that things can be settled peacefully. We could have struck at them with everything we had and smashed their military, resulting in many, many losses. But we chose to use this opportunity to show you, the people of the PLANTs, our strength and our resolve. Your government is hiding the masterminds behind Break the World, if they are not responsible for it themselves."

"I will not deny that the Alliance military used dummy nuclear warheads in the battle in space as a diversionary tactic. Now Durandal and his supporters will say that the dummies were real and that we wanted to wipe out the PLANTs with nuclear weapons. Personally, I find that deeply offensive. The Earth Alliance has changed since the last war. Blue Cosmos still exists, but they have no sway over the Alliance. If we use nuclear weapons, it will only be as a last resort against military targets. We do not desire the destruction of the PLANTs. Unlike the lies that Durandal would have you believe, we in the Alliance still hope that this conflict can end peacefully.

"Our demands have been simple. We demand that they hand over the masterminds behind Break the World to stand trial for their crimes. Or failing that, allow full access to an Alliance investigation. Yet Durandal and his administration have stubbornly and repeatedly rejected these demands. I find myself wondering: why? Why would he reject these simple demands if they could prevent a war? Ask yourself that, people of the PLANTs, why would your Chairman who proclaims to want to preserve peace, reject the way to preserve peace? Ask yourself that, people of the PLANTs. Ask your government. Remember, we of Earth do not wish to be enemies, but we will not tolerate a government that is supporting terrorists that seek to destroy us because of their pointless hatred. Maybe Durandal has rejected our demands because he really wants a war. Maybe he really does want to wipe out the Earth and all of us Naturals. The terrorists were certainly well equipped for their attempt at genocide. Perhaps someone at the very top of ZAFT was supporting them. Think about it, people of the PLANTs. You could very well be on the side of the people who sought to wipe out the Earth. Is that the side you want to be on?"

"And… cut," said the director.

The filming stopped as Djibril started clapping. "Quite wonderful, my dear," he complimented. "Sowing the seeds of anger among the people of Earth while spreading doubts among the people of the PLANTs. If your speeches continue like this, I wouldn't be surprised if ZAFT forces began to defect to our side."

Serena bowed her head. "Thank you, Lord Djibril. I trust the Operation has succeeded."

"Yes, it ended flawlessly," replied the leader of Blue Cosmos and Logos. "ZAFT never realized what was happening until it was too late. Within two hours, Gibraltar and Carpentaria will be under our control. After they are conquered, we'll be able to take our time and wipe out the PLANTs at our leisure, if they don't surrender to us to save themselves. But they won't. At least not as long as Durandal runs ZAFT.

"How can you be so sure, Lord Djibril?" asked Serena.

Djibril smirked. "I just know."

* * *

Aprilius One

Athrun turned the faucet on. He cupped his hands together under the pouring water, gathering the water in his hands, and splashed his face with the cold water, jolting him awake. He had been waiting for hours to see Chairman Durandal. Given the situation, he wasn't all that surprised that the Chairman was running late. Athrun glanced at his watch. It had been several hours since the battle ended. He had hoped that the Chairman would have been able to see him by know, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Athrun left the men's room, heading back to where the Orb ambassador was waiting, when he overheard someone ask a question.

"How much longer will it be?"

He froze. Athrun knew that voice. But it couldn't be. She was still in Orb. Wasn't she? Athrun had to find out. He rushed towards the sounds of the voices. Turning a corner, he spotted her. At the top of a flight of stairs, was a group of men and a lone woman. The woman's back was to him, but Athrun could clearly see her long flowing pink hair.

"Lacus?" he said, much louder than he realized.

The girl turned around and stared at him. A big smile spread across face. "Athrun!" she gleefully called out as she rushed down the stairs.

The girl quickly embraced Athrun in a hug. He quickly realized that despite how she looked, this was not Lacus. She was far too giddy. While Lacus was a fairly cheerful person, this girl was far beyond Lacus's normal cheerful demeanor, especially given the situation the world was in right now. Secondly, there were her clothes. Lacus always dressed modestly, showing off a moderate amount of skin at best. This girl, on the other hand, was wearing clothes that were on the line of inappropriate to wear in public. Then there was the girl's bust, which were noticeably bigger than Lacus's and was even bigger than Makoto's. Not that Athrun paid attention to that sort of thing (Athrun had regretted finding out that particular detail of the Orb Noble's figure).

"I'm so happy to see you Athrun!" said the girl, breaking the hug.

That was other thing Athrun noticed about this girl. Her eyes. While they looked like Lacus's eyes, there was something those eyes that screamed 'not Lacus' to Athrun. What that something was, Athrun couldn't place. But he knew this girl wasn't Lacus. So then why did she look like Lacus?

Athrun opened his mouth, intending to ask the girl who she was, when a voice cut him off. "Alex?"

Both Athrun and the girl turned to voice. It was Chairman Durandal and his entourage.

"That's right," he said. "I have a meeting with you. I'm terribly sorry about forgetting about you."

"Alex? Isn't this Athrun?" asked the pink haired girl.

"Publicly speaking, no. His name is Alex Dino. However privately, he's Athrun Zala," explained Durandal. "Miss Clyne, don't you have somewhere to be right now?"

The girl flashed an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, Chairman Durandal. I was distracted. After all, I haven't seen my fiancé in a long time."

_Fiancé? Just who is this girl? The arranged marriage between Lacus and me was called off years ago_, thougha very confused Athrun. _Well, she's not a very good double, even with the voice and face. Never mind her personality, Lacus is head-over-heels for Kira._

"Don't worry," said Durandal. "I'm sure you'll be able to see him again once we've finished talking and once you've finished up."

The girl nodded. "Goodbye Athrun! Goodbye Chairman Durandal!" she called out as she climbed back up the stairs.

Durandal turned to Athrun. "Now I believe that we have much to discuss Athrun. Shall we head to my office?"

Athrun nodded. There was indeed much they had to discuss.

* * *

Shores of Onogoro

Eyes glowed brightly as they stared up towards the starry sky, countless unnamable colors flashing across them with each passing second. In the past, this would have triggered reactions—perhaps somewhat unconsciously—from people all over the Earth and in space, but things had changed since that time, and now, only one person felt this power.

After awhile, the glow faded from the eyes, their color turning silver before finally fading back to their natural emerald green.

"Well?" asked Kira, standing just behind her.

Makoto lowered her face and turned around to face everyone. Those present were either part of the Taiyonoha Fleet or Terminal. They were people dedicated to the future, to peace, to understanding, and to the protection of all humanity, Natural and Coordinator alike.

Kira Yamato, her metaphorical brother. Lacus Clyne, her best friend. Elizabeth Dante and Louisa Kohls, her bodyguards… her lovers. Murrue Ramius, her old captain. Natarle Badgiruel, the woman who'd helped her to survive the emotional turmoil of her first months in the conflict. John Alaric, a sniper and leader whose influence helped bring ZAFT's greatest fighting force to the Three Ships Alliance. Victor Cain, her uncle-to-be, who'd helped her relieve her stress in the war and trained her into one of the best marksman of the conflict. Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha, her aunt who'd been instrumental in the birth of Faith and Sincerity. Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha, the woman who'd birthed her, raised her, and helped mold her into who she was.

Flay Allster, the lover of her second metaphorical brother, Christopher Dante. Tolle Koenig, a friend who'd cheated death no different from Kira and Makoto. Shani Andras and Clotho Beur, incredible pilots who'd been wronged and sought atonement, the adoptive brothers of Louisa. Asagi Caldwell, the test pilot of the first M1 Astray and now of the M4 Yamato, a good friend to all of them. Canard Yamato, another metaphorical sibling, Kira's cousin, and a man they trusted implicitly.

They trusted her. All of them, despite the mistakes she'd made, despite the sins that weighed on her shoulders, despite the gambles she'd taken, the lives she'd lost…

They trusted her.

Makoto smiled.

She wouldn't let them down. No matter what.

* * *

**Author's Notes: All in all, there's actually quite a bit going on here. In any case, how many have spotted the political weapons that have been handed to ZAFT? It's not that hard.**

**We see Nicol's reputation in work, and I intend to carry this "Reaper" theme for the rest of Nicol's lifespan within the "Neo Cosmic Era". It's quite fun, particularly with the contrast to his personality.**

**Alright, again, I'm practically falling asleep here, so no long A/N tonight. Sorry.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!**

* * *

**_Bared Fangs _****Mecha Spec Page**

**ZAKU Phantom High-Maneuver Type "ZAKU Blitz":**  
Description:  
The high-maneuver type is a variant of the ZAKU series that sacrifices the ability to mount Wizard Packs in favor of a high-maneuver flightpack, and is used almost exclusively by the elite Kessel Team. Because it can't mount Wizard Packs, each machine is often customized to the preferences of the pilot. The ZAKU Blitz is the newest such machine, and was designed expressly for the use of Nicol "Grim Reaper" Amalfi. As such, its weapons center on a reaper-theme, and it features an experimental stealth armor based on the active camouflage cloak of the Aile Sniper Striker. The ZAKU Blitz is designed to make apparent who the pilot is, turning it into perhaps ZAFT's most feared mobile suit.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1001HMX/BC  
**Code Name:** ZAKU Blitz  
**Unit Type:** Custom High Mobility Commander Type Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**First Deployment:** 16 October C.E. 73  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.05 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 72.3 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; High-Maneuver Flightpack; Camo-Phase (CP) Armor;  
**Fixed Armament:** MA-MS Falx G9 Beam Scythe, stored on backpack, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-M11X Folding Beam Scythe, stored inside shields, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 2x MMI-M826 "Hydra" Gatling Beam Cannon, fire-linked, mounted on backpack; 2x "Gleipnir" Piercer Lock, mounted on forearms, can be fired out on a line; 2x Shoulder Shield, connected to arms;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle  
**Pilot:** Nicol Amalfi  
**Appearance:** As a ZAKU Phantom with the backpack of the GOUF Ignited and the Gleipnir of the original Blitz mounted on both arms. It features the head spikes of the Blitz in place of the normal ZAKU Phantom antenna, and while the left side of the head is normal, the right side appears to have been torn apart, and the entire area around the right half of the camera visor is gone. The body has gouges and other types of battle scarring, and the shields also appear cracked, but this is only cosmetic.  
**Color:** Primarily solid black with red trimming. The 'damaged' areas are grey-white. The camera eye appears blue on the undamaged left side, but when shifted to the damaged right side, it exposes the camera, which glows an eerie red color.  
**Notes:** Okay, let's be blunt: it's pathetic. This ZAKU Blitz couldn't measure up to the glorious Hellfire Blitz in a million years. But there isn't much I can do about that, so I'll just have to deal. Anyways, like the Hellfire Blitz, intimidation is one of the best tactics for the ZAKU Blitz, especially given the reputation already attached to the pilot. It's extremely close combat oriented, so the Camo-Phase Armor is very important here. Because the Camo-Phase is constantly shifting colors, it's only active for stealth purposes, and offers only minimal protection from projectiles—so, while it would work fine against CIWS and machineguns, it's virtually worthless against missiles. In terms of weapons, the folding scythes feature solid blades that are engulfed by a beam blade, so they can also be used underwater or as solid blades to conserve power. The Falx G9 is just a beam scythe, with no solid blade attached.


	10. Phase 10: A Father's Spell

**Alright, to start: I'm sorry about the late update. Things have gotten fairly hectic over here as we prepare ourselves for Thanksgiving. Also, I was honestly very disappointed with this chapter--because it's really just a slightly edited version of Akatsuki Leader13's, and I hate to do that, but truthfully, there wasn't much to alter in the long run. Most of the first part can be skipped--the only changes were two added scenes, the removal of Yzak and Dearka (countered by the inclusion of Shiho), and some changes to the ZAFT Commander-Ghost scene. Those who have read the original version can just skim over most of this chapter. Fortunately, the next one should include more changes, as well as a (hopefully) fair number of extensions.**

**In any case, I really don't have much to say here, so I'm not gonna waste time. Let's get on with it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. All OCs are the copyrights of their respective owners. Zane Scirocco is the property of Akatsuki Leader13.  
**

* * *

Phase Ten: A Father's Spell

October 16th, C.E. 73

* * *

Aprilius One

"A nuclear decoy?" questioned Athrun, shocked. While he'd certainly wanted to believe the Alliance wouldn't resort to nukes so early, he'd never expected something like this.

"Yes," said Durandal. "I'll admit, I hadn't anticipated such a thing. We've prepared for the possibility of nuclear strikes, and when we saw the decoys, we didn't pause to consider before using our anti-nuclear defenses. Now, those defenses have been rendered useless, and they've threatened that they might use nukes in the future, though only against military targets. I'd like to believe that their being honest about the target, but the fact that they'd use nukes at all is worrisome."

Durandal sat down on one of the chairs in front of his coffee table. "Please, have a seat, Alex," he said.

Athrun joined him, sitting down on the couch across from Durandal.

"Still, it's not like I hadn't expected something of this nature," said Durandal. "And yet, I was completely caught off-guard by quickly and eagerly they declared war on us, and then to jump to using nuclear weapons on us, only for those weapons to be decoys. Something feels off about it. It was unusual enough for them to declare war on us given the situation on Earth, but to follow it with something so extreme as what that battle turned out to be…" Durandal shook his head. "This is no ordinary war."

Athrun nodded. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control ever since Armory One. "That's true," he said, pausing. "Wait, what do you mean 'what that battle turned out to be'?"

"Oh, of course," said Durandal. "It hasn't gone public yet, but while they attacked the PLANTs, they also attacked both Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Both have been captured. The morale of the Earth Forces soldiers is currently high while our forces are panicked and worried with the nuclear threat and the losses of Gibraltar and Carpentaria."

Athrun needed answers. That was partly why he had come here. He couldn't bear the thought of the PLANTs repeating his father's actions. "With the declaration of war and this attack, what are the PLANTs planning on doing with this situation?" he asked, determined to find out what Chairman Durandal was planning.

Durandal sighed.

"There are a lot of people in the PLANTs right now that filled with anger and fear over what's been said about he nukes," he explained. "And they want to lash out the Earth Alliance. If we were to respond by retaliating, the world will once again be entangled in quagmire of war."

Images of the Bloody Valentine and bloody war that followed filled Athrun's mind, as did the deaths of Miguel and Rusty, Nicol's and Tolle's near deaths, his brutal battle against Kira, and the deaths of those that died at Jachin Due all played out in his mind. Athrun clenched his fists. Another war and more pointless deaths.

"Of that, I have no doubt," continued Durandal. "Needless to say, I want to avoid a war at all costs. But there's no denying how grave the situation is. If they knew the full details, the people would rage in anger. They would want vengeance. How do you think we should proceed? The clock is counting down, just like it did in the previous war. And this isn't the first time they've threatened us with nuclear weapons. How do we stop this process all together?"

Athrun closed his eyes, pushing out the images of the attempted nuclear attacks on the PLANTs during the final battle of the war from his mind.

"Mr. Chairman," said Athrun, opening his eyes. "I understand what you're saying, but please reconsider. Fighting is not the answer. We can't let anger and hatred control us. If we attack each other now, the world will become a battlefield once again. Nothing will be gained. Everything will be lost. You can't let that happen!"

"Alex… I–"

"My name is Athrun Zala," said Athrun cutting him off as his hands trembled. "Son of Patrick Zala, the man who fanned the fires of war that spiraled out of control and poisoned the whole world with his hatred. I believed in my father's words, I fought in the war, killed the enemy and I fought my best friend. Even after I realized how wrong it was, I couldn't stop him and I lost everything. And yet my father's words live on." Athrun's whole body began to shake from sorrow, anger, and shame. "We must never repeat that tragedy! Never!"

"Athrun!" Durandal called out, putting a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. The Chairman rose from his seat, walking towards his desk. "I know what the terrorists at Junius Seven said." He stopped, looking over his shoulder at Athrun. "It must have been difficult for you to hear."

"No. Not really," Athrun lied. "It's better that I know the truth. Otherwise, I'd be blind to what was really happening. Again."

"Don't blame yourself Athrun. It's not your fault. You aren't responsible for their actions," said Durandal. "It's sad that the memory of your father pains you. That it's a source of such bitterness for you. But I suppose that can't be helped. And yet, I doubt that Chairman Zala was always like that."

Athrun remembered what his father had been like before the war. Before the Bloody Valentine. Before his mother was killed. While his father was never a moderate like the late Siegel Clyne, his father wasn't the angry, hate-filled man he had become till the end of his life, when he'd spoken that desperate plea to protect the PLANTs.

"No, he wasn't."

"In his capacity as Chairman, there is no doubt that he made grave mistakes," continued Durandal. "But he always sought to protect the PLANTs, to protect us, and create a better world for his people. The best intentions of great men can lead them to make terrible mistakes. Then there are those with agendas who will hear the words of people with power and twist them to support their warped ways of thinking. Like those who dropped Junius Seven. They had no outlet for the anger and sorrow they felt. So they used the Chairman's word as an excuse. When they lashed out, they believed that they were in the right because Chairman Zala said so." The Chairman paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "You shouldn't let yourself be bothered by such things. You are you. The terrorists were the terrorists. Chairman Zala was Chairman Zala. Whose son you are is irrelevant. Don't let this drag you down Athrun. None of this reflects on who you are."

Athrun stood up. "Chairman, I–"

"You are the one who came here, wishing to prevent war from breaking out again. Just keep that in mind. Stop holding yourself responsible for all this." A smile crossed the Chairman's face. "But I am very happy that you came here Athrun. Those who feel like you do, Athrun, need to stand together, for you will be the ones to save the world. Call me a dreamer if you like, but that is was I believe in."

* * *

As Durandal and Athrun spoke, all across the PLANTs, people began to gather. People that were frightened by the recent nuclear threat sent by the Earth Forces, even with their claim to only aim at military targets, and they were afraid that if nuclear weapons were used, they've inevitably be used against the PLANTs. They demanded action, that the PLANT Supreme Council strike back against the Naturals that had threatened them, before they could act on those threats. Shouting and chanting while waving signs proclaiming 'Protect the PLANTs', 'Down with the Alliance' and 'Remember Junius Seven'. It wasn't long before these rallies were on the verge of becoming full-blown riots. But before any violence could break out, a broadcast was transmitted all across the PLANTs.

"_My friends, it is I, Lacus Clyne…_"

* * *

Durandal's Office

Athrun could only stare at the screen, his expression one of surprise as the girl he had met earlier began to speak.

"_My friends, it is I, Lacus Clyne. Everyone, please calm down and listen to what I have to say. The recent tragedy with Junius Seven, the Earth Alliance's declaration of war, and the attack on the PLANTs themselves, these events are all sad and tragic. I feel the same resentment that you are all feeling. I am just as shocked as you are. How could they threaten to use nuclear weapons against us again? But please my friends be calm and let reason carry the day. Letting yourself be consumed by anger, crying out words of hatred, will only lead to more conflict and suffering. Even as I speak, the Supreme Council is doing everything possible to avoid the worst-case scenario. I'm calling on all of them, each and every one of you to show the world that you want peace. Chairman Durandal and the Supreme Council are working hard to find the right path. Please remain calm during this time._"

"You can go ahead and laugh," said Durandal, pulling Athrun's attention from the screen. "It's quite pitiful that I have to resort to such a deception, but it can't be helped. I'm sure that you've already seen the young woman of the Earth Alliance, as well as the anger of the people of the PLANTs over this recent attack and warning. The truth is that her influence is great, much greater than my own. I'm sure you that must think of this utter foolishness on my part, but I fear that without Lacus Clyne, the anger of the people will blind us as it did the last war." Durandal sighed. "I am in need of her strength right now. Just as I am in need of your strength."

Athrun's head was spinning from everything he had just heard. Everything was just so confusing right now. "My strength?"

Durandal nodded his head. "Will you come with me Athrun?"

* * *

The _Winter Eagle_

_The nighttime fills the sky_

_Stars alive, go floating by_

_So still the evening air so warm and soft_

_Peace everywhere I see a world in harmony_

_A world of peace and humanity_

_Where people walk free like water in a stream_

_Flowing on forever more_

The Commander turned off the monitor on Suiren's desk as he rubbed his eyes and sighed. The team had been luckier than most, especially considering who they were facing. They'd only lost a single man. Of course, the whole battle had been a disaster for ZAFT. He couldn't help but wonder how they could successfully turn things around.

Of course, he also wondered how he'd talk to Suiren about this. For all that he was in command now, and the team name by rights should've been changed, they all refused to allow it—they were still the Kyusai Team. They were still _her_ men. And she'd always been rather fond of the impressionable young Tsery, the one who'd been felled by the Abyss. The Commander couldn't help but be annoyed that, after everything Suiren had done for him, he'd led one of her Newtype protégés to his death.

Then there was Durandal's clearly fake Lacus Clyne. A figurehead to the masses that had caught him completely off-guard.

"Why did you do that? Even if she is a fake, I do find that song quite relaxing."

The Commander sighed, his only surprise being how long it had taken the ghost of his past to show up as he turned to the transparent figure sitting across from him.

"Not that I would publicly admit it of course," added the ghost.

"No. You never would," replied the Commander.

The ghost began to tap a finger on small glass case. Inside the case was a FAITH badge. "Still having doubts about accepting this?" asked the ghost. "That's not like you. You were once so… determined and sure of yourself once, back then. Now it seems you're filled with nothing but doubts and hesitations. Quite a difference from the person you once were. Has your new commander made you that soft and weak?"

"There are many things to consider," he replied, ignoring the slight against Suiren, one that the ghost certainly didn't mean. "Many possibilities. Many outcomes. It is like a game of chess with half the field submerged in darkness." He sighed, turning his chair away from the ghost, and looking out the viewport of his quarters, into the void of space. "And I am no longer that person. He died at Jachin Due. It's better to leave him dead and buried than to try and relive the past."

"Should he really be dead?" asked the ghost.

"You of all people should know the answer to that."

"True. But why have second thoughts now on becoming a part of FAITH? I told you before, why not use the position to your advantage? Use it to keep a close eye on things within ZAFT?" suggested the ghost. "You would have authority over nearly everyone else in ZAFT."

"Perhaps."

"I think I know what it is. You don't want that power, because you know what will happen if you accept it. Or perhaps you don't want to be indebted to her, after she brought all of this to you. The promotion, this ship… even that badge."

"I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm walking the path that I have chosen for myself."

The ghost laughed. "_Your path_," the ghost sneered. "Now that really isn't like you. You haven't changed at all. _Your path_ would have you on Earth at this very moment, fighting beside your Commander, or perhaps serving to protect _them_. Not up here, as a piece in this elaborate chess game where you ultimately have no control over how your piece is moved. Your like so many others who have had their paths set for them. Take that fake Lacus. She was an ordinary girl who just so happened to have a voice like Lacus Clyne's. Had Durandal not found her, she would have lived an ordinary, mundane life. But Durandal has now set her on a path she never would have walked otherwise. You've learned a great deal, but you became too weak, too soft. You're nothing but a pawn, and you always will be."

The Commander scowled and spun his chair around, but the ghost was gone. He sighed, putting his hand on the FAITH badge. She'd wanted him to accept this. She'd said he deserved it, but he knew that she was wrong about that. After the war, when he finally came home, _she_ was the one to protect him, to give him a place, and even now, he was betraying her, because just as the ghost had said, he _was_ a pawn… and he always would be.

"Why do you mock me?" asked the Commander. "Why aren't you helping me to protect everything either of us ever loved?"

The ghost's reply, assuming it wasn't his imagination, was whispered directly to his mind.

_Perhaps I am._

* * *

Aprilius One

Chairman Durandal had led Athrun into a ZAFT base and into a darkened hanger. In the low lighting, Athrun could see the outline of a mobile suit as they walked across the catwalk. Once they reached the center of the catwalk, the lights came on. Revealing a…

Athrun's eyes were wide with surprise. "This is a…"

"The ZGMF-X23S Saviour," said Durandal. "Though its abilities are different, it was developed alongside the Impulse, Specter, Chaos, Gaia and Abyss." Durandal turned to Athrun. "If I said that I want to entrust this unit to you, what would you do?"

The surprises just didn't seem to stop coming. "What are you talking about?" asked Athrun before a defensive tone entered his voice. "Entrusting this unit to me? Are you asking me to return to ZAFT?"

He had left ZAFT for a number of reasons and truth be told, Athrun wasn't sure if he was ready to return. Or if he'd ever be truly ready to return.

"That's not what I mean," answered Durandal, looking at the Saviour. "As I said, I want to entrust this mobile suit to you. While it may look like you've returned to ZAFT from an official standpoint, my thoughts on this matter are as my Lacus said. I am trying to find the right path for ZAFT and the PLANTs. However, our world is a complicated place. The thoughts of opponents, advisors, and organizations become muddled together, making it difficult to accomplish things. That's why I need all those that believe as I believe to stand together with me." The Chairman turned to Athrun. "If at all possible, I would like nothing more than avoid a war altogether. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to let ZAFT go down without a fight. If the time came, I feel that it would be better for you to have power, real power."

Athrun wasn't so sure. Not counting Armory One and Junius Seven, he hadn't piloted a mobile suit since Jachin Due. And those two times were different. He had been protecting Cagalli and Flay and then fighting to break Junius Seven before it could destroy the Earth. This was different. Durandal was asking him to enter a mobile suit and fight in a war again.

"Chairman…"

But Durandal cut him off. "You fought in the last war, and I know you have antagonized yourself over your father's actions and his legacy," he said, turning to Athrun. "I'm sure that you, no matter the circumstances, will stay true to your path. If it looks like we're about to stray off our path, I want you to be the one to correct us. But in order to do that, you'll need power."

Athrun blinked. Just what was the Chairman asking of him? Did he want him to be some kind of watchdog for ZAFT?

The Chairman turned and started to walk away, leaving Athrun with the Savior. "This is quite sudden. I don't expect you to make a decision right away. But still… there's what you _can _do… and what you _want _to do." He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "After all, those are things nobody understands better than you."

* * *

The _Gondwana_

Saul stepped out of his personal bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel when the console built into his desk started to beep. He rushed over to his desk and sat down. He pushed a button on the console, and the face of one of the _Gondwana_'s communication officers appeared on the screen. "_Commander Kessel, there's a message for you from the Supreme Council._"

Saul didn't bother to hide the surprise he was feeling. Why would the Supreme Council send a message to him? "Send it here," he said.

A text message appeared on the screen. Saul read the message and then swore. He couldn't believe it! This had to be some kind of joke! He double-checked the message's authentication code; it was good. These orders were real. What the hell?! He quickly changed into a clean uniform and rushed out of his quarters, heading for the quarters of his friends.

He checked both Shiho's and Nicol's quarters, but found neither there. Taking a breath to calm himself—he could've sworn he was channeling Yzak!—Saul proceeded to the mess hall, where he found the two eating.

"And he spent half the concert sleeping while Saul was awake for the entire time," Nicol told Shiho, earning light laughter from the ace pilot. Saul shook his head as he approached the pair.

"Hey guys," he said. "Listen, I just got a message. We've been called to the Supreme Council."

"What? Why do they want to see us?" asked Nicol.

"I don't know," said Saul. "But they asked for all three of us, ASAP. So, sorry about the meal, but it's time to go."

"Got it," said Shiho as the two stood up. "Do you know when we'll be back?"

"Didn't say," answered Saul, shaking his head and shrugging slightly. "But I say we just get this over with and get back here."

* * *

Aprilius One

Later

"Athrun, do you like meat or fish better?"

Athrun turned away from the hotel window and his thoughts to the girl sitting across from him, the girl impersonating Lacus, Meer Campbell. Athrun found it a little disturbing how physically identical the girl was to Lacus. And yet, Meer's personality was quite different from Lacus's. While Lacus was kind and cheerful, she had a serious side as well; Meer was constantly cheerful and giddy, seemingly an endless ball of energy. To be honest, she reminded him of one of Lacus's fans more than anything else.

"I'm fine either way," he answered.

"Let's have the chicken," said Meer, ordering for them. "Oh, by the way, did you happen to see my performance earlier today?"

"Er…"

"What did you think? How was it?" asked Meer excitedly. "Was it like the real Lacus?"

Athrun hesitated, causing Meer's expression and demeanor to completely reverse. "Or was I terrible?" she added quietly.

"No, not at all. You're really quite good," said Athrun quickly, trying not to upset the girl.

Meer instantly perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was just like the real thing. You really have her mannerisms down pat."

Meer's eyes lit up. "I'm so glad. That means so much to me, especially coming from you Athrun."

Athrun turned back to the window as Meer continued on. "To tell you the truth, I've always been a fan of Miss Lacus," she said. "I've always loved her songs and singing them myself too. After awhile, people started telling me that I sound just like her. Then one day, the Chairman called for me."

"And that's how you started doing this?" asked Athrun.

Meer nodded her head. "Yes. The Chairman said that he needed my strength, for the sake of the PLANTs."

"It's not your strength he needs, it's Lacus's," he replied bitterly.

Meer's expression saddened. "You're right," she admitted. "But at the moment… no, not just now, Miss Lacus will always be needed." She turned to the window, staring at her reflection in the glass. "She's strong, beautiful and kind. I'm just Meer. No one needs me. But I don't mind, even if it is just for now. As long as I can be of help to the Chairman and the people for Miss Lacus, I will do so gladly."

Meer continued to speak, but Athrun stopped listening to her. His mind drawn to the Chairman's words.

"_There's what you __**can**__ do… and what you __**want**__ to do."_

"_After all, those are things nobody understands better than you."_

Athrun found himself at a loss. What was he to do? The war had started; there was nothing he could do to change that. But maybe… maybe he could do something to bring the war to a quick end.

* * *

The PLANT Supreme Council Chambers

"This is unbelievable! The Naturals have completely humiliated us!"

"Calm down! The Naturals have us in bad position, but we can recover from this. We just need to disrupt the momentum they've gained."

"Indeed. Defense Committee Chairman Kessel, I trust that the Defense Department has come up with a strategy to do just that?" said Durandal, turning to Ian.

Ian nodded and stood up. "Our Neutron Stampeder has been exposed and destroyed; both Gibraltar and Carpentaria have fallen to the Alliance. The battle that was fought here was just a diversion while they hit both of our major military bases on Earth. A clever ploy and one that could have disastrous consequences for us. Our foothold on Earth is hanging on by thread. If we don't have any presence on Earth, the fighting will shift to here at the PLANTs. That's why we've come up with a plan for an Operation. It's risky, very risky, but it's the only option we have left."

"We don't have much choice given the situation," said Durandal. "Please, explain the Operation."

"We call it Operation Reclaimer," said Ian wearily. "We would assemble a large force, consisting of four battle groups. Two of the said battle groups would be equipped for an orbital drop." The screens displayed a 3D map of the Earth. A cluster of red dots appeared over Gibraltar and Carpentaria while four clusters of green dots appeared a distance off from the planet. "As you can see, two Alliance fleets are blockading the two best locations to drop our forces on Carpentaria and Gibraltar." Two groups of the green dots headed for the red dots. "The other two battle groups will attack these two fleets as the two drop groups will be nearby, on standby. The attack groups' main objective will be to clear a path for their drop group." The green dots pushed opened a gap in the center of the red dots. The two remaining groups of green dots headed for the openings. "Once a path has been cleared, the drop group will move into position while their attack group covers them as they commence a combat drop onto Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Now we've also managed to get in contact with many of our forces that were providing relief support at the time of the attacks and were stranded. They will attack the bases at the same time as our drop forces land. Hopefully, the combined assaults will allow us to retake both bases."

"Casualties estimates?"

"High. No one has ever tried a combat drop while in combat. The two groups attacking the Alliance fleets can expect to receive heavy losses. The estimates of the forces that will be dropping in will be much more favorable, though there is the danger that the Alliance forces will be able to shoot down the drop pods as they begin their descent. And even if this does succeed, both bases will be operating at far below their normal capacity for awhile. But it is the only option we have at this moment. If it fails, we'll have suffered heavy casualties and by the time we manage to regroup for a second attempt, both bases will be heavily fortified. Once that happens, our chances to gain a foothold will drop substantially and in all likelihood, we'll be boxed in here in the PLANTs. I don't need to explain how dangerous that is."

"What about the _Minerva_? What is their status?" asked Durandal an urgent tone in his voice.

"They were among the first that we managed to get in touch with," answered Ian. "They are still in Orb, but they are ready and able to participate in the Operation. They will leave Orb and lead the ground assault against Carpentaria. Now, I hope this meet with your approval and you will support this plan."

"It's as you said, this may be our only option. We must pursue it and pray that we are successful," said Durandal. "But I want our military to be used defensively. If we lash out at the Alliance, things could spiral out of control like they did in the last war. I wish to avoid that at all costs."

Ian nodded. "I understand Chairman Durandal. We will put every effort into Operation Reclaimer."

* * *

Taiyonoha Manor

The Next Morning

"So, any brilliant ideas on what to make of this?" asked Makoto, putting the message on the table in front of her.

"It's too quick," replied Kira. "He's been preparing this for a long time."

"Yes," said Lacus quietly, staring at the message, and the picture next to it, one that portrayed her dressed in a far too skimpy outfit and with too large a bust.

Durandal's Lacus-impersonator.

"You're angry," noted Makoto, eyeing Kira. Kira took a deep breath, trying to make sure he stayed calm. Yes, he was angry—if there was one surefire way to make Kira angry, it was to perform any sort of act against Lacus, whether that be physical harm, threats… or insults, like this impersonator was.

Lacus placed a calming hand on Kira's shoulder. "This is very troubling," she said. "How long has Durandal been preparing for this? Did he truly have some involvement in the fall of Junius Seven? The thefts at Armory One? Has he been manipulating events to bring about war, and if so, why?"

"Divinity," whispered Makoto. Kira nodded in agreement, while Lacus frowned.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Kira. "Divinity has some part in it, at the very least. Lacus, we never told you why we don't trust the Chairman. I guess it's time we did so."

"Especially after this, you have every right to know," said Makoto in agreement.

* * *

Aprilius One

Athrun stepped out the shower, drying himself off, and then changed into his clothes. The Chairman had offered to put him up in a rather high end hotel room. It was certainly a nice room, though to be honest, Athrun was never one for this type of fancy accommodations. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Athrun opened it. Standing before him was…

"Saul?"

"Long time no see," said the ZAFT Commander. "Mind if we come in?"

"Uh, no, not at all," said Athrun, stepping aside and allowing Saul inside, followed by Shiho and Nicol. "What's going on here?"

"You tell me Athrun," said Saul. "We were called down from the frontlines to the Supreme Council and they told us that we've been assigned to be your bodyguards."

"Given the state of things in Orb and on Earth right now, the Chairman and the Council felt it would be wise to have someone watch over you," added Nicol. "They chose us. Guess they felt that you could use a visit from some familiar faces."

"I know I'd rather be watched by friends than someone I don't know," said Shiho mildly, turning to Athrun. "Well, now that we have some time to talk, care to update us on how everyone else has been doing?"

"Pretty good," said Athrun, leading them to the chairs in his room before sitting down in one himself. "Malchio's Orphanage was destroyed, but no one was hurt. Kira, Lacus and everyone else is staying at Flay's place right now."

"Speaking of Lacus, what's your opinion on Durandal's double?" asked Nicol. Athrun shrugged.

"I can understand his reasons," he admitted. "At this point, I'm just hoping Kira doesn't find out. He'd let it slide, except that she doesn't dress conservatively enough, and it'll give an image of Lacus so far off that he just might come hunting."

"He's not the only one," commented Shiho. "I doubt Makoto would be happy about it either. Speaking of which, how is she, behind the scenes?"

Athrun glanced at Shiho before quickly looking away. Between Mendel and Jachin, Makoto and Shiho hadn't interacted much beyond what was required for them to function together in combat. However, after Jachin, the two had spent a fair amount of time together in all the confusion, owing largely to the fact that Liz had become a good friend to the brunette and was, of course, Makoto's lover. Ultimately, the two had become very close friends, which was part of the reason Athrun was always surprised that Shiho never accompanied Nicol on his occasional visits to Orb.

"She's doing pretty well behind the scenes," said Athrun. "Well, as much as can be expected when she's dealing with the Taiyonoha withdrawal from Orb."

"What?!" gasped Saul, Nicol and Shiho in almost perfect unison.

"You didn't know?" asked Athrun, surprised. This wasn't the sort of news he'd expect to be kept quiet for very long.

"Not at all," said Saul. "Geez, are they crazy?"

"They probably didn't want the Alliance exploiting them," commented Nicol.

"It's a bold move," said Shiho. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Athrun shrugged. "It caught everyone off-guard," he said. "Other than that, it seems she's finally developed a unit to keep up with her reflexes."

"Oh?"

"The latest model from Morgenroete," said Athrun. "A Gundam prototype. It's supposed to incorporate at least four different revolutionary technologies that puts it on par with the Freedom."

"If it's not nuclear-powered, that's pretty impressive," said Saul, whistling lightly. "How about everyone else? Flay, the crazy trio, Commander Alaric and Victor, the _Archangel_ crew…?"

"All of them are doing well," said Athrun, smiling slightly at Saul's nickname for Louisa, Shani and Clotho.

"Hmm… so, Athrun, anywhere you want to go?" asked Nicol. "We can sit around catching up all day, but I don't think that's really what you want."

Athrun paused, his smile fading, before he sighed.

"I… I wanted to pay them a visit," he said softly. Everyone else's smiles also faded, as the mood immediately grew somber. "I don't come here that often," he continued. "I promised myself I wouldn't miss a chance to visit."

* * *

ZAFT Cemetery

The cemetery was huge, with rows upon rows of gravestones for ZAFT's fallen soldiers. The names of many people Athrun had known were here, but it was only a few that he'd come for you.

Miguel and Rusty, who died in the assault on Heliopolis. And then, three more, Yzak, Dearka and Erik, who'd fought with them through to the final day of the war when the seemingly invincible pilots finally met their ends.

Athrun placed down a bouquet of flowers upon Erik's tombstone, and the four saluted their fallen comrade.

"Deployed for self-defensive purposes only," said Athrun, echoing Durandal's words from a press conference earlier today. "So ZAFT is preparing to take action?"

"Are you surprised?" asked Saul. "Nobody's gonna sit around after they openly threatened to use nukes, even with their claims of limiting everything to military targets."

"The three of us were running interception missions when those dummy nukes were used," added Shiho in a quiet tone. "When we saw those missiles, we were terrified. We thought that they were trying to wipe out the PLANTs in one strike. I'm still afraid that that might be what they're trying to do."

"And what about you Athrun? What are you doing back here in the PLANTs?" asked Nicol.

"And what about Orb? " asked Saul. "We know about the Taiyonoha, but what about Cagalli and the rest?"

"I don't know," admitted Athrun.

There was a pause for a moment. "What will you do?" asked Shiho.

"I don't know," said Athrun again.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, know that we're with you all the way," said Saul, placing a hand on Athrun's shoulder. "I know… we all know that you'll do whatever you feel is right."

Athrun was quiet, stepping away from Saul and walking to Rusty's grave when he paused, seeing something unexpected.

"Nicol Amalfi?" he questioned, reading the name. The others followed his gaze, and Saul snickered slightly.

"Figures," he said with a grin. "That's the military for you. Two years and apparently the Reaper's still dead."

"Okay, I've had just about enough of that nickname Saul," said Nicol irritably.

Athrun sighed. Grim Reaper was a wholly inappropriate moniker for Nicol, but Athrun would be the first to admit that if he were one of those who'd fought the Hellfire Blitz in the last war, he'd probably have tagged it and the pilot with the same nickname.

Glancing up briefly, Athrun spotted a figure walking towards the cemetery exit. He wasn't certain, but he thought he recognized that silhouette, and he suddenly started walking after it.

"Athrun?"

Athrun came up short, shaking his head as he looked back at the others, who were staring at him in confusion.

"It's nothing," he said. "I just… I thought I saw Zane."

The others grimaced slightly. Athrun glanced to the next row of tombstones, which it had been clear the figure was visiting, and spotted the flowers. If that was Zane, who on earth would he be paying his respects too?

Walking over to them, Athrun looked at the name on the grave and gasped in shock.

"Something wrong Athrun?" asked Saul as the others caught up to him. However, he stiffened when he saw the name on the tombstone.

Rau Le Creuset.

"What's _he_ doing here?" questioned Shiho, not bothering to hide the hint of anger in her voice. Nobody answered as Athrun knelt down and picked up the note that had been attached to the flowers. Lifting it up, he flipped it open and gasped when he read it.

_Your daughter asked me to deliver these for her, since she can't at the moment. You probably won't get any more till everything's over, so cherish this Commander._

"A daughter?" questioned Athrun as the others scanned the note with equal shock. But how was that possible?

* * *

Nearby

Zane Scirocco silently watched the four pilots from his hiding place in the nearby trees. He hadn't expected to see them here—actually, he'd been under the impression Athrun was still on Earth, in the Orb Union.

He was also worried by their discovery of Rau's grave and the note. When she'd asked him for that favor, he'd accepted without hesitation. But he didn't like that he'd now effectively exposed her existence. Before now, only those people closest to Rau realized that there was someone who had been able to touch his human heart. After the war, she'd expressed regret over not staying close to him, in the hopes that she could've saved him.

Zane felt that she had saved Rau, such as the task was possible. But for her, it was such an impossible task to tell—the last time she'd seen him had been before Heliopolis. Before Chris, Makoto and the others were drawn into the war.

Zane let out a small sigh as Athrun and the others left, before leaning against a tree tiredly.

"I can't," he muttered to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "How can I face them with my sins? I suppose I'll have too, though. That's what you'd tell me, isn't it? All of you." He sighed again. "Damn you, Le Creuset. Damn you for finding me, damn me for becoming so warped, and double damn you for killing Chris."

Zane sighed once more, staring down at his hand. With what almost seemed a flash, the hand was suddenly coated in blood, the blood of the countless lives he'd taken. But shining with the slightest golden light was Chris's blood as well. Zane blinked, and the blood vanished.

"Chris, why did you let me live?" asked Zane. "I'm not sure I can even do any good with my life. If you'd just pulled the trigger, that time in orbit, or just struck to kill instead of knocking me away… you'd be alive. And you could do so much more than I could ever hope to accomplish."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Wow. Most of this chapter was left unchanged, but I think the return of Zane Scirocco has made up for it in spades. And he's associated with Rau's daughter, a character whose only known appearance to date was at the very end of the epilogue of _Gundam SEED Dauntless_? Now there's an interesting touch of information.**

**Anyways, this chapter focused on the PLANT-based events of episodes 10 and 11 of the anime series, so next chapter, we'll get a look at what's going on elsewhere. I can't promise the update won't be late next week as well. Between Thanksgiving, the general chaos of my life, and the difficulty of figuring out how, precisely, to handle everything in the coming chapters. Soon, however, things will be changing, and I can't say if it will be a positive or a negative change.**

**At any rate, there's not too much to discuss here. Please leave a review everyone!**

**Ja ne!  
**


	11. Phase 11: Battle Anew

**Okay, to start, I'm sorry this chapter is so late coming out. Things were really hectic for me last week, and I only finished this a few days ago. In any case, I'm hoping these delays don't become a regular thing. Though, honestly, the scheduled updates will probably only go on for another three or four chapters. To be honest, Gundam SEED Destiny wasn't exactly my area of expertise. I'm familiar with the beginning and the ending, but the middle is a semi-blur for me, because I never really enjoyed it that much.**

**Well, that being said, I'm still gonna do the best job I can pull together. In this chapter, ZAFT strikes back at the Earth Forces to reclaim Gibralter and Carpentaria. We also get a touch of foreshadowing, among a few other things that I'm not gonna bother detailing. Also, I'll be introducing several new OCs a few chapters from now, OCs with which I am going to have a _lot_ of fun.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. I do now own Harr Hathaway, who is the property of Digital Dimension. The rest, I don't think needs to be explained at this point. Standard disclaimers apply (I'm still being lazy).  
**

* * *

Phase Eleven: Battle Anew

October 18th, C.E. 73

* * *

Orb Parliament Building

"What?! You can't be serious!" said Cagalli, horrified at their decision. "I don't care what you're saying, there's no way I'll agree to the signing of a treaty with the Atlantic Federation."

Things were turning against Cagalli's wishes. She had hoped that she could have convinced at least a few of the major members of the government to side with her against the treaty. Unfortunately, those she had spoken to were refusing to change their stance. Most were supporting Unato and Yuna. Samuel's words once again rang through her mind.

"_Unfortunately, your father's sacrifice has left us in a difficult position. Most of his supporters sacrificed themselves alongside him, leaving primarily political enemies behind."_

Cagalli hadn't realized just how true those words were until now, and she deeply regretted not fighting the Taiyonoha on their withdrawal.

"But Representative–" started Unato.

"Did you all forget what they did to Orb in that last war?! Or what they have done in the past few days?!" asked Cagalli loudly, bordering on shouting at him. "A unilateral declaration of war and openly threatening to use nuclear weapons?!"

"Lady Cagalli, that is why we are forming an Alliance with them, to keep Orb safe," replied Unato.

"But they are the ones who are endangering the safety of the world! Why should we sign a treaty with them?!"

Yuna rose from his seat. "Chief Representative, I would like to ask you to stop with these childish arguments and consider things for a moment. The reason we're doing this is because they're that kind of nation."

"But–"

"The Atlantic Federation's methods are indeed _aggressive_. Well please excuse me for saying this, but we all already know that. So we don't need you to remind us of that fact," said Yuna, his tone condescending. "I must ask, what are you suggesting that we do instead, Representative? If we reject this treaty, we will be the only nation of Earth not a part of the Earth Alliance. We'll be alone on the entire planet. If something happens to us, no other nation on the planet would be willing to aid us, and thanks to those clearly arrogant Taiyonohas, we've lost a great deal of our former power. Should we call the PLANTs and isolate ourselves further?"

Cagalli shook her head. "No!"

"Should we deny aid to nations suffering from the effects of Break the World when our nation survived unscratched?" asked Yuna.

"No!"

"Then what should we do?"

"We should take the path of neutrality that Orb has always taken," answered Cagalli.

"Then you would see this nation burn like Lord Uzumi did," said one official disrespectfully.

Images of the Earth Alliance's attack on Orb during the last mind filled her mind. Cagalli slammed her hand on the table. "I never said that!"

"Lady Cagalli, if we take one wrong step with the current situation, it is very possible that may happen," replied Unato. "All of us share your wish to ensure the peace and safety of our nation. That is why I support this treaty." The Prime Minister rose from his seat, walking around the table towards her. "The Atlantic Federation isn't even asking anything of Orb, and given recent events, it's unlikely that they will. However, what would happen if we rejected their treaty? Why can't you see that this alliance is an opportunity? A chance to survive as a nation? But imagine what would happen if we had to face such a nation in battle because we antagonized them. I'm sure you can see the dangers here."

"Yes, but–"

"This nation burned once before. We cannot allow it to happen again," said Unato. "Before you go on about tradition, justice and what is right, consider our nation and its people first, Representative."

Moments later, the meeting ended. The government officials, their assistants and advisors filed out of the room. While most went off in one direction, a dejected Cagalli headed in the opposite direction.

"Cagalli!" Yuna called out, approaching her. "Are you alright? You seem tired."

"I'm fine," she answered quietly.

"I'm sorry about earlier, but when we're in there, I have to make my opinion known," added Yuna, wrapping an arm over her shoulder.

"It's alright. It's your job and I know that I'm still inexperienced at things," said Cagalli in a sad, tired tone. "I'm sure the ministers are all laughing at me right now."

"Don't worry about. They all understand. This particular problem is just too big for you to handle by yourself," said Yuna, trying to reassure her. "Mashimar wasn't trying to insult Lord Uzumi, he's just worried that as his daughter, you might try to do the same thing."

"I know."

Yuna directed her towards a nearby chair. "You should take a rest," he commented, setting her down on the chair. "Would you like something to drink, or maybe something to eat?"

"No thanks. I'm fine."

"Look at you," said Yuna, brushing some of her hair from her face. "I know things are hard right now and a lot of things are weighing down you down right now. But don't worry. I'll always be there for you." He then delivered a kiss to her forehead.

Cagalli's hand reached out for her forehead, allowing Yuna to see Athrun's ring. He knew who had given her that ring. Though his face didn't show, he was angry. How dare that boy from the PLANTs try to take away his Cagalli!

No matter. They'd just have to accelerate things and have the wedding sooner than originally planned. Yuna smiled. "I'll be back in a little bit Cagalli. I need to discuss some things with my father."

Yuna rose up and walked away, leaving Cagalli alone. Though not for long.

"You know, I never could understand why Serenity and your father never did more to put the Seirans in their place," came a voice a moment later. Cagalli looked up to see Rondo Mina Sahaku approaching her. "Looks I didn't make it. Sorry about that."

"Why?" asked Cagalli, scowling slightly. She didn't like Mina anymore than she'd liked the Coordinator Noble's twin brother. More than anyone else, they were at fault for making Heliopolis a target by making a deal with the Atlantic Federation. "Don't you support the Atlantic Federation?"

"Hardly," snorted Mina. "My brother and I were merely looking to improve Orb's power for an eventual global takeover. I learned my lesson when he was killed."

Cagalli remained silent. It was true that the woman had been among those to favor neutrality, but it hardly made up for everything they'd done in the past.

"Why weren't you at the meeting?" she asked finally.

"Some problems requiring immediate attention cropped up at the last minute," said Mina, scowling. "Let me guess: Lord Narihira failed to show up as well?"

"Yes," admitted Cagalli. "How'd you know that?"

"A hunch," said Mina. "With the Taiyonoha withdrawal, you're only significant supporters are the Yagami and myself. Isn't it odd that we'd both be absent?"

"You don't mean–"

"Of course," said Mina. "It can't be coincidence. The Seiran are involved in our troubles."

At that moment, Flay appeared in the hall, approaching the two. "I can believe it," she said. "I don't like them. You shouldn't let that little weasel or his father get to you Cagalli."

Cagalli looked up at the red-haired young woman, wondering how long Flay had been watching her. "Flay. I–"

"Weasel? That's an insult to weasels. He's far below them," said Samuel, surprising both girls as Mina chuckled.

Flay shrugged. "Well, he's some kind of large rodent," she said, earning a chuckle from Samuel. "But the point is, don't worry about Yuna and the others. Make the decision that you feel is right. We will all support regardless of what decision you make."

"Exactly," agreed Mina. "And it's not just us. The citizens of Orb will support you as well."

Cagalli sighed. She knew they were trying to keep her spirits up, but it wasn't working. Everything was falling apart. Unato and much of the government were trying to force Orb into the Alliance, against the beliefs of Orb. But at the same time, if they didn't, they could find themselves being attacked again. "I want to keep Orb neutral, but what if by doing that, Orb is attacked again?" she said, fighting back tears.

"Cagalli, if you spend your time worrying about what-ifs, you'll never able to do anything because you'll be plagued by so many doubts and fears," said Samuel, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What-ifs are only what-ifs. They could happen just as easily as they could not happen. Stand firm and make a decision, because I assure that while this is the first true crisis you have faced as the leader of Orb, it will not be the last."

* * *

Djibril's Bunker

Djibril was pleased. With the exception of the Taiyonohas unexpected actions in Orb, which were hardly detrimental, everything was going according to plan. With Gibraltar and Carpentaria under Alliance control, ZAFT's presence on Earth was nearly finished. But they had a few loose ends to tie up first before they could finish things off in space. Fortunately, such matters would be easily dealt with.

"_It seems that congratulations are in order, Djibril,_" said Mr. Lorne.

"_Yes. ZAFT is on the run. Now all we need is the final strike to finish them off,_" commented Mr. Hoffesommer.

"_Hold it there,_" said Mr. Gradenko. "_There are still plenty of scattered ZAFT forces on Earth. They could pose a major problem for us, as well as that new warship of theirs. They should dealt with first before we strike the PLANTs again._"

"Indeed. I couldn't agree more. But all we need to do is destroy ZAFT's newest warship. Sinking that ship will be crushing blow to ZAFT's morale while showing the world and the PLANTs our dominance," said Djibril with a smirk. "Which is why I've seen to it that a portion of the fleet at Carpentaria will move to intercept the ship when it leaves Orb. In fact, I've even sent a few of the Zamza-Zahs that proved so effective at Gibraltar and Carpentaria with that fleet. Even if the Taiyonoha intervene, that ship will not survive and then we can finish this whole matter once and for all, as well as firmly seize Morgenroete for ourselves."

* * *

Aprilius One

The Next Day

"_Soldiers of ZAFT, people of the PLANTs, I know that you are all feeling angry and upset over recent events. The Earth Alliance's rapid declaration of war on us, their attack on the PLANTs, the losses of Gibraltar and Carpentaria, the Alliance's open threat to use nuclear weapons. The past few days have been truly frightening for us all. I understand your feelings. I know how overwhelming it is. I know that many of you would like nothing more than to lash out at the Earth Alliance for what they've done. But we must not let our emotions control us. For if we do, I fear that we will find ourselves walking the same dark path we all took during the last war. The path that nearly destroyed everything._"

"_None of us in the PLANTs wished for this war or wish for it to continue. But at the same time we will not sit back while our homes are threatened. That is why we must take up our arms only to protect ourselves. The Earth Alliance is not a sinister nation seeking to wipe every last Coordinator. Nor are the people of Earth Coordinator-hating savages. They are human beings just as we are. Like many of us, they are angry and upset over what has happened and lashing out with those feelings against anyone that they feel is to blame. They are not evil, just misguided._"

"_That is why we must keep our hearts and minds clear during these troubled times. We must remain the voice of reason. That is why I have ordered the ZAFT military to take only defensive actions until this conflict can be brought to a peaceful resolution. ZAFT will only take steps to protect the PLANTs and its own forces. We will not seek to conquer territories of Earth._"

"_These were the Chairman's words at his press conference earlier today. When asked what exactly he meant, the Chairman–_"

Durandal turned off the screen, cutting off the news broadcast and turned to his chessboard. Operation Reclaimer would soon start. It angered him that Djibril had so easily turned the tables on him and put ZAFT in a dangerous position. No matter, he had already repositioned his pieces to counter Djibril's latest move. Truthfully, Djibril wasn't much of a concern to him. Once the war had reached the right stage, he would reveal LOGOS and that would take care of him. It was Lacus Clyne, Kira Yamato and Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha that worried him, as well as the man known as Gabriel. They were the unknowns in his plans. The wisest strategy was to remove the unknowns before they became a threat.

"The Black Knight serves the Black King. The White Knight protects the White Queen. The Red Knight stands alone, unsure of himself," he mused, lightly touching a piece as alone as the Red Knight, a Silver Knight. "And the Silver Knight continues to hide her agenda."

Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha was an unknown at least as significant as Gabriel. She wielded political influence that could be compared to Lacus Clyne, but if Durandal's suspicions were correct, she was also a threat of the same nature as Kira Yamato, but with motives far more unclear. Truthfully, he'd been enraged to learn of the Taiyonoha withdrawal, which he'd learned of from Rey. He'd hoped that, when the time came, Orb and the Taiyonoha could be dealt with all at once. The withdrawal was a move that no one could ever have expected.

"_Again with the chess metaphors. You know, they are becoming quite tiresome Chairman,_" came a voice suddenly as his main screen turned on.

"Gabriel," greeted Durandal, his tone neutral. "I do not appreciate this intrusion. I believe I told you that our business together was finished."

The masked man's finger entwined each other and he set his chin on his fingers. "_You did. But I have some new things to offer you, Chairman,_" he replied. "_Some things that I suspect that you want. Badly._"

"I highly doubt that," said Durandal, reaching for the button to deactivate the screen.

"_Very well then, if you do not wish to know where Lacus Clyne is, I understand._"

Durandal's hand stopped. He had been searching for the Songstress for quite awhile with little success. There were only a handful of places that she could be hiding, both on Earth and in space. And yet, she continued to elude him. "You know where she is?"

"_Yes I do. And I have a lot more information that you might just find useful in the months to come,_" said Gabriel, a clear smug tone in his masked voice. "_For the right price, it can all be yours._"

"Name it."

"_You already know what it is._"

Durandal sighed. "Very well. I will hand Ragnarok over to you, but only if you meet my two conditions. First, I wish to see some of this other information you have, to see if it is as useful as you say. Second, while you will have Ragnarok, I will still have full access to the research being done there."

"_I accept those conditions, Chairman. And once again, it is a pleasure doing business with you._"

* * *

Orb Union

Suiren walked along the shores of Onogoro, staring out at the ocean with a certain level of melancholy. A guarded person at all times who revealed almost nothing of her past, the blonde had even guarded where she went, and when. She, and she alone, knew of her visits to Orb.

Suiren paused, knowing she'd reached her destination. She turned around and faced the Taiyonoha Cemetery, and stepped delicately through the gates. She walked amidst the graves of the revered nobles who'd watched humanity throughout millennia of history, before finally stopping at the most recent set of graves.

Lord Misuumi Taiyonoha. Lord Ichida Arata and Lady Naomi Arata. Lord Yushiro Kamakura and Lady Ami Kamakura.

And perhaps more notably, Setsuna's generation: Lady Minako Rei Taiyonoha. Lady Makoto Michiru Arata. Lady Misuumi Hino Kamakura.

"How will you live on?" she asked quietly. "The children are dead, and even if they weren't, they're Coordinators. It's like a scheduled end to your bloodline. After all these millennia, is this really how the Taiyonoha will end?"

"The women of the Taiyonoha line strike me as a little too stubborn to ever be brought down," interjected a voice. Suiren gasped and spun around to find Shani Andras standing behind her, holding several bouquets of flowers. How had she not sensed him?

Shani walked past her, and knelt before the graves. He placed the first bouquet on the grave of the Kamakuras, then the second on the grave of Misuumi Taiyonoha, and a third on the grave of the Aratas. He placed the last before the graves of the three deceased princesses.

"My father… killed them, you know," said Shani, staring at the Kamakuras gravestone. Suiren gasped in surprise. "We'd suspected that much for awhile, but it's only recently that I became certain of it."

Shani sighed, thinking back on everything he knew, from memory and from what he'd been told. "My father was a first-rate son of a bitch," he said. "Arrogant, filled with contempt for Coordinators. But that seems to have simply been because _he_ wasn't the one who created Coordinators. Its like he wanted to be seen as a god."

"Don't all men?" asked Suiren rhetorically. "No matter what we learn, no matter what we manage to accomplish, nothing ever changes. People are amazing that way. It's sick."

"Then why do you fight?" asked Shani.

"Because I want to believe," said Suiren softly. "I want to know that this is a world where hope isn't foolish. That we can have faith in humanity. That there is a possibility, however remote, for a tranquil world of peace."

* * *

Unknown Location

The explosion rocked the entire ship, hangar, and indeed, the entire base itself.

"No!" shouted Jason Williams, driven to the edge of his sanity by the incompetence of the mechanics under his command. "We're trying to remodel that thing into a positron cannon, not blow the entire factory to pieces!"

"S-sorry sir!"

Williams sighed, running a hand through his unkempt hair. How in the world did Yamato expect this project to get finished? While Williams could understand the importance of the MS projects, it left them with more inexperienced mechanics for the other work they had to do, and not even the former chief mechanic of the _Dominion_, who'd personally handled some of the most unconventional machines deployed in the previous war, could be expected to get anywhere with this sort of help.

This was doubly true for the weapon they were currently designing. The Ragnarök was to be the most powerful weapon on this ship, and they were constructing it out of a former large caliber beam cannon. As if that weren't enough, he also needed to get the Nephilim, Asgard, Valhalla, Fenrir and Æsir in place. True, when they were finished, the new flagship would be powerful enough to take on a half-dozen _Archangel_, _Izumo_ and _Minerva_-class warships at once, but the way things were going, they wouldn't be done for years!

Okay, so that was an exaggeration, but damn it, Williams felt it was justified!

"Sir?"

Williams sighed and turned around. "Yes, Chandra?" he asked, not bothering to hide the exasperation in his voice. Chandra Sirtis, an engineer aboard the _Eternal_ during the last war who joined the Clyne Faction at the last minute, smiled sympathetically at Williams.

"I just thought you'd like some good news," she said. "Some of the personnel from Ten-no-Yūgure have been reassigned to help us out here."

Williams frowned, thinking back on it, when he suddenly remembered.

"The factory where we initially repaired after Jachin?" he asked. Chandra nodded, and Williams smiled lightly. "That's good then. Maybe we can get this done."

The two turned back to the light-red warship that mechanics were running over frantically, both feeling the same way.

The _Eternal_ would fly again, and this time, it would fly alongside rather than behind the Angels that had once protected it.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Orb Territorial Waters

The next morning

Captain Gladys sat in her chair, watching the horizon as the _Minerva _sailed towards Carpentaria. Behind the Minerva was an Orb escort fleet, there to make sure they left Orb's territory without incident. Talia knew that the situation in Orb was delicate at the moment. Every other nation on the planet had joined the Earth Alliance and the pressure on Orb to join the Alliance was growing. Truthfully, she would have left Orb a day or two ago, when much of the _Minerva_'s repairs had been completed. But loss of Carpentaria left them stranded in Orb.

Talia said a silent prayer for her ship and the Operation they would soon be taking part in. Operation Reclaimer was risky. They all knew that. It had the potential to destroy much of ZAFT's fighting strength if it failed. But at the same time, it was a bold move. While the Alliance had taken Gibraltar and Carpentaria, they had damaged both bases, including their defensive systems. As a result, neither base currently had adequate defenses beyond the naval fleets parked at each base. If they attacked now, they could quickly overwhelm the mobile suits on the ground and force the fleets to retreat from bases or risk losing their ships as well. And in the end, they only needed to take one of the two bases for it to be considered a success.

It was a gamble. They were wagering nearly everything they had. If it succeeded, then they'll have bought ZAFT some time to regroup and open up a front on Earth. If it failed, ZAFT was finished.

* * *

Pilot Briefing Room

"Just before our forces drop from above, we will attack from the sea, splitting their forces. The _Minerva_ will attack from the east while a group of _Vosgulov_-class subs that weren't at Carpentaria during the attack, will strike from the north," said Suiren, explaining the Operation to her fellow pilots. "Hopefully, this will give our forces an opening to exploit, allowing them to recapture the base. Of course, they're also hoping that the Alliance commanders can't resist the thought of sinking ZAFT's newest warship and will send much of their forces after us."

"I hate to sound negative, but if they move to attack us, we'll be outnumbered and likely cut off from the rest of our forces," Luna pointed out. "We're only one ship. Do they really think they that we can defeat such a force on our own?"

"I must agree, this Op sounds very risky. The whole thing could fall apart very easily," added Tristan.

"Yes, but we have little choice in the matter. We're almost completely on our own here regardless," replied Suiren, a hard edge to her voice. "At the moment, the defenses of the bases have been weakened. If we wait, the Alliance will dig in and it becomes much more difficult to dislodge them. If we don't strike now, it could be all over for ZAFT. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot to work with. Shinn and I are the only ones that can take the fight to the enemy. The rest of you will have to stand on the Minerva and fire from it." She turned to her pilots. "Rey, I've ordered some modifications to your ZAKU. I want you and Luna to equip your machines with Gunner Wizards, we're going to need the heavy firepower." The two Redcoats nodded. "Tristan, Jessie, you two will be on defense. Anything that gets close to the _Minerva_, you guys shoot it down." The two of them nodded as well. "Aleksi, I'm leaving you largely to your own discretion. Take charge of the rest of them as necessary, but I trust you to handle yourself well."

"Yes ma'am," replied Aleksi without hesitation.

"Shinn, you and I will take point," continued Suiren. Shinn gave a slight nod before she fixed a smoldering gaze on him. "You are to act as my wingman. I want you to follow my orders to the letter out there, and unless I order otherwise, do not, I repeat, _do not_ move out on your own. Understood?"

Shinn straightened his shoulders, gulping slightly at the intensity in those mismatched eyes.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," said Suiren. "Now let us pray that fortune smiles upon us this day. Dismissed."

* * *

ZAFT Military Headquarters

Aprilius One

Defense Chairman Ian Kessel watched from the balcony of the ZAFT Central Command Center as officers rushed to finish the final preparations before the start of the Operation. Everything hinged on their success today.

"Sir. All battle groups are in position," said an officer.

Ian nodded. There was one final thing that must be done before the start of the Operation. The men and women needed to be fired before going into battle. He remembered something that he had heard once. 'Tell a soldier he cannot win and he's already lost. But make a soldier believe he cannot lose, and he will achieve victory in even the most impossible of battles'. Ian turned to the officer.

"Patch me through to them," he said.

The man nodded, typing a command into his console.

"You're on sir." Ian nodded, and straightened his entire body, taking a deep breath.

"Soldiers of ZAFT, the Alliance has us in a difficult position," said Ian to the fleets. "But if they think that we are beaten, they are gravely mistaken. The Earth Forces proclaim that they have achieved a major victory in their opening move, that they have broken us and have us on the run, but they wrong. Despite the losses we have suffered, our military is still strong. Our fighting spirit is bruised, but still strong. And today, we will show them that it takes a lot more than that to break ZAFT's spirit. In addition, many of our comrades are stranded on Earth with nowhere to go and surrounded by enemies. Are we to leave them to their fates? No! A true ZAFT soldier would never leave a man behind!"

"The Alliance believes that we wouldn't dare strike to take back our bases. That we would be too afraid of leaving the PLANTs exposed to another attack. Today, we are going to show them how wrong they are. Right now, the Alliance forces at Carpentaria and Gibraltar are sitting around, laughing at the meager feat they accomplished by attacking two undermanned bases. We will strike at their forces, showing them just how strong we are and retake what is rightfully ours, proclaiming in one voice that we aren't defeated yet! Remember that you are soldiers of ZAFT and that today is our day of victory!"

People in the command center began to cheer and clap at his words. Ian had given the men and women of ZAFT a temporary boost in morale. Hopefully, it would help push them into victory.

"Commence Operation Reclaimer!"

* * *

Earth Orbit

The engines of _Nazca_-class and _Laurasia_-class warships ignited, sending the ships towards the Alliance fleets. The hanger doors of the ZAFT and Earth Forces ships opened and the first of their mobile suits were quickly launched, heading towards each other as the warships began to fire their cannons. The first phase of Operation Reclaimer had begun.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Captain! We're receiving a message from the _Alexandria_!" Meyrin called out. "A sizable portion of the Earth Forces fleet at Carpentaria has left and is heading towards the Orb border!"

Arthur gasped. "What?! But why? Wouldn't they be staying to defend Carpentaria?"

"Not necessarily," said Talia. "The attack in space has just started. They may have started leaving before that."

"But why?" asked Arthur.

"I would have to say us," answered the Captain. "And I don't think that it's a coincidence that they're heading for Orb as we're leaving Orb."

"But that would mean that…"

"Yes," said Talia, leaving it at that. "Inform the pilots. We're going to be seeing combat sooner than expected. Bring the ship up to Level One Battlestations. Tell the _Alexandria_ and the rest of the fleet to launch the attack without us."

* * *

The Mess Hall

Suiren had just sat down and started eating a quick meal when the alarms went off.

"_All hands, report to Level One Battlestations! I repeat, all hands, report to Level One Battlestations!"_ said Meyrin over the intercom.

Suiren looked almost sadly at her meal and sighed as she stood up and rushed to an intercom panel.

"Meyrin, what's going on?" she asked calmly.

"_An Alliance fleet has left Carpentaria and is heading towards us._"

"Damn," muttered Suiren. She'd been worried about this possibility, and, in fact, had received warning that individuals in the Orb government—the Seirans—would likely sell them out to the Alliance. "How long until they reach us?"

"_Fifteen minutes at the most,_" answered Meyrin. "_The Earth Forces fleets in orbit prevented us from discovering their movements sooner._"

Suiren swore as she hit the wall in frustration. Fifteen minutes to bring a warship and all of its mobile suits, when most of the crew was taking a final moment of relaxation, to full readiness for a battle against an entire fleet? That wasn't enough time. While Suiren wasn't worried about the Rose or Aleksi's GuAIZ, she knew the other pilots hadn't been nearly as intent on their machines as the two blondes had been, and it worried her what kind of bugs could crop up in that inactivity, especially in something as experimental as the Impulse.

But they didn't have any choice, either. They couldn't retreat to Orb. Whether Orb remained neutral or joined the Alliance, they couldn't tolerate the presence of a ZAFT warship any longer. Not only that, even if they fled, the fleet would just return to reinforce Carpentaria, and might arrive just in time to turn the tide of the battle. Their only option was to fight.

Suiren left the mess hall, running towards the hanger.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we're going to need a miracle here," she muttered. She wasn't one to believe in miracles.

* * *

Orbit

The battles in space over Gibraltar and Carpentaria had quickly grown in both intensity and the ferocity of the combatants. ZAFT fought with an unparalleled determination against the more numerous Earth Forces fleets, and the Alliance pilots found themselves being steadily pushed back by their attackers. For every ZAFT mobile suit that they shot down, they lost several of their own mobile suits in the process.

Lisa DaCosta surveyed the battlefield from her ZAKU Phantom HM Type. They were pushing them back, but barely. A ZAKU gunned down a pair of Daggers just before a Windam drove a beam saber into its back. A Gunner ZAKU aimed at the underbelly of a _Nelson_-class, only to be shot from the side by a Windam. A Blaze ZAKU Phantom shot down a Dagger and two Windams, but as he was replacing his rifle's battery, a pair of Windams ambushed him, running their beams sabers through the ZAKUs front and back.

Lisa knew the line could buckle at any minute. They had to launch the pods now, before it was too late. "_Korriban_, this is Lieutenant DaCosta, status report now."

"_Commander, we're almost in position for the drop. ETA four minutes_," replied the _Korriban_'s comm. officer.

Lisa scowled. "I don't think we can hold out for that long. If they launch now, will they still reach Carpentaria?"

"_Barely ma'am. At least a third would land at least several kilometers south of Carpentaria._"

A Windam rushed at Lisa with a beam saber, but the ZAFT ace raise her rifle and fired, destroying the machine before the Alliance machine even got close.

"Then launch them now!" she ordered as two more Windams headed for her.

* * *

Elsewhere

"_All teams, commencing premature orbital drop in one hundred seconds. All attack teams, move to defensive positions. I repeat…_"

Saul groaned inside the cockpit of his ZAKU. "_I'm going to hate this._"

"_Oh, come on, it's not that bad,_" said Shiho.

"_Easy for you to say. I can't stand atmospheric entry,_" Saul shot back. "_It always ties my stomach into knots._"

"Still?" questioned Nicol with a raised brow, staring at the screen displaying Saul.

"_Orbital drop commencing in sixty seconds. All teams prepare for drop._"

"_That's not something you just get over,_" said Saul irritably. "_You try having your stomach brutally twisted and then pulled inside out and we'll see how much you like it._"

"_Well, ordinary atmospheric entry should be easy after this,_" said Shiho. "_After all, we're dropping straight into a warzone today._"

"_Don't remind me,_" groaned Saul. "_I could just hear one of them telling me to suck it up, couldn't you? Makoto, Erik, Yzak, hell, I think I could even hear Athrun._"

"You've got it really bad," said Nicol, smirking at his friend.

"_5…4…3…2…1…0. Commencing drop._"

The pods were released, heading down towards the Earth. Daggers and Windams spotted them, and opened fire on the pods. The shields of the ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs blocked most of the shots, but a few got through, destroying some of the pods. Most, however, safely entered the atmosphere.

Commander Diana Kessel had divided the her team in half, leading one half to Earth, including Saul's team, where they would continue to operate until further notice while Lisa DaCosta was in command of the half remaining, herself included, to battle the Alliance in space. And to keep an eye on certain _interests_.

After a few minutes of heat and turbulence, the pods had finished their atmospheric entry and sailed down towards Carpentaria.

"Gah… I hate this," said Saul weakly. "I really, _really_ hate this."

"_I think we get the picture,_" commented Shiho dryly.

"_Get ready everyone. We're almost there,"_ said Commander Kessel over the comm. _"Pop your hatches in five… four… three… two… one… now!_"

The small explosive pins in the hatches fired, opening the pods and releasing their ZAKUs. Jet Striker equipped Daggers and Windams appeared, heading towards the falling ZAFT mobile suits.

"_Lock and load people,_" said Diana. "_Don't hold back whatsoever, because none of us are going home unless we take Carpentaria from the Alliance. For ZAFT and the PLANTs!_"

"For ZAFT and the PLANTs!" echoed many of the pilots as they started firing.

The battle for Carpentaria had begun.

* * *

Gibraltar Drop Site

"_We've entered the drop zone. All teams, prepare for combat drop in one hundred seconds. I repeat…_"

"_Commander, are sure that you want to drop equipped with a Slash Pack. Wouldn't a Blaze Pack be more suited for an orbital drop?_" asked Harr Hathaway as they waited in their drop pod.

Hathaway was the new member of the team and the sole survivor of his last team. His team had been stationed as rearguard for the PLANTs in the last battle, and was among the unfortunate victims of the machines from Bogey-1. By pure luck more than anything else, he had been among the handful of survivors. Afterwards, he had been assigned to replace the only loss suffered by the Kyusai Team's mobile suit forces, which meant that he still had a great deal to learn about the team and its current commander.

The Commander had ultimately resolved to keep an eye on Hathaway for this battle, and had ordered him into the same drop pod as himself. Hathaway was unlikely to stick with the team for long—while he was the sort of person Suiren would generally favor, he was still lacking in certain qualities the leader of the Kyusai Team always sought out in her recruits.

"Don't worry," replied the Commander. "As I've told you before, I'll be fine. Besides, it's too late now to change Packs."

"_But the Slash Pack may not have enough thruster power for a safe landing._"

"Duly noted, but I'll be fine."

"_Kid, an important lesson you should keep in mind is that this team doesn't work like most others you've seen,_" said Aker, a smirk evident in his tone. "_When you see us down on Earth, you'll understand._"

"_5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0. Commencing drop._"

The pod shuddered as the clamps holding it in place, disengaged and the pod's boosters ignited. The pod dropped, along with numerous other pods. The pod shook as it was hit by the shockwave of a nearby explosion.

"_We've been knocked off course!_" exclaimed Harr.

"_Already correcting,_" replied Heine in calm, almost bored tone, firing the pods secondary boosters, designed for course changes and corrections. "_You really need to learn to loosen up a little, Rookie._" The four pilots felt the pod shift, moving back towards its correct path. "_Flight path corrected. You're far too tense Rookie._"

"Cut the chatter," said the Commander.

A moment later, the pod started to shake and heat up as it entered the atmosphere. Minutes later, they had completed their entry and were heading for Gibraltar. Like at Carpentaria, Alliance mobile suits were taking off to intercept them.

"Alright everyone, this is it. We must retake Gibraltar. The hopes of ZAFT as well as everyone living in the PLANTs are upon us. And we are not going to let them down," said the Commander over the radio. "Prepare to pop your hatches."

"The calm before battle. The most peaceful moment of existence," the Commander said to himself. "And the longest as well as the shortest moment before the storm of battle rages."

Their pod opened, releasing the ZAKUs. The crimson ZAKU Phantom pulled out its two tomahawks as the other ZAKUs opened fire with their rifles at the approaching Daggers and Windams. A Dagger fired at the Phantom, but the mobile suit pulled to the left as it fired, dodging the shot and activating its thrusters. The Phantom cut through the Dagger and then brought its axes through two more. Then the ZAKU spun as it fell, its tomahawks slicing a trio of Daggers that were too close together. A Windam appeared, firing at the ZAKU. The ZAKU slammed into the Windam, causing it to fall with the ZAFT mobile suit on top of it. The Windam pilot pulled up his rifle, intending to shoot the ZAKU.

"A superior mobile suit doesn't ensure victory," said the Commander, slicing off the Windam's arms at the elbow.

The Commander then threw his tomahawks, hitting another Windam and a Dagger and destroying them. He drew his rifle that had been secured to the front of his hip armor for the drop and started firing as the two mobile suits fell.

"_You're crazy! We're both going to die!_" shouted the Windam pilot frantically, pushing his thrusters to maximum, trying to save himself.

But the Commander ignored him as he rode the Windam down to Earth. He already had his landing all planned out. The ZAKU moved its legs, shifting the Windam and their angle of descent. It wasn't long until they reached the right position. The Commander pushed his thrusters to their limit, pushing off the Windam. The damaged mobile suit was propelled downwards and crashed into an Alliance ship while the ZAKU hit the water of the ocean. A moment later, the ZAKU leapt from the water, landing on the deck of an Alliance carrier as it drew its Falx beam axe. The Commander swung the axe down, cutting through the bridge of the ship. He then took off, heading towards another Alliance naval warship, gunning down a pair of Daggers with his Gatling guns as he moved.

At Windam fired at Harr's ZAKU, but Harr pulled up his shield, blocking the shots before he returned the fire, blowing off the Windam's left leg and left wing of its Jet Striker. But a fair amount of his attention was elsewhere. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. The man was an Ace… no, a Super Ace.

"Unbelievable…" he muttered. "I've never seen anyone pilot a mobile suit like that."

Heine fired his rifle, taking out a Dagger's Jet Striker, sending it falling. He chuckled as he picked off another.

"_The Commander is one of the best pilots ZAFT has,_" he said. "_The things he can do with a ZAKU are well above what most pilots could hope to achieve with even the most powerful mobile suits._"

"Well, I guess I won't underestimate Commander Dante ever again," said Harr.

"_He's not the only one,_" said Heine. "_Take a look around you._"

Harr did as told, and he found his eyes widening in shock.

A dark violet Blaze ZAKU Warrior spun, flipped, and almost literally danced through enemy attacks, all the while cutting down the opposition with its rifle and tomahawk. Halevy was a pilot founded on pure grace, and her unconventional movements baffled her opponents completely. A Sword Striker-equipped Windam charged forward, swinging its Schwert Gewehr, but Halevy flipped forward into the air and fired a barrage of missiles almost point-blank into the Windam's head, landing on the ground with preternatural grace and slipping straight back into her dance.

Aker, who'd equipped his black ZAKU Warrior with a Slash Wizard, used his Falx G7 to parry attack after attack with the grace of a knife-fighter, a feat Harr would've believed impossible with the large and normally clumsy weapon. Even more impressive, when Aker went on the attack, he maneuvered his unwieldy axe through his opponent's defenses like a whip he was bending to his will, skewering one enemy before lifting the entire mobile suit on the axe and using it to club away another attacker.

Meanwhile, the dark green Gunner ZAKU Warrior of Dylandy had landed on the bridge of an Earth Forces naval carrier, crushing it, and had started attacking enemies at long-range in all directions, firing with the speed of a pistol and the accuracy of a sniper rifle. And anyone foolish enough to get close found themselves on the receiving end of the weapons of Grace's bright red Slash ZAKU Warrior and Sierra's dark yellow-gold Blaze ZAKU Warrior.

None of these pilots measured up to the Commander, but Harr couldn't deny that he'd never seen pilots quite like these. No wonder they'd been able to go toe-to-toe with those monstrous pilots that had torn his old team to pieces.

Elsewhere, as the Commander's red ZAKU landed on another carrier, a large door on its deck opened up, a large crab-like mobile armor rising up from the hanger.

"Hmm… This should be interesting," commented the Commander, raising his Falx axe as the Zamza-Zah pulled out its pincer claws.

* * *

**Author's Notes: All-in-all, not as much change as I'd like. We get a new scene in which Suiren reflects on the dying Taiyonoha Bloodline and has a brief discussion with Shani. On a sidenote, I wonder if anyone remembers who she quotes in this chapter. We also get some foreshadowing, as it seems the _Eternal_ is being upgraded, seriously upgraded, if it's supposed to be able to take on the kind of forces named.**

**We also get to see some of the Kyusai Team besides Commander Dante in battle. A fairly dangerous bunch, all-told. Anyways, we can all rejoice in the knowledge that, when the _Minerva_ reaches Carpentaria, my story will finally begin heavy departure from Akatsuki Leader13's (well, such as it is with two rewrites), seeing how Yzak and Dearka won't be present on the _Minerva_, Suiren and Saul will likely share command of the MS team with Athrun, and so on and so forth.**

**And yes, next chapter will feature the Taiyonoha Fleet lending a little aid to the _Minerva_. This is something I thought about back and forth for awhile, but eventually, I concluded that the way the story's been done, I simply couldn't avoid it. The Taiyonoha aiding the _Minerva_ seems natural, even to Djibril, and as such, it made sense that extra forces would be sent along as insurance, given the potential threat the TF represents. And there's no way Makoto wouldn't come to the _Minerva_'s aid for their actions in orbit. Even if it's only a "one time thing".**

**Anyways, I'm not gonna bore all of you here. So, I guess I'll see you next week.  
**

**Please leave a review. Ja ne!  
**


	12. Phase 12: Blood in the Water

**Finally!**

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish this chapter. I had a lot of trouble writing and balancing the battle with the inclusion of the Taiyonoha Fleet. Anyways, we get the debut of the Sincerity Gundam, the M4 Yamato, the M3 Guardian Dante Custom, and the long-awaited return of the GAT-X264 Twilight Gundam. ^_^**

**For that reason, I won't bore you all to tears with this opening A/N. Instead, look for the stuff at the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. ****I do not own the OC Tristan Palleon, who is the property of animefan29. I do not own the OC Harr Hathaway, who is the property of Digital Dimension. I do not own the OCs Elizabeth Dante, Saul Kessel, Diana Kessel or John Alaric, who are the property of Akatsuki Leader13, as is the original mecha MBF-MX1 MX1 Athena. I do own the OCs Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, Louisa Kohls, Suiren Kyusai, Aleksi Shimizu, Jessie Vandermeer, Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha and Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha. I also own the original mecha MAF-X01 Sincerity Gundam, MVF-M3DC M3 Guardian Dante Custom, MBF-M4 M4 Yamato, GAT-X264 Twilight Gundam, the ZGMF-X00S Rose Gundam, the modifications to the GAT-X252 Forbidden Gundam and GAT-X370 Raider Gundam from their original forms, as well as this incarnation of the MBF-X135 Strike Raven Gundam.**

* * *

Phase Twelve: Blood in the Water

October 20th, C.E. 73

* * *

Taiyonoha Fleet Onogoro Military Base

"_You're crazy, you know that, right?_" said Shizuka.

"Crazy got me where I am," replied Makoto into the speaker on her headset, grabbing the zipline and ascending to the cockpit of her machine as the rest of the pilots rushed to their own mobile suits. "Is Faith ready?"

"_Of course,_" said her aunt.

"Good."

The hatch opened, and the redhead stepped into the cockpit of her machine, calmly taking the seat and placing her hands on the controls. Makoto took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

"_Systems checks complete. You're clear for takeoff._"

"Faith?" whispered Makoto.

"All systems are fully functional," came Faith's voice from the speakers. "I've triple-checked the Operating System as well. Sincerity is at its peak."

"She won't be at her peak until I'm completely familiar with her," replied Makoto before keying her comm. line. "This is Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, Sincerity, let's go!"

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

"Abes, how fanatical were you about maintaining our machines?" asked Suiren as she shrugged out of her trenchcoat.

"I didn't make sure these lazy idiots maintained them," said Abes darkly. "So not nearly enough."

"Not your fault," said Suiren, grabbing the zipline of the Rose as the Impulse ascended the central catapult and the two ZAKUs moved to their own catapults. "But next time, get a bullwhip. Nothing gets people motivated quite like that will."

"With pleasure ma'am."

Suiren smiled before clambering into the cockpit of her machine. Immediately, the exoskeleton began moving the Rose to the port catapult, while Aleksi's GuAIZ was positioned on the starboard catapult after the ZAKUs launched.

"Meyrin, how many ships are we dealing with?" she asked.

"_At least ten carriers, and three dozen other battleships and cruisers._"

Suiren was stunned. Needless to say, it wasn't good news."But that's crazy," she muttered. "What in the world could prompt them to send that much firepower after a single ship?"

Suiren paused briefly, but soon shook it off as the APU helped jumpstart the Rose and the Core Splendor shot out from the center catapult.

"Alright everyone, same plan as before," she said. "Shinn and I will engage the enemy while Rey, Luna, Tristan and Jessie will have the unfortunate task of playing mobile turret. Aleksi, I'm counting on you to watch them."

"_Yes ma'am,_" replied Aleksi without hesitation. "_Aleksi Shimizu, GuAIZ, launching!_"

"Good luck out there," said Suiren. "Suiren Kyusai, Rose Gundam, launching!"

As the Rose and GuAIZ shot forth from the catapults, the Force Silhouette shot out from the central catapult and Shinn completed the docking sequence for the Impulse, immediately pulling back slightly to dock with the Silhouette Pack, forming the Force Impulse.

Behind them, the catapults remained open as Tristan and Jessie walked their GuAIZs out of the catapults, jumping and taking up positions on the folded wings of the _Minerva_.

"You know, Orb is the last place I'd have expected to plunge straight into hell," commented Tristan as he readied his rifle.

"_You're partially right,_" replied Jessie. "_**Technically**__, we're not actually in Orb right now._"

The Earth Forces fleet began deploying their Windams and unleashed their opening salvo. Jets of water shot up around the _Minerva_ while the ship's CIWS and mobile suits shot down the missiles heading for them as the Windams advanced. Both Shinn and Suiren were already heading towards the Earth Forces mobile suits as the _Minerva_ fired its own salvo at the Alliance ships. A handful of missiles managed to hit their targets, striking several _Arkansas_-class and _Des Moines_-class cruisers, damaging them, while a lucky shot from the Isolde triple cannon tore through the front of _Des Moines_-class and ignited the forward weapons storage bay, sinking it.

The Windams suddenly opened fire repeatedly, all at once. Obviously, they were going for mass-fire tactics, and Shinn found himself hard-pressed against the storm of beams.

Suiren, however, almost literally danced through the beams and returned fire with immeasurable skill. Not only was she experienced against such tactics from her previous battles with the Alliance military, but it almost seemed as though she could read the minds of her opponents. Shinn was awed, and found it difficult to keep close to her, as she'd ordered him to do.

"_Shinn, don't be intimidated,_" said Suiren over the radio. "_Observe, dodge, block, and the instant an opening presents itself, take it._"

Shinn snapped himself away from his awe of Suiren's ability and his concern for the opposition, refocusing himself on the enemy. He watched the incoming assault, eyes narrowing. He evaded two shots, blocked a third, dodged another… there!

Instantly, the Impulse's rifle snapped up and Shinn pulled the trigger, firing a beam that lanced through the air and pierced the torso of a Windam mere seconds before its shield was successfully pulled into position to protect it.

_I understand…_ thought Shinn. _I can do this. I can do this!_

Shinn deflected another shot, spun under two more, and snapped his rifle into position, gunning down two more Windams before pulling back and bringing his shield into position to protect the Impulse once more.

As Shinn and Suiren battled in skies overhead, other Windams and naval ships continued the assault on the _Minerva_. A wing of Alliance mobile suits swooped down on the warship, firing on the warship as its CIWS guns and mobile suits fired back. Two Windams were taken out before they could fire, but the other three managed to land successful hits on the _Minerva_, damaging its hull. Jessie destroyed the third one with a shot to the torso while a fourth was torn apart by a hail of bullets from two CIWS guns, a large chunk of its ruined body colliding with the _Minerva_. The final machine raced past the ZAFT warship, but was struck down from behind by Luna.

A pair of _Des Moines_-class cruisers advanced towards the _Minerva_'s portside, firing their cannons and missiles at the ship. Rey turned and fired at their attackers. The first shot of his cannon pierced the forward magazine of the first cruiser, causing it to explode, tearing the ship in two. Rey's second and third shots hit the other cruiser's forward cannon and bridge, disabling the vessel. But both ships had managed to launch a spread of missiles and fired off a few shells before Rey took them out. Though the combined fire of the CIWS and the GuAIZ and GuAIZ Rs destroyed a fair amount of the missiles, there was just too many. Small explosions blossomed across the _Minerva_'s hull as the missiles and shells hit their targets. The five mobile suits on top of the _Minerva_ braced themselves as the ship shook from the impacts.

"_Damn…_" swore Jessie. "_Hey, not to be rude, but we're not going to last five minutes without some air support over here!_"

"You won't last five minutes if half these Windams get a shot at the _Minerva_," retorted Suiren. "They must really want these machines brought down… listen, trust me on this, we just need to hold out a few minutes. Even if we're sunk, though, so long as Carpentaria is recaptured, we've won."

"_We __**won't**__ be sunk!_" said Shinn angrily.

"Don't lose your cool Shinn!" barked Suiren. "That's the reality of war! You won't win, nor will you survive, every single battle!"

As though to accentuate her point, Suiren snapped all four of the Rose's cannons into place and let loose with a repeated barrage that pushed back, damaged or destroyed at least a dozen Windams.

"Remember, we're overwhelmingly outnumbered," said Suiren. "Each of us must become as an army unto ourselves if we wish to survive."

As Suiren spoke, she pulled down her left shield, blocking several of the Windams shots before raising the shield and firing with her rifle, taking down two of her assailants.

_Something's wrong here…_ thought Suiren._ Why are they focusing on swarm tactics? That's a recipe for disaster, even with overwhelming numbers. What kind of commander tries to take down an enemy by piling bodies on them? Or is there something else going on here?_

As Suiren pondered and continued to fight, nearby, Shinn fired his rifle, taking out two Windams and destroying the Jet Striker of a third before bringing his shield back up to block. He and Suiren had each gotten at least a dozen machines apiece, but there were still many, many more mobile suits coming at them.

Shinn swore as he fought off a pair of Windams. "They just don't stop coming!"

"_I know,_" replied Suiren grimly. "_Just hold on. Use your head, trust your instincts, and pray for a miracle._"

* * *

Orb _Aegis_-Class Battleship, _Kobayashi_

Captain Todaka and his officers watched the battle between the _Minerva_ and the Earth Forces from the edge of Orb waters. All of them wished to help the _Minerva_, but their orders were clear. Unless any of them entered Orb territory, they couldn't take any action.

"They want us to side with the army that invaded us and to leave the ship that fought heroically to save Earth to face of an overwhelming foe," said the Captain bitterly. "I believe the appropriate word here is 'ungrateful'."

Many of his fellow officers nodded their heads in agreement. Like it or not, there was nothing they could do for the _Minerva_.

Suddenly, the radar officer's console began to blink.

"C-Captain!"

* * *

Orb Border

The crew and pilots of the _Minerva_ were fighting valiantly, but they were badly outnumbered. The ZAFT warship had taken a pounding: its hull was breached in numerous places, five of its CIWS turrets had been destroyed or damaged and a massive plume of smoke was rising from the damaged ship.

In the skies above, Shinn roared as he raced through a formation of Windams, running his beam saber through as many of them as he could, but the numbers were lower than he wanted, as he was forced to evade retaliatory strikes.

Nearby, Suiren was proving far more effective, dodging and blocking the attacks of her enemies and retaliating with the rifle in her left hand and Tempest sword in her right. A Windam tried sneaking up behind her, but the Orca cannons suddenly popped partially out from the Rose's wings, still pointing backwards, and fired. The cannons immediately settled back into place as Suiren charged towards another approaching formation of Windams. Some were shot down with her rifle and cannons, while others were sliced apart with her sword, and the wreckage of Alliance mobile suits fell to the waters below.

Aleksi grit her teeth as she fired repeatedly with her rifle. She could've shot down many more missiles and other targets by now, but the single rifle of her GuAIZ just wasn't up to the task—her gifts were more suited to the handling of multiple weapons at once, and while she possessed deadly accuracy with her rifle, a single weapon could only fire so fast.

Aboard the _Minerva_, Bart gasped suddenly. "Captain! There are Orb mobile suits approaching from Onogoro at high speed!"

"What?"

At that instant, a barrage of beams, missiles and solid projectiles shot out from the edge of Orb Territorial Waters and crashed into a trio of Windam formations, destroying a good chunk of the mobile suits. Everyone gasped in surprise, and spun towards the source of the assault.

What they saw were eight different mobile suits approaching at high speed, half of them familiar to all, the remaining half familiar only to the crew of the _Minerva_.

"Spread out," ordered Makoto. "Do not allow any more harm to come to the _Minerva_."

"_Yes ma'am!_"

The eight mobile suits broke apart, scattering towards their own areas of the battlefield. Flay detached the Raven Striker from her machine's back and landed on it, employing it as a subflight lifter as she advanced on the enemy, rifle, shield cannons, and Raven Striker cannons blazing. As the enemy returned fire, Flay began to tumble left and right, before suddenly leaping off the lifter as she approached the enemy forces.

The Alliance pilots were caught completely off-guard, and Flay took advantage of it, activating the Raven Striker's Ahura Mazda to slice apart several machines while firing on them with her shield cannon and rifle from below. The Raven Striker spun around, and Flay fired the Strike Raven's thrusters, reorienting her machine as the backpack reattached itself.

Drawing a beam saber, the redhead charged back into the fray.

Nearby, the silver-white and midnight blue M3 Guardian of Elizabeth Dante let loose a ferocious barrage, the beams of its impulse cannons destroying two Windams while the beams from its guns pierced a third. Four grenades crashed into four more Windams, and a trio fell victim to the Guardian's machine cannons, their armor shredded and cockpits pierced. Although the machines didn't explode, all three pilots were killed, and the three mobile suits fell from the sky.

"Ahh!" cried Asagi, rushing forward with the powerful beam ōdachi of her M4 held in hand, the large sword slicing easily through the shields of the Windams. There was a certain amount of satisfaction to be had in this battle for Asagi, who'd lost her closest friends—Juri and Mayura—to Alliance pilots during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. The Earth Forces had caused no end of grief for Asagi, and she was hardly going to miss out on the satisfaction of causing them some measure of hell.

A Windam dodged a swing by Asagi, pulling back slightly, and raised its rifle at the seemingly vulnerable back of the M4. The blonde responded by raising the M4's braid into the air, pointing it at the Alliance mobile suit, and firing a series of beam chakrams into the white and blue machine, destroying it. Asagi spun around and, seeing a pair of Windams practically on top of her with beam sabers drawn, fired the chest-mounted scattering beam cannon, obliterating both enemy machines.

"Hehehehe…" chuckled Shani in satisfaction as he fired the Hresvelgr. The plasma beam immediately began spiraling forward, catching one mobile suit after another. Most only took minor damage, but some were caught head-on and destroyed. "I've gotta admit, there's a lot of satisfaction to be had in all this."

The Forbidden's railguns blazed, the two hyper-velocity rounds each tearing through several machines and still continuing to fly strong, before Shani turned the Eckzahn on an Earth Forces warship. He fired, and the rounds tore through the thick hull plating of the _Des Moines_ cruiser like tissue paper.

"Heh, payback time," said Clotho, smirking as the MX1 leapt off the Raider, allowing him to cut apart a Windam with the Ahura Mazda before shifting the Raider to mobile suit mode and swinging the Mjollnir straight into an _Arkansas_-class cruiser, crushing it almost completely under the weight of the powerful spherical breaker. A squad of Windams opened fire on the Raider, but Clotho pulled the Mjollnir up and started swinging it wildly in front of him, the anti-beam coating catching and deflecting the incoming shots. The shield might be crude, but it was undeniably effective.

Meanwhile, Tolle activated the hoverjet thrusters built into the Heavy-Arms Striker, floating along just above the surface of the water as he leveled the Athena's entire arsenal and opened up on a squad of Windams that were foolish enough to try and close with the MX1. Missiles streaked towards the _Minerva_, but Tolle quickly spun about and fired his hand-held double gatling and the weapons built into the Taihō, gunning down a large chunk of the missiles. The ZAFT forces easily dealt with those that he didn't hit.

"You… how dare you continue to pull stunts like this!" said Louisa, gunning down several Windams with a barrage of missiles before shooting down two more in rapid succession with the Skorpion cannon. A formation of Windams, wisely keeping their distance from the Twilight, opened fire. Louisa spread the wings of her black mobile suit and activated the burst thrusters, propelling the Gundam forward at incredible speeds as the pink-haired pilot took hold of her beam staff and activated it.

The Twilight flashed past the Earth Forces mobile suits, several exploding behind it. Before the stunned pilots could react, Louisa spun about and fired a missile barrage, wiping out almost all the survivors of her initial assault. One that escaped accidentally flew past her and was cut down by her beam staff. Another flew upwards, but became a victim of the Skorpion.

Two escaped the explosions to the left, three more to the right. Louisa fired off both Drache Schild, activated the built-in beam blades, which cut through three of the suits before the claws crashed into the final two. Fire lit the sky, and the ammo and propellant stores of Louisa's victims ignited, destroying them.

The Sincerity, meanwhile, quite literally danced through enemy fire with the utmost ease, and seemingly returned fire blindly with one of the rifles from its hips. But each shot was marked by an explosion, taking out another enemy.

"What are you doing here?" asked Suiren as she gunned down several Windams.

"_Perhaps the Seirans are ungrateful and ready to sell you out, but the rest of us remember your actions to protect the Earth,_" came the reply from the Sincerity's pilot. "_This is our thanks. Just don't expect us to make it a habit._"

"Heh."

"Amazing…" whispered Luna, watching in awe as the eight mobile suits of the Taiyonoha Fleet swiftly turned the tide of the battle.

* * *

Orb Military Headquarters

"What?!" exclaimed Yuna in shock, staring at the eight new combatants. "Why is the Taiyonoha Fleet aiding that ship?!"

The officers shared glances behind Yuna's back. Was the Seiran really that surprised? They'd certainly expected something like this, and would've gladly done the same.

"I believe out of gratitude for breaking up Junius Seven," interjected a voice suddenly. Everyone spun around to see Lady Serenity approaching them. Yuna scowled.

"Do you realize the danger your actions are placing Orb in?!" demanded Yuna. "Orb forces, fighting against the nation we intend to ally with?!"

"The Taiyonoha Fleet is no longer part of Orb," said Serenity pointedly, staring down at Yuna. "So, I don't see the problem. Certainly, we no longer represent the interests of Orb. That task lies with the Seirans, doesn't it? Unless, of course, you've made claims to the contrary."

Yuna snapped his mouth shut immediately. Serenity eyed him for a moment before turning to leave.

"Seiran," she said, her voice coming out with a slight growl that caught everyone off-guard. "I've seen the way you and your father look at my daughter. Bark all you want about not knowing what she is, I can see that hatred and disgust in your eyes. In my opinion, you and your entire house are little more than Blue Cosmos dogs."

With her opinion finally voiced, Serenity stepped out of the command center, leaving a shocked and sputtering Yuna behind.

* * *

Earth Alliance _Spengler_-Class Carrier _Powell_

Captain Oswald glared at the eight Taiyonoha mobile suits. He remembered a time when three of them had flown from his ship to destroy Orb. Now, those mobile suits were used by the Taiyonoha against them.

It infuriated Oswald, because he knew that all the Taiyonohas current military strength was stolen from the Alliance. Never mind the fact that the Alliance never would've gotten anywhere without Morgenroete's aid, in Oswald's mind, that aid had been owed to the Alliance.

"Sir, the _Walker_ is reporting that they're being pushed back the ZAFT forces," reported the comm. officer.

"The _Olympus_ has been sunk by the enemy," reported the sensor officer.

Oswald scowled. "Those incompetent idiots!" He turned to one of his subordinates. "Deploy the Zamza-Zahs. We'll crush that ship _and_ those disgusting Orb machines with them, then head back and crush the ZAFT forces at Carpentaria."

"Aye sir," replied the officer, moving to carry out his order.

"People always go on about mobile suits and how great they are. But we proved them wrong at Carpentaria," commented Oswald, an arrogant smirk forming on his face as he stared at the enemy mobile suits. "It's the next-generation mobile armors like the Zamza-Zah that are the future of our forces."

Hatches on the forward decks of the _Powell_, the _Clayton_ and the _Robinson_ opened. Lifts rose up from each, revealing a trio of large crab-like mobile armors: the O.M.N.I. Enforcer's new Zamza-Zahs. They rose up, leaving their carriers and heading for the _Minerva_.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Captain! Large unknown objects approaching!" Burt called out.

"Do you have it on visual?" asked Talia.

"Yes, ma'am. Bringing it up now."

The large mobile armors appeared on the main screen. Talia grit her teeth. A new unit, something undoubtedly powerful. They had to take it out before it reached them. Ordinarily, she'd have ordered the Tannhauser prepared, but somehow, she knew that would be a mistake that would likely prompt the mobile suits from the Taiyonoha Fleet to leave them hanging.

In the Sincerity, Makoto's attention was quickly drawn to the new arrivals.

"Are these the new mobile armors intelligence was reporting on?" she questioned herself. "Damn."

"Arthur," said Talia. "Ready the Tristans. I want both of them trained on those things.

"Yes Captain."

As the _Minerva_'s Tristans took aim at two of the Zamza-Zahs, the Sincerity shifted to face the Rose.

"Any ideas on what to do about those things?" she asked.

"_They're mobile armors,_" said Suiren. "_Though I admit, I've never seen any like this. For now, assume they're more powerful versions of the Moebius._"

"That might be a mistake," whispered Makoto as the Tristans fired. The targeted Zamza-Zahs shifted position, raising their backside up and making them larger targets as the tips of their three fins started to glow.

Both Tristans fired as energy shields formed in front of the two Zamza-Zahs while the third took off into the air. The beams slammed into the energy shields, pushing both mobile armors back, the edges catching several ships and inflicting some damage to them.

But as the beams dissipated, the Zamza-Zahs dropped their shields, revealing that both mobile armors had survived the assault without so much as a scratch to the finish. The two mobile armors immediately flew straight back towards the ship.

"No way!" said Shinn. "How the hell did those things go through that unscathed?!"

"_Shinn, look out!_"

Shinn spun around, and was shocked to see the third Zamza-Zah in the air right in front of him, claws spread and glowing red from their own vibration-generated heat. One claw flew straight for the Impulse, faster than Shinn could react, but a whip-like object flew out from behind the Zamza-Zah and corded itself around the claw, pulling it away from the Impulse as the blue eyes of the Sincerity flashed menacingly.

"_I've pierced tougher shields than that thing has…_" growled the Sincerity's pilot. Several people glanced at the winged mobile suit in confusion. "_This shield will be no different._"

"Lady Setsuna?" questioned Shinn, shocked by her words and tone.

"_There is no absolute defense,_" she said as the Zamza-Zah was released from the heat rod, which retracted back into the Sincerity's shield. "_There is no barrier that cannot be pierced by the power of the Seven Swords!_"

No sooner had the words been spoken than the Sincerity surged forward at unbelievable speed, and Shinn almost thought it was using boosters like those of the Specter.

The Zamza-Zah fired its weapons at the Sincerity, but Setsuna evaded them in a manner that was clearly mocking. The Sincerity fired its rifle on the Zamza-Zah, only for the energy shield to form and protect the body of the mobile suit.

But it was evident this was exactly what Setsuna had wanted, as the Sincerity drove straight in, its rifle snapping up into a sword.

"_Lady Setsuna!_" cried two voices as the M3 Guardian and the Twilight flew towards the Zamza-Zah.

"_Elizabeth, Louisa, stay out of this,_" said Setsuna calmly. "_This won't take long._"

"Care to share some of that confidence with us?!" asked Shinn, dodging fire from the second Zamza-Zah. He returned fire with his beam rifle, but like Setsuna, he had no luck piercing the shield.

"_Shinn, don't panic,_" said Suiren as she fired an ineffective barrage at the final mobile armor. "_Keep a careful eye on that thing. We'll leave the defense of the ship to the others. Look for any weak point you can find, and exploit every opening you see._"

Shinn took a breath, reasserting everything Suiren told him.

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Orb Military Headquarters

"Amazing…" said Yuna as they watched the battle play out. "To be able to take those assaults on with such ease. Looks like the Taiyonoha made a mistake."

The ZAFT ship, its mobile suits and the Taiyonoha reinforcements were putting up a heroic, but ultimately futile fight against the Alliance. Yuna felt distinctly smug, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the numbers of the Earth Forces would overwhelm and destroy them, and in the process, the Taiyonoha would be hurt and reeling, allowing the Seirans and Blue Cosmos to eliminate them, once and for all.

"What's going on here?" demanded a voice. Yuna turned to see Cagalli entering the room.

He nodded to her in greeting. "Cagalli."

Cagalli stared at the screens displaying the battle raging just outside Orb waters for a moment. "Yuna, what's the meaning of this?" she asked. "Are the _Minerva_ and Taiyonoha battling the Earth Forces?"

"Yes, that's correct," answered Yuna. "They're right outside our border. The Taiyonoha seem to care little for the implications of their actions."

"They're facing such a huge fleet…"

"There's nothing to worry about Cagalli. We have a fleet sitting at our border just in case any of them try to cross into Orb territory. Though it's unlikely that will happen," replied Yuna nonchalantly. "But if it does, we'll be ready to stop them."

Cagalli's hand clenched into a fist. She wanted so badly to punch Yuna right now. The _Minerva_ would have nowhere to run at this rate.

Still, she managed to calm herself, reminding herself that the Taiyonoha Fleet had come to the _Minerva_'s aid—and that was more than enough. However…

"Understood," she said. "Do we have any idea how it is that the Alliance managed to get their fleet here with such perfect timing?"

"It wouldn't take a genius to figure out where they were," replied Yuna. "They've probably been waiting. There's really only one practical course for the ship to leave our territory on."

"It would be foolish to have such a large force sitting around waiting for this specifically," countered Cagalli. "Why weren't we aware of it sooner? And they can't have guessed the timing based on the attack—if they had, they would've reinforced their captured bases, not sent a fleet out to deal with one ship."

Yuna barely restrained himself from slipping up. Cagalli was certain that was the case, but there was no evidence. Knowing that the _Minerva_ would be fine—after all, the only one who could ever even hope to defeat Makoto was Kira—the blonde somehow felt at least mildly smug about the position she'd just managed to put Yuna in.

* * *

Outside Orb Territorial Waters

Makoto evaded fire from all directions and several barrages from the Zamza-Zah with little effort. These pilots were far from the best she'd faced, the mobile armor emphasized power over grace, and the Sincerity was, as she'd stated previously, more than just a mobile suit.

It was a Gundam. The mother of a generation of machines like none seen before.

The Sincerity used the same VPS armor as the new ZAFT Gundams, but its frame was of an entirely new design that maximized mobility to the extreme—in fact, the sheer agility of the Sincerity was comparable to the Freedom's HiMAT mode.

Beyond that, the Sincerity offered Makoto an unprecedented level of battlefield awareness. Unlike a standard cockpit, composed of several large monitors and various controls, the cockpit of the Sincerity was a more open sphere, a large panoramic monitor that showed the entire battlefield around the Sincerity, and all the controls were integrated into the pilot seat.

Perhaps most significantly was the Deuterion Drive System. Perhaps the most critical technology yet developed, it was a self-sufficient powerplant that, theoretically, provided a virtually unlimited operating time, not entirely dissimilar to what one could expect from a nuclear-powered mobile suit like the Freedom. This system was also the basis for the emergency Hyperion System… not that Makoto would need to reveal that technology to deal with a foe as pathetic as this mobile armor.

At near point-blank range, the Zamza-Zah fired off a desperate barrage at the Sincerity, one that no pilot could ever hope to dodge—except that, moving in a way no mobile suit possibly could, the Sincerity twisted through the barrage.

"It's over," said Makoto calmly. The sword in the Sincerity's hand was suddenly engulfed in light, an extremely long beam saber consuming it, and with complete confidence, Makoto brought the beam blade down.

To everyone's utter astonishment, the positron reflector didn't even slow the beam saber down, and the blade cleaved straight through the center of the mobile armor like a hot knife through soft butter. Everyone stared, wide-eyed, as the two pieces of the Zamza-Zah fell towards the ocean before exploding.

"N-no way," whispered Arthur. "How…?"

On the _Powell_, Oswald was just as wide-eyed. That was impossible!

In the cockpit of the Rose, Suiren's mind—even more advanced and powerful than ordinary Coordinators—ran over the possibilities and the explanations, soon arriving at a glaringly simple solution.

"Shinn, use your beam saber!" ordered Suiren. "The blade's focus will break through the shield!" Following her own advice, Suiren raised her Tempest sword and flew straight towards the mobile armor she was fighting. That was when she realized that Shinn wasn't listening.

Shinn, awed by what Setsuna had done, allowed himself to become distracted. That was when it all went to hell for him.

"_Shinn, look out!_" cried Lunamaria.

Unfortunately, it was too late as the claw of the Zamza-Zah grabbed hold of the Impulse's ankle and squeezed. The VPS armor held out for a few short seconds, but the Impulse's battery quickly dropped to zero. The armor fell, and the Impulse's ankle shattered under the pressure, the mobile suit falling towards the ocean.

Shinn mentally berated himself, and images flashed through his mind as he fell. The death of his family, the battles at Armory One and the Debris Field, the events of Break the World and finally visiting the memorial at Orb.

_I won't… I won't let it end like this!_

Within Shinn's mind, a ruby red seed spun and shattered. The Zamza-Zah aimed all four of its leg cannons at the falling Impulse and fired. Shinn pushed the Impulse's thrusters to the max, pulling away from the beams.

"_Minerva_, fire the Deuterion Beam and prepare to launch the Leg Flyer and Sword Silhouette," he said as he raced towards the _Minerva_.

"_Roger,_" replied Meyrin as the Impulse neared the ship. "_Deuterion Chamber, standby. Targeting and tracking systems have locked onto the Impulse. Deuterion Beam activate!_"

The Sincerity had ceased fighting entirely, and instead, Makoto focused her attention on the Impulse.

_So he's awakened the SEED_, she thought to herself. _But this is…_

The _Minerva_'s Deuterion Beam Emitter fired as the Impulse stopped before the ship. The beam shot out, hitting the crest on the Impulse's forehead. The mobile suit's power level sharply rose until it was fully replenished. The Impulse's VPS armor reactivated. Shinn drew one of his beam sabers and raced towards the Zamza-Zah. The mobile armor fired one of its leg cannons, but Shinn blocked it with his shield. The shield was obliterated, but the rest of the mobile suit was spared. Before the Zamza-Zah's pilot and gunners could react, Shinn drove his saber into the mobile armor's cockpit. Explosions tore through the front of the Zamza-Zah, and the dying mobile armor fell into the sea and exploded.

"Launch the Silhouette!" ordered Shinn.

Meanwhile, Suiren dodged under the shots of the final Zamza-Zah's cannons, spinning about and cutting one free with her sword. The mobile armor lashed out with a claw, but Suiren spun away.

"You can't win!" she said. Sword and rifle were tossed into the air as beam sabers shot from the Rose's knees, spinning in the air before Suiren snatched them up. Both beam sabers activated, Suiren bumping them up to high power, creating long blades. Suiren flew forward, arms crossed, then pulled the arms apart, quartering the Zamza-Zah and completely shattering the Alliance's last hope for victory in this battle.

A moment later, the _Minerva_ had launched both a spare Leg Flyer and the Sword Silhouette. Shinn detached the Impulse's Force Silhouette and damaged legs and then attached the second Leg Flyer and Sword Silhouette.

But Shinn didn't stop there. He headed for the Alliance fleet, destroying any Windams that crossed his path with ease, not even recognizing that his own recklessness would've been his undoing had the pilots not been broken by fear at the loss of their mobile armors. He landed on forward deck of a _Des Moines_-class and ran his swords through the ship's hull, main cannon and bridge before jumping to another ship, an _Arkansas_-class. He sliced into the ship's forward missile batteries, detonating the missiles inside the batteries. Explosions tore through the ship's forward hull. But again, Shinn didn't stick around. He leaped to another ship and started all over again.

However, after the next ship, a beam cut off Shinn's path. He looked up in shock to see the Sincerity blocking his path.

"_Control yourself, Asuka,_" growled Setsuna.

"They're the enemy!" shouted Shinn.

"_Shinn, they're retreating!_" came Suiren's voice. "_Stand down! Any more killing today would be meaningless!_"

Shinn bit back his desire to argue. If they allowed the fleet to escape, then they'd just be allowing the enemy to come back with them! If they destroyed them all here, the Alliance wouldn't be able to use them in another battle!

"_Lady Setsuna, some of the Alliance ships are still fighting,_" said Flay.

"_The __**Powell**__?_"

"_Yes._"

Shinn growled in annoyance. He turned to face the ships that were continuing the futile attack.

He turned just in time to see the nine ships devastated by a quadruple attack from the Athena, Forbidden, Raider and Twilight.

"_Run,_" came the voice of the Twilight's pilot. "_You'll live longer._"

The surviving Earth Forces soldiers didn't need to be told twice.

"_Everyone, return to base,_" ordered Setsuna. As the other seven Orb mobile suits retreated, the Sincerity turned to face the Rose. No one else would hear the words that passed between the two commanders.

"Watch out for him," said Makoto. "He's a loose cannon and a bearer of the SEED. It's a dangerous combination."

"_I know,_" said Suiren. "_I'll keep an eye out for him. Good luck, with whatever it is you plan for the future__…__ Lady Makoto._"

Makoto's eyes widened, the only sign of her shock as the Sincerity turned back to Orb and flew away. The Rose turned to face the Impulse as Shinn returned to the _Minerva_.

_That level of raw emotion…_ she thought. _I haven't felt that in a long time. Not since him…_

* * *

Carpentaria

A few hours later

It had been long and bloody, but ZAFT had won the battle. The Earth Alliance Forces had been routed and forced to retreat, and Carpentaria was once again under ZAFT control. Many of the ZAFT forces were already starting repair operations on the base as well as repairing and resupplying their mobile suits in case of a retaliatory strike.

Nicol lifted a bottle of water to his lips and downed the contents in a single gulp.

"Man… It's been a long since I've been to Earth. Not since the last war. Of course, it takes another war to get me down here again," mused Saul as he drank his own water bottle. "I should really try visit when things aren't so messy."

"Same here," replied Shiho, staring out at the ocean. "I've been meaning to visit Orb for months now. But just as I finally thought I was gonna get the chance, all of this happened."

"Well, let's hope we don't see Orb anytime soon," said Nicol. "The last time we were there, it was burning."

Saul nodded. "Yeah. That's something I don't want to see again."

"It was bad, even from miles away," said Shiho in agreement, pulling herself to her feet and looking out to an object she'd spotted a moment before. "I think our next assignment is pulling in now."

Nicol and Saul also glanced out at sea, spotting the object of Shiho's focus. The _Minerva_ was approaching the base, and it looked like it had gone through one hell of a battle, but it had made it to Carpentaria.

"It looks impressive," said Nicol as the three war veterans stared out at this ship. "But it's no _Archangel_."

"It never will be," said Saul.

* * *

Gibraltar

Like Carpentaria, ZAFT's attack on their stolen base in the Atlantic had succeeded, driving the Earth Alliance Forces from the base and now the cleanup and repair efforts were starting. Within a week, Gibraltar would be functional again. However, it would be longer until it was up to its original status.

Harr climbed down from his ZAKU and pulled off his helmet, letting the cool night air brush across his sweat soaked face and revealing his slicked back dirty blond hair and gray eyes.

"Whew… Feel that nice evening breeze," said Heine as he approached Harr. "The artificial climate of the PLANTs just doesn't do it justice."

Harr grinned and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're first time on Earth?"

"Yeah," admitted Harr.

"Same here. While I fought in the later months of the last war, it was all in space," commented Heine. "Though the Commander did fight on Earth during the war."

Harr glanced down Gibraltar's main runway. Lying at the end of the runway was the burning remains of the Zamza-Zah. Standing before it was the red ZAKU Phantom of their commander. It amazed Harr that the Commander had managed to take that thing down by himself. "What do you know about the Commander?"

"Not much. He doesn't like to talk about himself so it's next to impossible to learn anything about him," replied the Redcoat. "They say he was an ace in the last war and fought at Jachin Due. But I also heard that the war changed him, that he couldn't find peace after the war ended and for time, traveled across the PLANTs, the Moon and Earth."

"Why?"

Heine shrugged. "Don't know and he's never said why."

"My past is of no concern to you," came the voice of the Commander, startling the two.

Harr and Heine turned to their commanding officer, clad in his red and black pilot suit, the FAITH emblem standing out against the darker colors.

"Sorry sir, but you were amazing back there. I didn't think a single ZAKU could defeat that big monster," said Harr.

"Battles aren't won on the strength of a mobile suit alone. A weak pilot is a weak pilot even in the strongest of mobile suits and a strong pilot is still a strong pilot in a weak mobile suit," replied the Commander. "That machine was powerful but the pilot was unskilled. Barely a challenge for a warrior like myself." He turned to Heine. "I assume the command center has been retaken."

Heine nodded.

"Good. I'll be there. See to it that our machines are resupplied. I don't want to take any chances," said the Commander, walking away from the pair.

Once the Commander was beyond hearing range, Harr asked, "Is he always like that?"

"Pretty much," answered Heine casually. "He takes all that warrior stuff very seriously. If you want to know anymore, pray for the chance to meet our old commander. She's the only one who knows any real details on him."

* * *

Aprilius One

Athrun zipped up the Redcoat of his uniform and buttoned up the front of his collar. Meer smiled and clapped as Chairman Durandal approached him with a small case in his hands.

"Here. Take this," said the Chairman.

Inside the case was a FAITH emblem. Athrun was stunned. "That's a…"

"Yes. I don't want to be placed within the normal chain of command and I'm sure that it would be troublesome for you as well," explained Durandal. "Making you a member of FAITH will make things more convenient for both of us. Although the members of FAITH are supposed to pledge their allegiance solely to the Chairman, you can just pledge your allegiance to your beliefs and convictions."

Athrun was at a loss for words. "Chairman Durandal, I…"

"You're a person who can follow what you believe, never wavering, and fight when necessary."

But Athrun wasn't quite so sure of that. "I'd like to believe that is true, Chairman…"

"You can. Please, use that power to do what you believe is right," said the Chairman, trying to reassure him. "Use it to bring about peace. Not just for the PLANTs and ZAFT, but for a world where humanity can live as one."

Athrun took the FAITH emblem and pinned to his chest. "Sir."

Durandal smiled briefly. "I'm sure that you're worried about Orb and the position they'll take, but right now I need you to join the _Minerva_," he said. "I have high hopes for that ship. I have the feeling that it could play the same role that _Archangel_ did in the previous war. I want you to help them achieve greatness.

* * *

Djibril's Bunker

To say that Djibril was angry after learning that both Gibraltar and Carpentaria had been recaptured would be an understatement. He was furious. Everything had been going so well. ZAFT had been on the ropes, only few more blows and they would have been finished. But somehow, they had managed to turn things around. ZAFT's new warship, the _Minerva_ according to his spies, and its mobile suits, with the aid of the Taiyonoha Fleet, had managed to rout the fleet he had sent to destroy them, and destroyed the Zamza-Zahs while ZAFT forces had managed to retake Carpentaria. But what was truly gulling was what happened at Gibraltar. A _single_ ZAKU had destroyed the Zamza-Zah at Gibraltar! It was impossible! The Zamza-Zah was one of the most advanced weapons they had developed. A lone ZAKU shouldn't have been able to destroy it!

Djibril slammed his fist on his console in frustration before calling one of his assistants. "Get me Captain Roanoke. _Now!_"

* * *

Carpentaria

Later that night

Diana Kessel strolled through Carpentaria's command center, only a skeleton crew of trusted officers with her, manning the command center. The Alliance had already shipped the base's surviving personnel to POW camps by the time of their attack, so at the moment, she, as the senior officer on the base, was in charge until ZAFT sent a new commander for the base, though her current responsibilities were little more than making sure the base stayed in ZAFT hands and to oversee the start of the clean up and repair operations.

"Ma'am, we're receiving a coded transmission from the Terminal," said the man operating the comm. station.

Diana turned to the man, motioning for him to leave the console. "Secure the room. I do not want any unwanted guests showing up," she ordered, taking the man's seat. "This is Diana."

"_It's good to here from you, my former student,_" came the reply.

Diana instantly stiffened upon hearing the voice. "Sir."

"_At ease, Diana. I can hear you saluting all the way from Orb,_" John replied with a slight chuckle. "_Anyways, I thought you could use an update._" John's voice turned serious instantly. "_We're going all the way through with it. The Winter Contingency has been initiated._" Diana suppressed a gasp.

The Winter Contingency wasn't an official name—it was part of the code between her and John put in place for ease of communication and hiding things that could be overheard and give away too much.

"Already?" whispered Diana. "I would have thought Miss Clyne would have waited awhile longer to see how things play out first."

"_She wanted to, but she trusts Kira and Makoto's 'visions' implicitly, and they're the ones in charge of that area,_" said John. "_And when she saw the fake Lacus that Chairman Durandal has, any reservations she had came crumbling down. Needless to say, we wished to be prepared for whatever he or the Alliance is planning. Therefore, every project, from the Last Archangel all the way to the Angels of Divinity, have been accelerated._"

"That's a lot of projects for them to be working on."

"_Especially when one considers the technology of the Sincerity—sorry, the X01, that they'll be using, to say nothi—damn!_"

"Sir?"

"_Can't talk now. Intruders._"

* * *

**Author's Notes: While there are plenty of changes to the first section, the _Minerva_ battle, pretty much everything after that is just a partially edited version of Akatsuki Leader13's corresponding chapter.**

**Anyways, I will (hopefully) be getting back to updating this more regularly. I've kind of been all over the place lately, in more respects than one, felt the need to catch-up on my Naruto fics a little, and as previously mentioned, I had a hard time getting the battle _just_ right.**

**Some of you may feel that Makoto was performing a little too well there—the reason is simply a matter of the Earth Forces being overconfident in the Zamza-Zah and their own abilities. Essentially, they got an ego boost when they managed to take Carpentaria, and they were overconfident going in, such that they didn't fight nearly as well as they otherwise would have.**

**As far as Shinn's rampage being stopped, I just felt that was very much in-character for both Makoto and Suiren. Neither of them would really have stood for the needless slaughter Shinn was about to unleash. He got several ships, but ultimately, he was forced to stand down by the two, both of whom are now weary of his lack of control and overemotional outbursts.**

**And Suiren knows Makoto's true identity? This spells a lot of possibilities for the future… ^_^**

**Finally, yes, the Black Box AI has evolved to the point of complete consciousness. Faith has primarily been held in the computer systems of the Taiyonoha Manor, with the ability to easily communicate with, and even transfer to, the Morgenroete Computers. She can also be transferred into the Sincerity to increase the mobile suit's performance as it is tested in real combat for the first time. Fun.**

**Anyways, I think that's enough yapping from me, so let's wrap this up by saying that next chapter will be fun****…**** for me. ^_^  
**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!**

* * *

_**Blood in the Water**_** Mecha Page**

_"The Sincerity is a technological revolution. It's not just a mobile suit. Sincerity's a Gundam. The first in a new generation of Knights and Angels in the service of the White Queen."_ – Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha.**  
Sincerity Gundam:**  
Description:  
Serving as a test bed for a number of new systems, the Sincerity Gundam was designed by the Orb Noble Princess Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha for her personal use. Following the general theme of the mobile suits of her cousin, Makoto Michiru Arata, Setsuna designed the Sincerity with close combat in mind, arming it with the now-famous Seven Swords layout. In addition, the mobile suit tests a number of systems for radically enhanced mobility and speed, and enhanced situational awareness through a revolutionary linear seat and panoramic cockpit display for a full view of the entire battlefield. Most importantly, it tests an experimental power plant that could, theoretically, grant it unlimited operating time.

**Model Number:** MAF-X01**  
Code Name:** Sincerity**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Seven Swords Operations Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.09 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 63.49 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Seven Swords Control System; Faith AI System; 2 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x Type 90K Sword Rifle, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, can be combined, can generate long beam saber; 2x Type 73E Beam Saber, stored on wing binders, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 2x Type 73T Beam Dagger, stored on rear waist, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 81V Beam Machine Cannon, fire-linked, mounted in torso; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Type 81S Offensive Shield, mounts retractable VPS Heat Rod, mounted on left arm;**  
Optional Fixed Armament:** Type 83 Kai "Murakumo" Sword Rifle**  
Pilot:** Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha (Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha**)  
Appearance:** The Sincerity looks virtually identical to the Freedom, but its wings don't separate into a HiMAT mode. The shield is like that of the Tallgeese III from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. The head looks similar to that of the 00 Gundam.  
**Color:** Silver, with a black torso, black wings, blue trimming, white joints, grey hands, and blue eyes. The swords and heat rod are normally gray-black, but the swords turn silver and the heat rod turns white when the VPS is active.**  
Notes:** I continue with Makoto's "tradition" of a melee fighting style. The Sincerity uses a weapons layout much closer to that of the Gundam Exia that inspired the Dauntless, with two beam saber, two beam daggers and three physical blades, though I do make some clear changes. I also gave it the Universal Century's familiar panoramic cockpit and linear seat, along with the "moveable frame" of the Gundam Mk II from Zeta Gundam. The "Deuterion Drive System" uses ZAFT's Deuterion Beam technology. Essentially, it consists of three batteries: the main battery, and then a pair of smaller auxiliary batteries. The auxiliary batteries are recharged by the movements of the frame (I shouldn't have to explain how that works, we use the basic concept in modern day electricity), as well as by drawing in excess heat, all of which is transferred into the main battery. It also possesses a feature called the "Hyperion System Mode", but no explanation is given for that at this time.

_"My crimes are great, and I can never reclaim my lost innocence. That's what drove me to this. For Orb, I will lay down my life. For Orb, and for her."_ – Louisa Kohls.**  
Twilight Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Twilight Gundam is one of seven Earth Alliance prototypes deployed in the invasion of the Orb Union and one of three that would later defect to the Three Ships Alliance during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Due to the restrictions of the Junius Treaty on Mirage Colloid technology, the Twilight's original Mirage Colloid scattering wings were removed and replaced by powerful high-speed burst wings based on those of the Faith Gundam. Furthermore, the Twilight's weapons have been updated, improving both firepower and close combat potential. The Twilight retains its original pilot, Louisa Kohls.

**Model Number:** GAT-X264**  
Code Name:** Twilight**  
Unit Type:** Prototype General Purpose Close Combat Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation); Orb Union**  
First Deployment:** 15 June C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.88 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 76.59 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Trans-Phase (TP) Armor; High-Speed Burst Thruster Wing Array;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x "Okure" Railgun, folded underneath hips, spread out in use; 2x Type 70J Kai Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x "Drache Schild" Extendable Claw Arm: Electric Burst Generator, 2x Flamethrower, 2x Wide Beam Blade, mounted on arms; 2x 12-tube 180mm Micro Missile Launcher, five rounds per tube, mounted in shoulders; 2x "Skorpion" Beam Cannon, fire-linked, mounted on backpack "stinger tail";**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Beam Staff**  
Pilot:** Louisa Kohls**  
Appearance: **The Twilight resembles the Altron from Endless Waltz, save that it possesses missile launchers like the Heavyarms Kai in the shoulders, the "stinger tail" beam cannons of the TV version of Altron, railguns like those of the Freedom on the legs and wings resembling those of the Freedom in the "down position" of HiMAT mode, like in the images of it dueling the Impulse—the wings don't spread out fully, but rather, are swept downward.**  
Colors: **The Twilight has a midnight black torso, wings, skirt and shoulder armor, with white limbs, silver trimming, and silver forearms. The "Drache Schild" have the golden claws of the original Dragon Fangs, with the body being primarily midnight black, while the 'line' that it shoots out on is white.**  
Notes:** Not much to say here. Much like the Forbidden, there isn't that much overall change, aside from technological upgrades to the weapons. However, it is given railguns on the hips reminiscent of the Freedom in place of the original torso-mounted ones, and the Drache Schild are upgraded with beam blades to give them a wider field of attack. In place of the absolutely awesome Mirage Colloid Scattering Wings, it features a set of nice high-speed burst wings that are nevertheless nowhere near as cool as the original MC wings were. Still, this is just Louisa's opener—I have a whole other can of whoop ass just waiting to be unleashed. ^_^

_"Chris… if you can hear me… please, watch over us." _– Elizabeth "Liz" Dante  
**M3 Guardian Dante Custom:**  
Description:  
This powerful customized version of the M3 Guardian serves as the personal machine of Elizabeth Dante, one of the bodyguards of Lady Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha. It's more closely modeled after the original Guardian Gundam, with four grenade launchers rather than two and a twin rifle similar to the one used by the Guardian in the final days of the war. It is further customized with machine cannons in the torso similar to the Dauntless Gundam, and features various minor technical improvements, such as more powerful thrusters.

**Model Number:** MVF-M3DC**  
Code Name:** M3 Guardian**  
Unit Type:** Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.81 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 54.73 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Dual Mobile Assault Wings; High-Speed Mobile Armor Transformation; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x Type 70V Kai Beam Saber, mounted on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam guns in mobile armor mode; 2x Type 81E Machine Cannon, fire-linked, mounted in torso; 2x Type 70W Beam Blade, mounted on wings; 4x Type 69E 175mm Grenade Launcher, two mounted in each forearm; Shield, mounted on left arm, mounts over main body in mobile armor mode;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Type 86D Kai Twin Impulse Rifle, can be separated into two separate single-barrel impulse rifles, can be stored on shield, mounts on main body in mobile armor form**  
Pilots:** Elizabeth Dante**  
Appearance:** The same as the Guardian Gundam: identical to the Zeta Gundam, but with the shield and wings of the Wing Gundam.**  
Color:** Silver-white head, shoulders, forearms and shins, solid white biceps and thighs, with a midnight blue torso. Gold trim, head crest spikes and V crest.**  
Notes:** Liz's variant of the M3 Guardian that is based on her old Gundam. This one is much closer to the original machine, with four grenade launchers, increased performance, and even a twin rifle modeled on the one wielded by the Guardian at the end of the war. It also features machine cannons of the same basic model as the Sincerity, giving it radically improved firepower over other M3s. The colors are a tribute to both Makoto and Chris, perhaps the two people most important to Liz.

_"Kira, Makoto… thanks."_ – Asagi Caldwell, upon assignment to the prototype M4 Yamato.**  
M4 Yamato:**  
Description:  
A unique and powerful mobile suit modeled after a base design by Kira Yamato, the M4 was named in honor of the legendary ace, and is oriented towards close-combat, its appearance designed to give the impression of a samurai mobile suit—which is precisely what the M4 Yamato is. The M4 Yamato arms a variety of swords, almost all of them modeled after the samurai daishō, and the M4 also mounts a powerful shotgun-like scattering beam cannon in the chest. Although its weapons are impressive, the M4 is also very fast and agile, thanks to its powerful thrusters and agility-oriented frame. The first prototype is assigned to Asagi Caldwell, who previously tested the M1 Astray.

**Model Number:** MBF-M4**  
Code Name:** M4 Yamato**  
Unit Type:** Mass Production Melee Combat Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet**  
First Deployment:  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.94 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 42.32 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Quad Mobile Assault Wings w/Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** Type 99 Multi-Phase Scattering Beam Cannon, mounted in chest; Type 70K Beam Katana, stored behind right shoulder, hand-carried in use, can be combined with beam wakizashi; Type 70W Beam Wakizashi, stored behind left shoulder, hand-carried in use, can be combined with beam katana; Type 39S Chakram Beam Shooter, mounted on braid; 4x DES-G09D Anti-Armor Sword, set includes long and short swords, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 4x Type 39C Chakram Beam Generator, mounted in wrists and ankles; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle; Type 70G Beam Ōdachi; Shield;**  
Pilots:** Asagi Caldwell**  
Appearance:** The M4 Yamato looks similar to the M1 Astray, but its head is modeled more closely off a samurai helm (though it retains the V crest), as is the shoulder, arm, skirt and leg armor. The wings look like those of the Wing Gundam Zero, and likewise fold up into two wings in 'standby' mode. The mobile suit has braid-like attachment to the back of the head, similar to the Dragon Gundam.**  
Color:** Primarily white with red trimming, with a black torso and the 'samurai armor' is likewise black, with white trimming. The 'V Crest' is silver, and the eyes are violet.**  
Notes:** After much consideration, I ended up modeling the M4 Yamato on a traditional samurai, similar to Graham Aker's Masurao/Susanoo from Gundam 00. You can see a fair number of similarities here, from the weapons to the beam chakrams. I don't think I'd originally planned to include the M4 until much later on in the story, but as I hammered out exactly what I wanted for it, I decided to bring in the prototype now, and I gave it to Asagi. It's too bad she won't be accompanying the _Archangel_ when it leaves Orb, but things are already stacked enough in the favor of that ship, if you ask me (in other words: everything is balanced, and I don't want to mess that up). That said, you'll see more of the M4 later on in the story.


	13. Phase 13: Resurrected Wings

**Well, I'm happy to see that this chapter was much quicker than the last one. This is especially important, since I need to play some serious catch-up with Akatsuki Leader13, or else parts of my story are gonna be spoiled before I reach the point of the big reveal(s).**

**Anyways, this chapter contains a fair mix of "new and old", with I'd guess about half of the overall chapter being significantly edited/entirely new, and the other half only being mildly edited from the version in _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. We've begun to get into the parts where the departures from canon become more and more different between this story and _SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. At the core, both stories will be relatively the same-after all, they're both rewrites of Gundam SEED Destiny. But while the core remains the same, all the flavor surrounding it is gonna be different. It won't be until we reach the sequels to our respective SEED Destiny stories that you'll see things being different right to the core of it all, as both of us have significantly different plans for our sequels.**

**Alright, enough ranting on all of that. Please, enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply (you all know what that means).  
**

* * *

Phase Thirteen: Resurrected Wings

October 20th, C.E. 73

* * *

ZAFT Carpentaria Base

Talia, her XO and Suiren were the first to disembark from the _Minerva_. A group of ZAFT officers were waiting for them, and both groups saluted each other.

"Diana Kessel, temporary Commander of Carpentaria," introduced Diana.

Talia already knew Diana Kessel by reputation—after all, there were very few in ZAFT that didn't know her and the former Alaric Team. A commander with black hair who bore a striking resemblance to Diana stepped forward.

"Commander Saul Kessel," he said.

"I'm Captain Talia Gladys, and this is my XO, Arthur Trine," replied Talia. "And…"

"Commander Suiren Kyusai," said Suiren, stepping forward. "Impromptu commander of the mobile suit team aboard the _Minerva_. I hear you're to become my partner in this task?"

Saul nodded. "That's right," he said, holding out a hand, which the blonde shook. "I look forward to working with you."

"What's the status of the _Minerva_?" asked Diana.

"She took a pounding out there, but our crews should be able to fully repair her in a few days," answered Talia. "The situation would've been a lot worse if the Taiyonoha Fleet hadn't come to our aid out there."

"They are formidable, aren't they?" said Diana, a strange hint of amusement tinting her tone ever so slightly. "In any case, I'll see to it that a few of our repair crews help with the _Minerva_'s restoration in the morning."

"Commander Kessel, please, there's really no need–" started Talia, but Diana cut her off.

"Nonsense," she said. "It's the least we can do. Not only did the _Minerva_ take on an Earth Forces battle group with only the aid of a handful of TF mobile suits, but you also drew a number of their forces from the base, including most those new mobile armors of theirs. We owe you and your crew a great deal, Captain Gladys."

"Thank you," said Talia. She wasn't about to turn down Diana's offer for assistance. Talia turned to Saul. "Commander Kessel, I'd like to welcome you and your team to the _Minerva_."

"Thank you, Captain Gladys," replied Saul kindly. He focused his attention on Suiren. "Commander Kyusai, I'd like a full briefing on your team and mobile suits. It won't do for one team leader to be in the dark."

* * *

A Few Hours Later

By some small fluke, the Carpentaria Base's pilot lounge had survived both battles with only minor damage. Needless to say, many of the off-duty ZAFT pilots and officers were enjoying themselves with its facilities.

An old piano had been set up in a corner of the lounge. Nicol remembered it from when he was briefly in Carpentaria during the last war. There were nicks and scratches across its wooden body, more than he remembered, but it was still in tune and playable. Nicol's fingers danced across the white and black keys, filling the lounge with the sounds of his playing. Most of the people there glanced at Nicol for a moment or two before returning to what they were doing. Others simply sat and watched the green haired young man, enjoying the beautiful music.

And a few also remembered that the young man playing the beautiful music was also the legendary Grim Reaper, who'd single-handedly captured an entire sector before facing one of those monstrous ZAFT mobile armors. If it hadn't been for the earlier fights consuming power, he'd probably have defeated that without any backup as well.

But as quickly as he started, Nicol stopped playing. Someone was looming over his shoulder. Nicol glanced over his shoulder. A blonde haired, blue-eyed Redcoat pilot was standing behind him.

"Can I help you?" asked Nicol.

"Don't mind me," replied the young man. "I was just admiring your music." He gave a slight bow. "I'm Rey Za Burrel. I went to one of your concerts, months ago. It's an honor to hear you play again, Nicol Amalfi."

"Thank you."

"I'm a bit of a piano player myself," added Rey with a slight smile that might've been somewhere between nervousness and embarrassment, but Nicol couldn't be sure. "Though, I admit that I'm not as good as you."

Nicol smiled slightly. "Don't put yourself down like that," he said, glancing back at the piano. "Have you ever played duets?"

"Not in a long time."

Nicol slid over, gesturing for Rey to sit down. The blond Redcoat did as instructed, sitting down next to his green-haired comrade. Nicol started off with a slow and simple song for Rey, who quickly matched the tune.

"Good," said Nicol. "Now, let's try something a little harder."

Nicol changed to a more difficult tune, and again, Rey quickly matched the song.

"See? You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for."

Rey nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

The two continued playing in sync together, filling the lounge with music.

"It seems Nicol's found himself a partner," commented Shiho, watching them as Tristan dealt out the cards. "That's good. He's worked mostly solo, excepting the few times he visited Orb."

"Why not at Orb?" asked Aleksi, picking up her cards and frowning. She really didn't think this game was necessarily fair to her other pilots, for all that she wasn't as gifted as Suiren or Rey.

"Well, he didn't have a piano partner," admitted Shiho. "But I heard that he would sometimes play for Lady Setsuna's songs when they were in private." And Lacus, too, but Shiho thought it best not to mention that.

"He knows Lady Setsuna?" asked Jessie.

"We fought alongside Lady Makoto in the last war," said Shiho quietly. "Didn't you know? Lady Setsuna is the Dauntless Angel's cousin."

"No… I didn't know that," admitted Tristan. "But I guess it makes since. Her mobile suit… it sorta reminds me of the vids and stories I've seen and heard about the Angel."

_It should_, thought Shiho to herself as she placed a bet. _Makoto wouldn't dishonor her parents by being anything less than the mistress of the Seven Swords._

"Yeah, you're right," said Aleksi, frowning as she raised. "I remember how the Angels fought at Second Jachin. Simply unbelievable."

At a nearby table, which it was clear was considered a 'do not approach' zone, Suiren and Saul were discussing the rather significant matter of the _Minerva_'s pilots. Not that Saul was _too_ worried about it. He was too laid-back to truly see himself as a commander when another one was right there across the table from him. He'd probably take the job mostly as a formality, and let Suiren handle the job where he wasn't needed.

And she was competent, too. Saul had read the file on her. She'd fought on the front lines in the early days of the war, both in space and on Earth, and accrued an impressive record before being pulled out to test the CGUE DEEP Arms along with Shiho and several other elite pilots. Each had tested it separately, which is why Shiho had never met the blonde.

And it didn't stop there. She'd also tested the GuAIZ prototype, the GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type, and finally, the one that had really caught Saul's eye, the YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam, the testbed for the N-jammer canceller and DRAGOON System technology.

And then, of course, at Second Jachin, she led her team in battle against those monstrous Earth Forces Gundams, and had even gone head-to-head with Louisa, a feat Saul had thought impossible for anyone but Kira and Makoto. After the war and the signing of the Junius Treaty, she reformed the Kyusai Team, and they became the primary field test unit for ZAFT's newest technologies.

In other words, Suiren had experience, ability, and even mobile suit technology over Saul. She was lethally competent, and a woman Saul knew he could trust with his life, almost as much as he could trust Nicol, Shiho, Athrun, Kira, Elizabeth and Makoto.

Nevertheless, it was important that both commanders understood the pilots under the other, and so Saul still gave his full attention to Suiren's opinions of the _Minerva_'s pilots.

"Okay, let me see if I have this straight," said Saul as Suiren finished. "Aleksi was a veteran of Second Jachin under your command, and Rey, Luna and Tristan are capable pilots, but green, and won't cause any problems. However, Shinn and Jessie are both problem pilots." Suiren nodded.

"That more or less sums it up," she said. "Jessie is quite talented and lucky on the battlefield, but he's habitually reckless if he doesn't have someone to reign him in directly. However, he is not on the best terms with Shinn, and the two should probably be kept as far apart as possible, especially on the battlefield." Suiren sighed. "My bigger concern is Shinn. He's an incredibly talented pilot, and he certainly wasn't assigned to the Impulse without good reason. He's probably the best of the rookie pilots, but I'd honestly trust Rey to watch my back more than Shinn. I've observed a rather distinct lack of self-control, in his behavior in and out of the cockpit, though I admit that most of the in was from records I studied. He's working on it, and he seemed better in that battle outside Orb, at first, but I don't think he can maintain his self-control for long, and the better his self-control was, the worse it seems to become when he 'snaps'." Suiren sighed. "Also… I believe, from what Lady Setsuna said to me and my own observations, that he might be a berserker."

Saul stiffened almost unconsciously, but Suiren didn't miss it. Saul _knew_ what a berserker was—he'd fought alongside no less than six of them in the last war, he'd even seen his teammates nearly crushed by one of them with a mocking ease. Saul mentally swore—a 'berserker' was dangerous enough, either gaining greater control or greater absolute focus. Compounded with a lack of self-control and the Impulse… it was one of the deadliest, most unstable and dangerous combinations Saul could think of.

"It was just after Lady Setsuna destroyed the first mobile armor," said Suiren. "The Impulse was nearly destroyed by the second when he snapped. After that, he single-handedly took out the second mobile armor, and while I dealt with the third, he went on a rampage on the Earth Forces ships. If Lady Setsuna hadn't intervened…" Suiren shook her head. "I shudder to think of how many lives he'd have taken unnecessarily."

Saul rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Why the hell did they have to reassign me?" he groaned. "I get to keep Shiho and Nicol, but they've more or less broken up a team that's been together for over a year to send me to a ship filled with inexperienced pilots with big egos and personality disorders. Uh, veteran company excluded, of course."

To his surprise, Suiren laughed. However, while it was clear she was amused, there didn't seem to be much warmth in it. No, there was something cold and almost sinister about this laugh.

"I don't think even Aleksi can be said to be completely lacking in disorders," said Suiren, humor lacing her tone without the biting cold of her laughter. "As for me, well, we won't get into that. As to the reason for your reassignment, I have a few guesses, but the reasons behind them are a little personal, so I'll keep them to myself."

"I see," said Saul in a guarded tone. "Anyways, as to my own pilots, Shiho is competent, compassionate, honest… and lethal. As for Nicol, well, his reputation doesn't do him justice. He's a better pilot than he thinks he is, with his very presence scaring more than a few opponents into submission, but he really is just a gentle young man, more suited to the piano then a war machine if you ask me."

"Hmmm…"

* * *

Allster Estate

Later that night

John lifted his mug up, savoring the scent of his last cup of coffee for the day. Everyone else was already asleep and he would join them shortly, but he had a call to make first. He took a sip of his coffee and then set the mug down and turned his attention to the radio. He grabbed the headset and activated the radio, cycling to a certain frequency.

"This is Black-01, calling Purple-03," he said. "Alpha Zeta Delta Alpha."

"_Omega Beta Alpha Gamma,_" came the response.

John grinned. It was the correct coded reply. He had gotten through.

"_This is Diana,_" came a familiar voice.

John smiled. "It's good to here from you, my former student."

"_Sir._"

"At ease, Diana. I can hear you saluting all the way from Orb," replied John with a chuckle. "Anyways, I thought you could use an update." John's voice turned serious instantly. "We're going all the way through with it. The Winter Contingency has been initiated."

"_Already? I would have thought Miss Clyne would have waited awhile longer to see how things play out first._"

"She wanted to," admitted John. "But she trusts Kira and Makoto's 'visions' implicitly, and they're the ones in charge of that area. And when she saw the fake Lacus that Chairman Durandal has, any reservations she had came crumbling down. Needless to say, we wished to be prepared for whatever he or the Alliance is planning. Therefore, every project, from the Last Archangel all the way to the Angels of Divinity have been accelerated."

"_That's a lot of projects for them to be working on._"

"Especially when one considers the technology of the Sincerity—sorry, the X01, that they'll be using, to say nothi–"

Suddenly, he could hear Haro upstairs. "We got a problem! Haro! Yes we do!"

"Damn!" he swore. That could only mean one thing.

"_Sir?_"

"Can't talk now. Intruders," he said, tearing off his headset and rushing upstairs. Haro was rolling around the second floor, still squawking and making noise. But he ignored it, heading for the third floor of the mansion. He quickly reached a bedroom door and opened it.

"Wake up! We got uninvited guests arriving," said John as he rushed towards a locked cabinet. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, unlocking the cabinet and revealing a number of firearms and ammunition within as a groggy Shani, Clotho and Tolle got up. John pulled out a pair of pistols and several clips while the trio armed themselves with shotguns for Shani and Clotho and pistols for Tolle.

John frowned slightly. Tolle had no experience in real ground combat. Sure, he'd proven excellent during training, but not only was he lacking that experience, he was lacking the enhanced physical and mental traits of the Coordinators and former Biological CPUs. John shook his head. He couldn't think about that. Tolle would be fine, John was sure.

"Damn bastards," growled Clotho, pumping his shotgun. "Waking me up in the middle of the night. Well, if they want to play, I'll play."

"Go," ordered John. "Protect Lacus and the children."

"Yeah, we know," said Tolle, acknowledged his order for all three of them as they headed towards the stairs. John shook his head slightly. There were few people Shani and Clotho trusted enough to take orders from, but among those people were both John and Tolle. John didn't pretend to know the first thing about what Makoto had done to save those two and Louisa from Blue Cosmos, but it had worked miracles. While the alterations that made them more aggressive and reckless had been effectively incurable, they were able to control it well enough to keep that aggression pointed towards the enemy and not their friends.

John didn't pretend to understand how Tolle had established such a strong friendship with Shani and Clotho either, but the three trusted each other implicitly, and both of the ex-BCPUs were very, very good at fighting and extremely protective of both Lacus and Makoto, and only a little less protective of Tolle and Louisa. Personally, John pitied anyone that tried to attack anyone on that list while in their presence.

At that moment, Flay entered the room. She had changed out the nightgown she had been sleeping in and was wearing pants and a shirt. John passed her a pistol and some clips. Flay took them and left without saying a word, heading for Alexander's room.

And he pitied anyone that threatened her child. Doubly so when he remembered Kira's oath to protect that child.

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Flay's home wasn't the only place to receive some uninvited guests in the middle of the night. Within the computer systems, Faith cursed softly as her access beyond the manor was somehow cutoff. It wasn't the work of a hacker—there was only one person in the entire world who could possibly hack through a system she controlled, and that was Kira. Therefore, she could only assume they'd somehow cut power to the grounds of the Taiyonoha Estate. Fortunately, the manor itself had an internal generator, one they'd never be able to reach, and the power lines were to secure for them to be reasonably attacked.

Years ago, Faith was little more than a small black box sent by Sera Takara to Ichida and Naomi Arata to be installed in the GAT-X106 Dauntless Gundam. As Makoto fought with the Dauntless, that little box had accrued data from its tie-ins with the mainframe of the Dauntless, and had begun making small-time adjustments to optimize performance. When the Dauntless was destroyed, the added cockpit protection and sheer ability to withstand damage of the black box saved it, and in that way, preserved the mainframe of the Dauntless. When it was later plugged into the ZGMF-X16A Faith Gundam, all this data was tied into that powerful mobile suit's own mainframe, and that black box had continued to gather data, learn, grow… evolve.

Eventually, the programs developed into an actual artificial intelligence, which was actually the intent from the beginning. Makoto, who was more or less its mother, had named that intelligence 'Faith'—after all, she'd piloted both machines and it was her piloting that had caused the evolution and development of Faith. Faith was fairly simple at first, if rather protective of Makoto. When the Faith was destroyed, Makoto had made certain to take the black box that was the AI's physical body with her. And a few months later, the AI had effectively completed its development, and she was nearly human, with all the emotions that came with it.

Faith had modeled her physical appearance after Makoto and Serenity, with coloration adapted from the mobile suit for which she'd been named.

Faith materialized in the room where the weapon's locker was hidden using the holoprojectors built into the mansion.

"They've cutoff my access to the grounds," she said as Makoto, Liz, Louisa, Serenity and Shizuka armed themselves. "As well as all outside communications. But just before the lines were cut, my connection with the computers of the Allster Estate, I detected intruders there as well."

"Damn," cursed Makoto, clicking the safety off her handgun. Although the removal of ZAFT's N-jammers had been well underway, much of the Earth was still blanketed by their effect, so long-range wireless communications were impossible without a direct laser link. With the landlines cut, they were on their own, and it wouldn't be possible to warn anyone about the intruders at the Allster Estate either. "That rules out any chance of it being a random group."

"At a guess, I'd say military black ops," said Faith. "I can't say from where, though. It could be just about anyone—the Earth Forces, ZAFT, even the Seirans."

"The Seirans don't have enough guts to pull something like this," said Liz, shaking her head as she lifted an SMG. "So we'll know which side they came from as soon as we know if they're Naturals or Coordinators."

"Faith? Please get everything prepared," said Serenity. Faith nodded.

"Don't worry, I will."

* * *

Allster Estate

"Alex," said Flay, gently shaking her sleeping son. "Alex, honey, wake up."

Alex opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Mommy?"

"Yes honey," said Flay. "Bad men are coming. I need you to be brave." Flay's voice was calm, but it was only to hide her own fear. "Can you do that for me?"

Alex nodded and Flay picked the small child up. Truthfully, Flay was terrified. She didn't know who was coming or how many, or even what they were coming for. Gunshots echoed through the mansion. Alex whimpered, and Flay held him close.

"Shh… you need to be quiet, Alex," she said softly. "I know it's scary, but I'll protect you."

Alex wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face in her chest. Flay headed towards the stairs, down to where everyone else was as more gunshots echoed through the house.

* * *

Meanwhile

In the kitchen, Andy and John had come face to face with the intruders: an armed special forces team. Andy knocked over a table and ducked behind it while John ducked behind the kitchen counter as the men fired on them. The two ex-ZAFT officers fired back. They couldn't hope to match the firepower of the assassins, but then they weren't trying to kill them. They were trying to slow down the men so that the others could get into the shelter.

"Damn," muttered John. "What a time for Victor to be out at Morgenroete!"

* * *

Elsewhere

Murrue slowly stuck her head around a corner, checking the hallway. It was clear. Murrue moved into the hallway, aiming her handgun down the corridor while she gestured at Kira and the others to continue on. Kira started to lead Lacus, his mother, Reverend Malchio and the children down the hall. However, a moment later, several gunshots tore through the air. The shots were close, in a nearby room in fact. The shooting stopped and a door down the hall that Murrue was guarding slowly opened. Murrue instantly aimed at the door. Clotho rolled out, his shotgun trained on her. Both lowered their weapons. Clotho turned to the doorway.

"It's clear," he said.

Tolle and Shani stepped into the hallway.

"Come on. We're heading to the shelter," said Murrue.

The trio joined them and the group headed towards the shelter.

"Have any of you seen any sign of Flay and Alex?" asked Kira.

"No, just the bastards who've been shooting at us," answered Tolle.

"Language Tolle," said Lacus gently, but sternly. "There are children present."

"Right. Sorry."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Makoto and her family were having an easier time moving through their own home than the group at the Allster Manor was. This was in no small part thanks to the aid of Faith, who was able to keep tabs on the assailants and direct her charges away from them. Unfortunately, that was more or less all she could do. The defenses were all located in the grounds, and the bastards had somehow managed to cut her connection to them. Oh, she doubted they realized she was there—they'd probably have been a lot smarter if they had. The reason for cutting the manor off was most likely simply to keep them from sending out any sort of SOS.

"They have the entire first floor covered now," said Faith, communicating through earpiece radios. "They'll probably move to the second floor in a few minutes. I've locked down as many doors as I can to slow them down. I'll open the passage in the ballroom balcony."

As some might expect, the Taiyonoha Manor, while lacking in internal security systems, was littered with hidden passageways. The third floor balcony of the ballroom held one such passage, which passed through the walls and bypassed the first and second floors entirely, leading the first basement floor.

"Have they moved towards the basement at all?" asked Shizuka.

"Not yet," replied Faith. "They'll probably try and get in once they've finished sweeping the first floor and have moved on to the second. The basement door's one of the tougher ones in the manor, but it won't hold them long."

"We'll make a decision when we know how many head down there," said Makoto as they arrived outside the balcony. "We need to get a closer look at them."

* * *

Allster Estate

The gunfight in the kitchen was still raging. John and Andy had managed to take down three of the assassins but there was still over half a dozen fighting. A barrage of bullets tore through the edge of the overturned table Andy was hiding behind, narrowly missing him as some of the assassins crept closer to their two enemies.

"We need to fallback!" Andy shouted over the gunfire.

"You go first! I'll cover you!" John yelled back.

John rose up, firing both of his pistols together. Several assassins managed to duck behind cover, but one wasn't fast enough and took a bullet in the eye. As John fired, Andy moved back from the table, running into an open doorway. However, as he stepped into the hallway, a man with a knife jumped him. Andy's gun went flying as the knife stabbed into his left arm. For a moment, the two grappled, trying to overpower the other until the Desert Tiger slammed his foot into the soldier's chest, knocking him back. The soldier hit the wall and drew his pistol, but he wasn't fast enough.

_BAM! BAM!_

The assassin fell to the ground. Andy reached down, grabbing the knife still embedded in the outer cover of his arm. Andy put it back on over the concealed shotgun of his prosthetic arm and pulled the knife out as John entered the hall.

"You alright?" asked John.

Andy nodded. "Yeah."

"_The target is on the move, heading for Area E along with a group of children,_"a voice said. Both men turned to the dead body. His earpiece had fallen out of his ear. They were hearing their comm. chatter."_She isn't armed and is being guarded by four people. Move in and eliminate the target._"

The two men glanced at each other and then started running towards the shelter.

* * *

Elsewhere

Flay opened the door, slowly stepping into the hall, Alex still in her arms. They were almost at the shelter. Just a short run down the hall and they'd be there.

Unnoticed by her, a door slowly opened behind her. A soldier crept out, his gun trained on her. He squeezed the trigger…

But the gun jammed. Flay instantly spun around, firing off a trio of rounds. Two hit the body armor he was wearing over his chest while the third hit his jaw. The man fell to the ground. Flay stared wide-eyed at the man's body, taking deep breaths, Alex's tears dripping down her neck. They had been so very lucky that the man's gun jammed. If it hadn't…

"Thank you Chris," whispered Flay before turning towards the shelter doors.

A moment later, she reached the wall concealing the shelter. Flay set her son down. She then opened a hidden panel on the adjacent wall, revealing a single button. Flay pushed it and the wall slid to left, revealing the shelter door. Flay started to type in the door code when she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. She stopped and spun around, training her handgun on the hall.

It was Kira, Lacus and the rest of their group. Flay lowered her gun. "Thank god it's you," she said.

"Are you two alright?" asked Kira.

Flay nodded. "We're fine."

She then turned back to the door panel and finished typing in the code as Murrue, Shani, Clotho and Tolle took up defensive positions behind the group. The heavy doors slid open.

"Come on," said Lacus, herding the children into the shelter with Malchio and Caridad.

Unknown to anyone, one of the assassins had climbed into the vents and was now in position to shoot Lacus. But Kira, feeling that something wasn't right, glanced up at the vent and saw the barrel of the rifle.

That would be the first time Kira ever snapped outside of his mobile suit, grabbing Lacus and pulling her out of the line of fire as the man squeezed the trigger, saving her. Faster than anyone could blink, Kira had drawn his own gun and put three bullets through the man's head.

_Nobody_ threatened Lacus in Kira's presence if they wanted to live.

"You just _had_ to kill him, didn't you?" said John as he and Andy arrived. "I had some questions for the bastard."

"We'll find your answers some other way," growled Kira, and John nearly broke out sweating. Kira was mild-mannered, but even Lacus could only do so much to calm him down when something endangered her. Usually, he didn't go so far as killing, but in the split second reactions he'd unleashed, even Kira hadn't been able to refrain from irrevocably finishing the job.

After that, the group all rushed into the shelter.

"Everyone alright?" asked Waltfeld, surveying the group.

"Yeah, we're fine," answered Kira. He was quiet for a moment before he continued, somewhat more grimly. "Those guys are Coordinators."

"Yeah, and not amateurs either," replied Andy. "They're ZAFT Special Forces."

"ZAFT?" gasped a stunned Flay.

"Yeah," replied John. "And I think they're after Lacus."

Kira growled, and John almost pitied the unfortunate fools who were on this job.

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Only two agents from the ZAFT Special Forces squad assigned to the assassination of Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha had been tasked with getting into the basement. They were, after all, quite certain that everyone was on the upper floors. When they got through the door, they failed to notice the slight gap in the wall where a second, steel door would slide into place.

They were also caught completely by surprise when, some twenty feet in, a woman appeared from a concealed door in the wall next to them. Instantly, they recognized who she was.

"She's here! The basement!" called one through the radio, raising his gun. But Makoto was already on the move, in front of them almost instantly. She flipped her body, switching support from her feet to her hands, kicking the gun from the first assassin's hands as her feet moved into the air and twisting her body to deliver a ferocious kick to the side of the second assassin's face. His body had been turning in the opposite direction, and the force wound up snapping his neck.

Makoto then curled her body up, shrinking her profile and removing herself from the path of Louisa's shotgun as the rosette finished the man who'd raised a gun against _her_ beloved.

"Coordinators," muttered Makoto. "Naturals don't move like that." As the rest of the assassins moved towards the basement, the steel door slammed shut. It would hold them off more than long enough for Makoto and the rest to reach the shelter.

"They're after you," said Serenity, emerging from the shadows with Shizuka. Both women looked nearly as furious as Liz and Louisa did. Makoto only shrugged as they rushed across the room and into the hallway leading to the primary shelter entrance.

"I guess Durandal doesn't much care for me either," she said. The others didn't question her belief that the PLANT Chairman was behind this. They didn't much care for the man anyways.

* * *

Allster Estate

"Damn! We screwed up!" said the leader of the special forces, slamming his fist in frustration against the sealed door. He turned to his team. "We have no choice now. We'll get the ASHs and finish this off. Lacus Clyne must die tonight, no matter the cost."

Ten minutes later, they had returned to their ASHs and powered up the amphibious mobile suits. The ASHs advanced toward the mansion, firing their missiles and beam cannons at the residence.

* * *

Shelter

The shelter shook from the barrages, forcing them into the deepest section of the shelter.

"Damn," swore John. "They sure are persistent."

"Mobile suits?" asked Murrue.

"Probably," replied Andy. "This shelter may be strong, but not even it will withstand a prolonged assault." He turned to Lacus. "Do you have the keys Lacus?"

Lacus hesitated, tightly holding Haro in one hand.

"It can't be helped. We need to open the door," added John gently.

But Lacus continued to hesitate. Kira reached out and held her free hand.

"It's alright Lacus. I want to do this," he said, reassuring her. "You gave me my sword to fight for what I believe in and to protect those I love."

"Kira…"

Kira pulled her into a gentle embrace. "Please Lacus, give me the keys," he whispered. "I promise, I won't repeat what happened up there."

Kira's words finally made Lacus relent. Neither of them could ever deny the other anything. It was just another of the traits that emphasized their bond.

As Lacus broke from Kira's embrace, she held up Haro, opening the pink ball's mouth, revealing a gold key and a silver key.

Andy took the one while Kira grabbed the silver one. They inserted the keys into the twin consoles at the sides of the great doors across from the shelter entrance.

"On three," said Andy. "One… two… three."

They simultaneously turned the keys. The doors opened, all eyes on them and what many knew to be inside.

At first, it appeared as nothing more than a large silhouette covered in small, dark maintenance lights. Then, the hangar lights came to life, and the silhouette became a perfect picture.

There it stood, lacking only some of the majestic glory it displayed in battle. It was the most powerful and legendary mobile suit in the world, one that almost anyone would hesitate in the face of.

The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam. The machine from which Kira's title of White Angel of Freedom had come.

Not saying anything, Kira stepped into the hangar, proceeding down the catwalk with the presence of the White Angel once more surrounding him as the doors closed behind him with everyone watching on.

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

"Damn," said Faith. While it was true that her access to anything beyond the manor was cutoff, that didn't mean she was going to miss over a half dozen machines emerging from the shoreline just outside the estate grounds. "Mobile suits. I think they're the new model ASH."

"This shelter won't hold up to that!" said Liz. The others shared a concerned glance between them, save for Makoto, who turned to Faith.

"What about the hangar?" she asked. Liz and Louisa looked at Makoto in confusion, while Serenity and Shizuka eyed her uncertainly.

"Yes," whispered Faith. "The DGR is ready."

Makoto closed her eyes, knowing what was about to come. Faith also closed her eyes, and suddenly, the large doors across from the entrance of the deepest and largest part of the room began to open. Makoto turned to face it, opening her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward into the hangar.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Come on, that manor and the shelter won't hold up to this assault," said the leader of the second squad, the one targeting Setsuna. He raised the claw of his machine, ready to fire the first shot, when a beam suddenly lanced out, piercing the main battery of his ASH.

The commander's suit exploded.

The rest of the pilot's turned in shock to the source. There, amidst the trees behind the Taiyonoha Manor, stood the cloaked silhouette of a mobile suit. It's blue eyes flashed with a majestic light as it suddenly rushed forward, a large sword snapping into place on its arm. The ASH pilots all launched a massive, simultaneous attack on this new foe.

* * *

Allster Estate Grounds

The ASHs fire tore through the outer layer of the shelter. They were getting closer to their target. In a few more minutes, they would have her.

Suddenly, there was an explosion a short distance away, and a mobile suit emerged from the smoke, flying up into the air.

"What the hell is that?" questioned the team leader. However, it didn't take anyone long to realize what it was.

"I don't believe it," gasped one of the ASH pilots. "It's the Freedom!"

"WHAT?"

The Freedom spread its wings as Kira stared down at the ASHs. The back thruster lit as Kira descended on the ZAFT operatives, beam saber drawn, slicing off the arms and a leg of one ASH before returning to the air. Three more ASHs fired at him with their claw-mounted beam cannons. Kira spun through their fire easily, flipping the Freedom over as he fired a Full Burst barrage on the ASHs, tearing off the legs, arms and missile pods of the three attackers.

One of the two remaining ASHs started firing wildly at him, but Kira spun through this assault even more easily, literally disarming the ASH with his beam saber as he flashed by. He flipped the Freedom over again, the wing-mounted Balaena plasma beam cannons snapping into place over the shoulders and firing, taking off the legs of the crippled ASH.

All that remained was the leader of the group. He fired a barrage of torpedoes at Kira, but the veteran pilot easily spun through this assault as well. Kira closed in, lunging with his beam saber. The leader jumped back, dodging the blade before he struck back, slashing at the Freedom with his beam claw. Kira brought his shield up in an instant, catching the blade, slipping the shield down somewhat as the ASH's momentum continued to bring it forward. Kira hefted the shield with the ASH on top, flipping the mobile suit over the Freedom's shoulder.

The ASH crashed to the ground on its back. The squad leader quickly rolled his machine back to its feet, raising a claw to fire at the Freedom. But it was barely even in position before a shot from the Freedom's beam rifle took the limb off. He began to bring up his other claw, but it was shot off just as quickly.

Before the ASH could even hunch down to aim its missiles at the Freedom, two more shots were let off, destroying both of them. The leader didn't even get the chance to run, as the Freedom mildly shot off both of the ASH's legs with its rifle, and the limbless green mobile suit fell to the ground. The entire assassination squad had been defeated.

Nearby, Andy, John and Murrue were leading everyone out of the damaged shelter and house, heading for safety.

But the assassins were not about to be taken alive. Each member activated their ASH's self-destruct without any hesitation after their leader had fallen, and one by one, the aquatic mobile suits exploded as Kira and everyone else watched on.

"Looks like he's still got it," commented John.

"Yeah. He's something else alright," replied Andy. "But we got bigger concerns."

"Yeah," said John. "This could only have been the work of someone in the upper echelons of ZAFT. Whether it's Durandal, someone else on the Council, or a member of the admiralty remains to be seen."

"I think they're right," said Andy. "It's time for the _Archangel_ to sail again."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

The two ASHs that had been disabled rather than destroyed didn't remain intact long. Both operatives were quick to pull the self-destruct switches in their cockpits, ensuring no information could be gathered from them.

However, the fact that they were Coordinators was all that Makoto felt she needed to know. This was the work of Durandal—her gut told her so. He needed Lacus out of the picture, and it seemed he was either afraid of Setsuna's political influence, so like Lacus's own, or he was afraid of the power held by the Dauntless Angel.

Possibly, it could be both.

Makoto's grips on the controls of her mobile suit tightened ever so slightly. Kira, Lacus and the others were safe—she knew that. It would take nothing short of a small army to overwhelm the people living at the Allster Estate.

No. For Makoto, there were bigger concerns, much bigger. Just what could Durandal be up to that he'd stage a war, create a fake Lacus, and stage the assassinations of two of the most significant peace advocates in the world?

* * *

**Author's Note: Lacus isn't the only who has to deal with assassins, but Makoto's in a decidedly more advantageous position, with fewer people to watch out for, no children, and, of course, the aid of Faith. Unlike John and Andy, Makoto has no doubts as to who's responsible for these assassination attempts, and Kira will no doubt agree with her.**

**Anyways, no particularly long rants here. I really need to be getting to bed anyways, since I need to wake up early tomorrow, but I've got several things I need to do first. Besides, there really isn't much I feel the need to discuss here.**

**Please leave a review everyone! Ja ne!**


	14. Phase 14: Flight to Tomorrow

**Whew. Another fast update. Sadly, there isn't all that much change from the corresponding chapter of _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. Ordinarily, that's a bad thing, but here, it's actually a very good thing. I've got to play some_ serious_ catch-up. At a guess, at least five chapters in the next two or three days, probably one or two more. Damn you for finding your muse, Akatsuki Leader13!!! *Weep***

**In all seriousness, though, I need to catch-up before two of the biggest secrets in the story are revealed, as both are kept true here, and one of them is even more significant than it is for Akatsuki Leader13. I'm not gonna say anymore. I've got a lot of stuff to do now before I can continue, so I need to get to that.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I only own one of the OCs that make a brief cameo in this chapter.  
**

* * *

Phase Fourteen: Flight to Tomorrow

October 21st, C.E. 73

* * *

Allster Estate

The morning sun was now shinning down on the wreckage of what had once been the Allster Manor. There was little left of the mansion, and even chunks of the cliff wall that the house had been built into had been torn off and were now lying next to the building wreckage. Flay watched from a fallen tree as the children wandered through a small part of the wreckage with Caridad carefully watching on. Alex was sleeping on her lap while Reverend Malchio was sitting next to her.

Kira and the others were currently in the hanger of the shelter, talking about what had happened.

"I've read about those mobile suits," said John. "They're called ASHs. But ZAFT has only just begun mass production of them." John sighed. "I wouldn't be too surprised if those ones were the first off the assembly line."

"Those commandos were careful," said Andy with a slight nod. "The gear they wore was a combination of ZAFT and Earth Forces, or at least gear made to look like Alliance gear. But they weren't nearly careful enough, and that suggests they were overconfident. There's more than enough evidence to identify them as Coordinators, and more particularly, ZAFT soldiers."

"This is troubling," said Lacus softly. "The situation is far worse than we thought."

"You have no idea," came another voice suddenly. The group turned to the hole in the wall to see Makoto walking through it.

"Makoto?" questioned Kira.

"Lacus wasn't the only one ZAFT attacked," said Makoto. "The wreckage of about a half-dozen ASHs and the bodies of two commandos are lying around my house and in my basement."

"What do you think?" asked Kira.

"Durandal," replied Makoto without a second's hesitation. "The fake Lacus, the theft at Armory One, the _Minerva_, Break the World, those GINNs, the Gundams, even these ASHs. All of them are tied together, I'm sure of it, and the only one who could've possibly brought it all to fruition is him."

"Well, when you put it like that…" said John.

"It sounds only plausible, right?" came Victor's voice as John's twin walked in behind Makoto. "Sorry about not being here last night."

"No worries, nobody got hurt," said Andy. "The question is, what do we do now?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and they all turned to the hole through which Makoto and Victor had come. There was Flay, Liz at her side, guiding Cagalli's long-time attendant Myrna over some debris and into the undamaged part of the shelter.

"I'm glad everyone's alright," said Liz. "When I heard they were attacking here as well… I was worried."

"At a guess, they critically underestimated all of us," said Andy. "They probably thought they could get us all in our sleep."

"Myrna?" questioned Kira. "What brings you here?" While he wouldn't be surprised that Makoto had informed Cagalli, if that were the case, he'd have expected Cagalli to be here herself, rather than sending Myrna. The woman pulled out an envelope, holding it out to Kira.

"This is for you, Master Kira," she said, using the 'title' Kira held as a relation of Cagalli. It was one of those small things that irritated him—the military often referred to him as 'Lord Kira', though it was as much respect for his piloting skills as his relation to Cagalli.

Even more concerned, Kira opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. It was written on the personal stationary of the Athha Family and it was in his sister's handwriting.

_Kira, I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you in person, but I am no longer free to move around as much anymore. As you already know by now, Orb will be joining the World Security Treaty Organization. At the moment, I'm staying at the Seiran House, preparing for my wedding with Yuna Roma Seiran. I know it's sudden, but given the way things are, it can't be helped. Right now, Orb needs strong leaders that the people can rely on. Orb's role in the new world is still uncertain. And even though I'll have limited power, as Chief Representative, it's my duty to do everything I can to help my people. I will marry Yuna Roma Seiran._

Kira paused, noticing something else in the envelope. A small silver wedding ring. He stared at it for a moment before returning to the letter, noting the several small water drops stained the next part of the letter.

_I've enclosed the ring that Athrun gave me… because I can't wear it anymore, and I didn't want them to take it from me. I thought about it… but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. I hate to ask this kind of favor from you, but when Athrun returns, could you return it to him please? I would have rather returned it to him in person… but I can't. Again, I'm sorry for asking this of you, but please return it to him for me._

_I'm doing this so that my nation's people can have happy and peaceful lives. And I promise that I will do my best._

_Cagalli._

Once Kira finished, he handed the letter to the others, holding the ring in his palm as Lacus placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. It didn't take the others long to read the letter.

Makoto shook her head. "I'll never understand how her head works," she said. "If she'd played her cards right, she could've removed the Seirans from power and gotten back control of the government. Now, that's gonna be next to impossible—she's just won the Seirans the support of the public."

Liz ran a hand through her brown hair and sighed. "This is bad," she said. "We can't let do this."

"My sentiments exactly," said a voice as two more figures entered the shelter. Everyone turned to see Samuel Dante walking in with Natarle Badgiruel at his side. "I trust everyone here feels the same way?"

Everyone nodded, and a smile spread across the old soldier's lips. "Good," he said. "The wedding is this afternoon. Now, most of the preparations are complete, but we still have a lot to do, and not much time to do it in."

* * *

Carpentaria

Once again, the _Minerva_ was in dry dock, receiving repairs for the damage done in their last battle as well as being resupplied.

"No! Not there! Put the Guuls into the spare Silhouette compartments!" Chief Abes yelled out, pointing out his subordinates' mistake. "It will be easier to launch them from the Silhouette catapult than from the normal catapults!"

"Roger Chief!" one of the techs called out before they corrected their error.

Nearby, a group of techs were moving several large containers to where the ZAKUs and GuAIZs were; which, as it happened, was the wrong place for that container.

"Those containers have parts for the ZAKU HMs only! Keep them near those machines!" shouted the Chief.

"Sorry Chief!"

Abes then turned his attention to a group of techs that were just standing around, unsure of what they should be doing.

"Hey!" he shouted angrily. "Why haven't you guys started checking over the ZAKUs and GuAIZs yet?! They need to be in perfect working order before leave!"

Above, on the upper catwalk, Saul and Suiren watched the crews working below them.

"He reminds me of Vashti," commented Suiren. "He was the chief mechanic for the _Winter Eagle_."

"The chief from the _Vesalius_ was like this too," said Saul. "He shouted and screamed all the time. You'd think that, given that, he hated his job, but the truth was that he loved it." Saul paused, thinking back to different times. "Though, Murdoch, the chief of the _Archangel_ was different. The mechanics were rather meticulous under his command. It was probably born of desperation in their early days of activity."

"Probably," said Suiren, glancing at her watch. "It's time."

Saul sighed, and the two left the hangar, heading for the pilot's briefing room.

The remaining pilots of the _Minerva_ were waiting inside. Shinn, Rey and Luna were sitting together in the front row, while Aleksi, Tristan and Jessie sat behind them. Nicol and Shiho were standing by the wall in front of the seats. The second Saul and Suiren entered the room, the five rookie pilots shot to their feet, standing at attention. Aleksi stood up as well, much more slowly and calmly, and stood at attention as well.

"At ease," said Saul, walking over to Nicol and Shiho. "Alright, listen up." Saul's voice suddenly turned cold and stern, his best impression of what he thought Yzak would be like if he were alive and in command today. He, Nicol and Shiho needed to earn the personal respect of these pilots. Their reputations were known, but that wouldn't be enough. "I've reviewed your battle records and spoken with Commander Kyusai, and as far as I'm concerned, you're all Greens." Needless to say, the three Redcoats were surprised by his announcement. "I don't care what color your coat is, as of now, they are all the same color: Green. Don't like it? Too bad. Right now, I'm in charge, and you better be grateful that it's not Commander Kyusai giving this assessment, or you'd all be _civilians_. Commander Kyusai alone has authority equal to mine. After us comes Amalfi and Hahnenfuss, then Shimizu, followed by you rookies. What we say goes. If any of us give an order, the only thing I expect to hear from you is 'yes sir'. And that goes double for you two, Asuka, Vandermeer. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," replied Aleksi and the five rookies.

Saul nodded. "Good," he said. "Now, I know that the recent victory has brightened your mood, but don't let it go to your heads. Considering the outcomes of all your battles, you have little to be proud of."

"I don't think that we've been that bad, sir," said Luna. Saul chuckled mirthlessly.

"Is that right?" he said. "Have you really stopped and looked at your record? Armory One: failed to stop the theft of the Specter, Gaia, Abyss and Chaos. The battle in the Debris Belt: lost two pilots and nearly lost the ship while failing to destroy the enemy ship and mobile suits. Then Junius Seven: a partial success, but due more in part to other pilots rather than yourselves." The five rookies cringed or scowled as Saul listed the outcomes of their battles in space. Aleksi took it all quite stoically.

Of course, Saul's own record early on wasn't really much better. But these pilots didn't need to know that, and it would detrimental to Saul's goals in this meeting.

Shinn took a step forward. "But there were–"

"Extenuating circumstances? It's rare for anyone to find themselves fighting the 'ideal' battle," said Saul coldly. "So never, _ever_ expect any battle to have ideal conditions. As soldiers, it's our duty to overcome any and all problems we face in the field. I don't care what color your coat is or what you pilot, until you can prove to me that you can that, you're all a bunch of rookies."

"But I already have!" Shinn argued. "I took down that huge mobile armor yesterday! And I would have sent the Alliance fleet packing if I hadn't been ordered to back down."

"It's a damn thing you were stopped!" snapped Saul icily. "I've seen the recordings. That was just you rushing into things like a battle-hungry lunatic with no regard for yourself or your teammates. You owe your victory over the Earth Forces yesterday to the abilities of Commander Kyusai and the aid of the Taiyonoha Fleet. They always kept sight of what they needed to do, guarded one another, and understood the merits of teamwork and individual ability, as any true pilot should. You clearly showed that you had no grasp on that yesterday. Frankly, I wonder why someone like you was assigned to that Strike-knockoff. It's clearly not being used to its full potential, and for all the 'superior, state-of-the-art' tech being used in it, it wouldn't last two minutes in battle with the Strike."

Shinn had just about reached the breaking point. How dare this man come out of nowhere and start bad-mouthing Shinn and his machine, even calling the Impulse a Strike-knockoff and calling it _inferior_ to that museum piece! As he opened his mouth to argue, Saul cut him off.

"And before you say anything, I know what I'm talking about," said Saul. "In the last war, I piloted a machine just like the Impulse, and I fought alongside as well as against other mobile suits like the Impulse. All of them were piloted by far better pilots than you. All you are is just a rookie whose skill doesn't match his ego."

"Hey! That's–"

"The truth. If you truly don't realize it, than allow me to show you."

* * *

A short while later

Saul's ZAKU Surge and Shinn's Impulse, equipped with the Sword Silhouette, stood face-to-face, waiting for Suiren to give the signal to begin.

"_Go!_"

Saul fired his assault rifle as Shinn dove to the left, pulling out the Impulse's own rifle. He fired back, but Saul was already on the move before he squeezed the trigger. The ZAFT Commander raced around, constantly and randomly changing his direction, preventing Shinn from acquiring a solid target. High-speed movement was something of Saul's area of expertise, though he hadn't even used his thrusters yet. Still, Shinn fired, hoping to get lucky.

"_It takes more than luck to win a battle!_" Saul called over the radio, taking a single shot with his rifle as he moved.

The beam pierced Shinn's rifle, and the crimson-eyed pilot threw it away just before it exploded. Shinn growled as he drew his swords.

"I'm not done yet!" he said.

"_As if,_" said Saul, sounding distinctly bored with the situation as he discarded his rifle and pulled his Falx G7 from the ZAKU Surge's backpack.

Shinn lunged at the ZAKU, roaring as he swung his right sword down. Saul jumped back, evading the first before blocking the second blade with his axe. They stayed there for a moment, weapons locked.

"You're far too predictable," commented Saul. "You're movements are like an open book to any experienced pilot. Remember what you were taught? Keep your focus. That temper will only get you killed like a wild, mad dog, Greenie."

"_Shut up!_" yelled Shinn angrily. Shinn thrust his free sword forward, intending to impale the ZAKU, but Saul pulled his ZAKU to the right and the sword hit nothing but air. Before Shinn could react, Saul kicked the Impulse, breaking their lock and sending the red and white mobile suit stumbling back.

"See? Too predictable," said Saul, twirling his beam axe. "You just react with your emotions and instincts. You don't use your head at all. That's why you're dead."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" yelled Shinn furiously as he regained his balance, then combined his swords together, rushing straight back in.

Saul didn't reply, instead ducking the ZAKU Surge down, then leaping forward, spinning the mobile suit as he went. The Falx G7 cleaved through the arms of the Impulse as the ZAKU slammed into it, sending it tumbling to the ground. A slight burst of the thrusters and Saul landed his machine on its feet, beam axe already descending to split straight through the heart of the Impulse.

"See? Dead," said Saul calmly.

"No way…" whispered Shinn, absolutely shocked as the ZAKU Surge leapt back.

The Impulse exploded…

… and the simulator shut down.

"Unbelievable… a ZAKU took down the Impulse…" a stunned Luna managed to say. "I never thought that was possible…"

"Well Commander Kessel was a part of the famed Le Creuset Team of the last war," said Rey. "It's only natural an ace of his caliber would be more skilled and experienced than a greener pilot like Shinn. At least for now anyway."

"That's not it," said Aleksi, shaking her head. "Even with the difference in skill and experience, Shinn should've been able to do a lot better. But he let his emotions, particularly his anger, get to him, and that's why he was defeated so easily."

Jessie chuckled. "Well, it's nice to see someone taking him down a peg," he said.

"Yeah. Maybe his attitude will get that much needed adjustment," added Tristan.

Tristan and Jessie let out a laugh as Shinn rose up from the seat of the simulator, ignoring the two.

Meanwhile, Saul stepped out of the simulator seat, and proceeded to head towards Shinn, meeting him halfway between the simulators. The two stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Everyone watched on, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, Shinn was the one to break the silence.

"You were right," he said with some difficulty.

Saul gave him a slight nod. "Yes, I was," he said. "However, you should know that Commander Kyusai has vouched for you to remain the pilot of the Impulse." Everyone was caught off-guard by this. "While I didn't see anything of worth, if she's given her approval, then I believe you have to have at least some skill and potential. You need to try and remember the lessons you've been taught while you're on the battlefield, not just tell yourself to do it and then forget it when you're there. Learn to do that, and you'll be able to use those skills, harness that potential, and from there, you can find your worth in wearing that coat."

Saul turned to walk away, but paused after a few steps and looked back at the _Minerva_ pilots.

"Oh, and, just for the record," he said. "I may be the commanding officer, but both Nicol and Shiho are my superiors as pilots."

* * *

Earth Alliance _Spengler_-class Carrier, the _John Paul Jones_

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean

Despite what others might think, the Extended needed to exercise to keep their bodies in shape just like everyone else. At the moment, Mariemeia, Nanai, Miguel and Stella were sprinting on treadmills while Auel and Silber were on a bench presses with Sting and Rache spotting for them as both Treize and Gyunei were attacking a pair of punching bags.

"This blows! Why the hell are we back on Earth when the PLANTs are still standing?!" grunted Auel as he lifted the heavy weights upward.

Treize glanced over at him, but didn't reply. Silber, however, did.

"Simple, it's because we've been ordered to and because those morons failed to hold Gibraltar and Carpentaria," he said. "We can't just deal with the PLANTs while those Patchworkers are making a mess in our backyard. Besides, _that_ ship is here on Earth."

"With any luck, we'll get another crack at it and its mobile suits," added Treize.

"Yay! I can dance with Mr. Whitey again!" cheered Mariemeia, music blaring from her headphones.

Treize drove one last, powerful fist into the punching bag and stopped.

"No," he said. "I'm taking that one's head for myself."

"Aw… but Big Brother, he's such a good dance partner."

"Besides, I'd thought you would go for that GuAIZ bitch," sneered Gyunei.

"The white one's mine," he said, his tone final. "Undoubtedly, ZAFT has given that machine to a more capable pilot. Someone that can take out a Zamza-Zah by themselves could be opponent worth fighting." He turned to face Gyunei. "And while I'll enjoy killing her, I don't hold such vendettas."

Treize raised his arm, preparing to punch the bag again. Upon his forearm were nine scars, a tally of those he killed that were worth remembering. Even if the doctors fiddled with his brain again, he would remember that he had fought and killed nine people worth remembering.

Perhaps that white mobile suit on the ZAFT warship would prove himself worthy of being number ten.

"Alright Big Brother, you can have him," said Maia dejectedly.

"All I care about is seeing that ship explode," commented Nanai, wiping some sweat from her brow. "They ruined my art last time, but the next time, they'll see my art."

Auel nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah! That ship's going down!"

"Of course it is," said a familiar voice.

All of the Extended immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to the voice. A smile spread across Stella's face. "Neo."

Neo gave her a nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention to the group.

"That ZAFT ship has been causing us nothing but grief," he said. "So the higher-ups have ordered us to deal with it before it can cause us anymore headaches. That's why we're heading to the South Pacific. We're going to hunt her down and sink her. But that's not all."

"Command is disappointed," said Neo, sounding annoyed. "You're not measuring up to their expectations. The idiots fail to realize that we've found an enemy who can find and exploit the weaknesses _they_ planted in you. Therefore, we've been sent some extra help."

Two figures crossed the threshold into the gym, and the Extended all eyed them closely.

One was a young man in his late teens. He was well built, his face set with icy blue eyes and his long, spiky golden-brown hair tied into a ponytail. Like Neo, he was wearing a black Earth Forces uniform, though without any rank insignia.

The second was a young woman they guessed to be around twenty years old. She was around five foot, eight inches tall, with long brown hair and light blue eyes. She had soft, pretty facial features, and unlike everyone else, she wore no uniform. Instead, her outfit consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, blue jeans, a silver ring on her left pinky finger, two gold bracelets on each wrist, a gold watch on her left wrist, and a pendant with the words 'Divinitus Liber' carved into it.

"These two are freelance mercenaries hired to provide support to the unit," said Neo. The sound of several of the Extended sucking in angry breaths filled the room. "Don't ask me why. Their names are Leon Vanyel and Haruka Tsukino."

* * *

Orb Territorial Waters

Several hours later

Sai Argyle stared out at the ocean as the boat he was on sped towards one of the smaller islands of the Orb Union. The boat he was on was a small passenger ferry, designed to hold two dozen people and their luggage, and get them to destination quickly. In this case, it was a secret Taiyonoha Fleet storage facility that, for the most part, only the people at the very tip-top even knew existed.

Truthfully, Sai was supposed to have been on an earlier boat, but had been delayed by traffic created by Cagalli's wedding procession and the crowds gathering to watch. Fortunately, he had managed to catch the last boat out, so things weren't too bad.

A short while later, the boat pulled into the small wooden dock of the island, where men and women clad in Orb uniforms with the distinctive sword emblem of the Taiyonoha Fleet were waiting.

"The _Archangel_ will be leaving shortly. Everyone, grab your stuff and follow us," said one of the men to the group as they began disembarking.

Sai hadn't brought much. Just a simple bag with some personal items. He wouldn't need much in the way of clothes or anything really. So he managed to get off the ferry fairly quickly, where he bumped into an old face.

"Kid!" said Kojiro Murdoch, slapping Sai across the back, knocking his glasses down the bridge of his nose. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Mr. Murdoch," replied Sai, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Do you know how many have decided to come?"

"Everyone. Well… everyone except for Mir. She's still out of the country. And so are a few of the others."

Sai nodded as they walked with the group away from the docks. The crew of the _Archangel_ had more or less scattered across the world, and Mir had been traveling the world as a photojournalist for nearly eighteen months now. She started on it when she finally managed to recover completely from the death of Dearka Elsman. For all that they hadn't even gotten into an official relationship, Mir had developed very strong feelings for the late pilot of the Buster.

"So I guess we're really going through with this then," he commented.

"Figured that you would have had a better idea of what's happening than the rest of us," said Murdoch, clearly surprised.

"Hey, I'm just Alexander's godfather," said Sai as they stepped onto the waiting freight elevator. "To be honest, I haven't spoken to any of them in a couple of weeks."

Once everyone was on, the elevator doors closed and the lift started its descent into the lower levels, where the _Archangel_ was.

The Enclave, as they had renamed this old facility, had once been a military storage back in the reconstruction war seventy years earlier, but had been secretly seized by the Taiyonoha when they'd laid the foundations of the Orb Union. But it wasn't until the formation of Terminal that an actual use for the facility was found, and it had been expanded and upgraded into the Enclave. It was their only Earth-based facility, and overall the most minor, with the Factory attached directly to the Terminal itself in space, and the critical Sanctuary concealed in some obscure location in space currently known, as far as anyone knew, only to Terminal's three leaders and the people currently within the Sanctuary.

The Enclave's lower levels were still storage facilities, holding not just the _Archangel_, but also her sister ship, the _Dominion_ as well. It had also once held several surviving Gundams from the previous war, but as they descended, it became obvious that those machines had been moved elsewhere.

The upper sections of the Enclave were R&D labs, where the data accumulated from the various factions was also studied and further developed, and small-scale production facilities. The renovations had been exclusively the work of people who would become a direct part of Terminal, though most of them were currently 'inactive', generally serving as minor intelligence moles.

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. "Alright everyone, the _Archangel_ is in Hanger 1-A!" Murdoch called out, stepping out of the elevator and leading the group towards the ship.

Ten minutes later, Sai was rushing through the corridors of the _Archangel_, heading for the bridge as he finished putting on his uniform.

"_Attention everyone,_" said Lacus's voice over the PA. "_We're starting the final preparations. Please take your stations now, before we leave._"

Sai cursed and sped up. He should have left earlier. He should've known that traffic would be bad.

He reached the elevator, gasping for breath. Sai never was much of an athlete, but at least had had made it. He bushed the button for the bridge and, a moment later, he was back on the bridge of the _Archangel_ after more than two years away.

"Sorry for being late," he said as he stepped onto the bridge.

Murrue glanced over her should, a smile on her face. "Don't worry about it," she said. "You think you can handle your really _old_ station?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a slight chuckle, moving down into the CIC and taking a seat at one of the electronic warfare stations. He glanced back over his shoulder and shared a small smile and slight nod with Dalida Lolaha Chandra II, who he would be working alongside in his task. In the seat next to him, where Mir had originally been stationed as the mobile suit controller, was Shizuka, who gave a slight smile as well. Behind her, sitting next to Chandra, was Oran Pressly, manning the same station he'd handled back when he fought against this very ship while aboard the _Dominion_.

Sai couldn't fault not getting his position as fire control officer back, either. When they'd taken an actual test and comparison, Sai, while competent, just didn't measure up to James Adams, who'd once been the _Dominion_'s fire control officer and more than once nearly pulverized the _Archangel_ with that ship's guns. Communications, the post Mir had been moved to when the _Archangel_ defected to Orb and held until the end of the war, was being manned by Terrance Grissom, who'd held the post on the _Dominion_ before handing it over to Flay so he could put the plans of the black assault ship's captain, Natarle Badgiruel, into motion. He was something of a private hero to many for his actions at Second Jachin when he killed the then-leader of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael.

Natarle herself was also back to her old post from when she'd been the deputy captain of the _Archangel_: commanding the CIC. In addition, the _Archangel_'s pilot, Arnold Neumann, was now working with the _Dominion_'s pilot, Jeff Moreau at the co-pilot's station. Tolle had once held this station, but Jeff had been full-time on the _Dominion_, and the two assault ship pilots had trained together in preparation for the eventuality of working on the same ship together.

"The ship has been secured," reported Andy from where he was standing behind Jeff as Kira and Makoto stepped onto the bridge. Lacus turned in the flag seat to face the two with a slight smile. "We're ready to flood the hanger."

"_Well then, is everyone over there ready to crash a wedding?_" asked Samuel over the comm. from his place in the Enclave Command & Control Center.

"Yes," said Kira. "Let's go."

Gallons of water began pouring into the hanger. After a little over five minutes, the entire hanger was filled and the hanger doors opened as the arms holding the _Archangel_ retracted.

"Engines at twenty percent. Ahead, slow," ordered Murrue.

Arnold nodded, powering up the _Archangel_'s engines. The mighty warship slowly moved out of the underwater hanger.

"Sam, Asagi, take care of my mom while we're away," said Makoto, staring at the display screen. The general and pilot both nodded.

"_We will,_" said Sam.

* * *

Morgenroete Headquarters

A van pulled up to a hanger and eight men and women climbed out, heading into the hanger where a woman greeted them.

"Commander Alaric," said Erica Simmons with a nod.

"Chief Simmons," replied John, taking a look at the eight mobile suits lining the hanger walls. "I trust everything has been prepared."

"Yes. The mobile suits have been prepared for your departure," answered the Morgenroete chief.

John turned to his fellow pilots. "You heard her. Let's get going."

The pilots all broke apart, each heading to their respective machines. The Twilight, the Raider, the Forbidden, the Strike Raven, the MX1 Athena, the M3 Guardian Dante Custom, the Farsight III and the Talos II were lined up against the walls of the hanger.

"General Dante has taken care of things," said Erica as the pilots ascended the ziplines of their mobile suits. "A last minute test flight for these eight machines before they're shipped to Izanami has been formally arranged, so no one will think that we're doing something we shouldn't."

"Well that's good to hear," replied Liz before she entered her Guardian.

A minute later, the eight machines powered up as their docking clamps released. The Athena and the Raider were the first to move, stepping out of their holdings, towards the open hanger doors. The Forbidden and the Strike Raven followed, tailed by the Guardian and Twilight, with the Farsight and the Talos taking up the rear.

"Everyone got the rendezvous coordinates?" asked John as they filed out.

"Yeah, of course," said Tolle, sounding annoyed. "You think we wouldn't know where we're going?"

"Alright, just asking."

The mobile suits moved through the Morgenroete Facility, heading for the docks. Once they reached the docks, the Forbidden dived into the water while the Raider transformed, allowing the Athena to jump on its back and the two took off together with the Farsight, Strike Raven, Guardian, Twilight and Talos close behind.

"You know Flay, you don't have to do this. It's still not too late for you to go back," John said to her over a private channel.

"_I know. I don't have to be here. I could easily stay behind and help Malchio with children,_" replied Flay. "_But the truth is I want to be here. In the last war, I was always so helpless. I couldn't do anything. And when I finally did something, it brought about so much destruction…_" Flay paused for a moment, images of nuclear warheads destroying Boaz and nearly destroying the PLANTs briefly flashing through her mind. "_But now… now I can do something to help out. I'm not going to sit by on the sidelines anymore._"

John nodded. "Alright then."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the coordinates, and just ahead of them, the _Archangel_ rose out from beneath the waves.

"There she is," said John. "Now all we have to do is wait for Kira to get Cagalli."

* * *

Elsewhere

The wedding between Cagalli Yula Athha and Yuna Roma Seiran was a grand affair. It was not an understatement to say that all of Orb was watching the ceremony. But that was to be expected. The Lioness of Orb was getting married. The people wanted a large, public ceremony. Everyone there was happy at this most joyous of events.

Save for one person…

To Cagalli, this was no joyous event. It was the lock that secured the chains that had been coiling around her for some time. But it was for her people; to ensure peace and happiness for them. If that meant a life in chains, so be it. She had no regrets and was prepared for that life.

No… she had one regret. Athrun. She had left him for Yuna. She left the man she loved for a man she didn't, without even telling him. Cagalli hoped that Athrun would understand and forgive her for what she had to do for her people.

"Now, if anyone has good reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," said the priest, bringing Cagalli out of her thoughts.

It was at that moment that people began to scream. Everyone looked up into the air as the Freedom appeared. People started to panic, running from the area. The Astrays that had been stationed at the ceremony as an honor guard started firing. But the well-aimed shots of the Freedom crippled the mobile suits, stopping it from turning into a battle, all without anyone actually getting a scratch. The white mobile suit then landed before the temple the ceremony was being held at. Yuna showed his courage… by hiding behind Cagalli, whimpering like a little girl. The Freedom's hands reached out for Cagalli. Yuna shrieked and ran while Cagalli yelled at Kira as the mechanical fingers carefully picked up the Princess of Orb. Kira pulled her up into the Freedom's cockpit hatch, bringing her into cockpit.

"Wow…that's a nice dress," commented Kira.

Needless to say, Cagalli was less than pleased by all this. "Shut it!"

The Freedom took off, heading back to the _Archangel_.

* * *

Orb Military Headquarters

"Sir! We've just received word. The Freedom has just abducted Lady Cagalli. The Prime Minster is demanding that we send out our forces to intercept the Freedom," reported an Orb comm. officer.

"Really now. Are you sure? It sounded like that message was heavily garbled. It sounds like our communication systems are suffering from some kind of _malfunction_," said the captain nonchalantly. "In fact, I think it will be a few _hours_ before our communication systems will be properly restored."

The officer stared at his superior for moment before nodding his head in agreement. "Yes sir. I have to agree with you. It will be a few hours before everything's up and running again."

The officer then glanced at the large display table, watching the single blip from the wedding heading towards the sea. "And we appear to be having problems with our radar as well. No matter," said the captain with a shrug. "I'm sure that nothing is happening right now anyway." He looked around at the rest of the room. "Did everyone get that?"

There was a chorus of 'yes sirs' throughout the room. The captain smiled and nodded. General Dante had indeed picked the right men and women to operate control room today.

* * *

Orb _Aegis_-Class Battleship _Kobayashi_

Captain Todaka and his crew watched as the Freedom soared passed them, heading for the _Archangel_. They had been told moments earlier by General Samuel Dante himself that Lady Cagalli was aboard the Freedom and not to fire at it or the _Archangel_. Naturally, he bowed to the orders of a superior officer. If the Prime Minster didn't like that…well, honestly, he didn't care.

One of the _Archangel_'s catapult doors opened up, allowing the Freedom to board the ship. Todaka saluted the ship and was quickly joined by many of the other, older officers, those that fought during the bloody Battle of Orb during the last war.

_I'm counting on you, __**Archangel**__. Take good care of Lady Cagalli… and the future of our world._

Once the Freedom was safely on board, the _Archangel_ descended into the depths, heading out into the unknown…

* * *

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

Serenity watched with sad eyes as the _Archangel_ disappeared into the depths, taking her daughter with it.

_Please, everyone. Stay safe._

* * *

**Author's Note: Like I said, not much change from the corresponding chapter, but there are some significant differences, primarily in the presence of Suiren and the _Dominion_ crew. Other than that, we see two freelancers who have now been hired as part of Phantom Pain. I've had this planned pretty much since the beginning. I'd considered having a third, but decided against it almost immediately.**

**Yes, Leon Vanyel is the primary OC of Kiiroi Senko in _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Another Path_. There, he piloted a machine that, like the Twilight, was based on the Altron Gundam. Here, well... I'll let you read and find out.**

**And Haruka Tsukino is my own OC. Not much is given about her, but as with all my characters, more will be learned in the future. After all, if I just told you everything, it would be like putting a death sentence on her head (remember Kazuo Endo? I gave enough of his story, then when the rest come out, BAM! Instant death). **

**Alright, enough with that. I have to clean for my sister's birthday party so that I can get back to working on the next chapter. Must catch up to Akatsuki Leader13!!!**

**Oh, and please leave a review. I'm _begging_ you!  
**


	15. Phase 15: Return to the Battlefield

**Damn you... damn you Akatsuki Leader13...**

**Okay, enough of my whining over my own inferiority, let's get down to business. This chapter is mostly a rewrite, but there are some added scenes, changed interactions, and a bit more on the mercenary Phantom Pain pilots, Haruka and Leon. Originally, I was gonna combine this with the next chapter, but the result would've been overlong, especially given how much I want to add to the battles in that chapter.**

**Anyways, I won't bore you all to tears, so let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the corresponding characters or mecha. Standard disclaimers apply, and Leon Vanyel is the property of Kiiroi Senko, while Haruka Tsukino is my own OC.  
**

* * *

Phase Fifteen: Return to the Battlefield

October 21st, C.E. 73

* * *

The _Archangel_

Cagalli looked around at everyone. She simply couldn't believe that they had done this. They'd taken her in the middle of her _own wedding_!

"What is wrong with you people?!" she demanded. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?! Kidnapping the head of a nation during her wedding makes you all international criminals! Are you all insane?! Who asked you to do that?!"

"Nothing, yes, no, and no one," answered Makoto. Cagalli stared at her. "In order, of course."

"We knew what we were getting into," said Andy. "But…"

"We had no other choice," finished Kira. It had been decided that Kira and Lacus, who would likely be most gentle, would explain things to Cagalli. "These are crazy times, Cagalli. And if you insist on doing stupid things too, then without a doubt, this world is heading for all kinds of trouble."

"What stupid things?!" demanded Cagalli angrily. "What have I done that is so stupid you would pull a stunt like this?! I'm Orb's Chief Representative! I have so many things to worry about and think about! And I do! That's why I've done what I've done!"

"So, you've decided that it's a good idea to ally with the Atlantic Federation and marry Yuna Roma Seiran? Is that really going to help Orb?" asked Kira dubiously.

"Of course I do! Why else would I marry him?!" answered Cagalli, but she was sounding more and more unsure of herself. "It's as they've said, we can't afford to let Orb be attacked again! This is the choice I've made and I'm going to see it through!"

"So, as long as Orb remains safe, it's okay for you to help the Atlantic Federation burn all others who oppose them?" questioned Makoto, voice cold. Cagalli faltered at that. "We will not attack another nation. We will not allow another nation to attack us. And we will not intervene in the affairs of other nations. This oath, this ideal, is the foundation of the Orb Union. It is a foundation the Seirans and now, you as well, have torn, and it will see the nation crumble into the dust."

"That's enough Makoto," said Kira, stepping between his sisters, real and metaphorical. "You agreed to let me handle this."

"You're right. I'm sorry," said Makoto, bowing slightly to Kira. The brunet nodded in acknowledgement of Makoto's apology and turned to Cagalli.

"She's right, though," he said. "Is that really okay with you? Is it truly in the best interests of Orb to become a part of the Atlantic Federation that attacked it simply because it refused to join them once before?"

"No… but…" Cagalli's resolve was breaking, they could all see it.

"What about what your father said?"

"But I…"

"I understand that things were very hard for you," said Kira gently. "And I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you through it. But I believe that there's still time for us to change things. We still don't know a lot about what's going on, but I do know that there's still time to set things right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object: the wedding ring Athrun had given to Cagalli. "It happens to all of us. At one point or another, we all go down the wrong path and we never get to where we wanted to go. That's why I want you to join us."

Cagalli broke down, tears streaming down her face as she fell to her knees. Kira knelt down, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"This time," he said. "I'm sure we'll find the right answer together."

* * *

_Nazca_-Class Destroyer _Jackson_ in Earth Orbit

October 24th, C.E. 73

"_You're cleared to take off sir,_" said the _Jackson_'s combat coordinator.

"Thank you," replied Athrun as the hanger doors began to open.

The Savior didn't have the power to reach Earth from the PLANTs by itself, so Chairman Durandal had arranged for Athrun to meet up a _Nazca_-class to meet up with him and carry him the bulk of the way to Earth.

"Athrun Zala, Savior, launching," he said, activating the catapult, launching him into space.

The Savior's VPS armor powered up and it transformed into its mobile armor form. Athrun dove towards the planet, preparing to enter the atmosphere. His destination was Carpentaria. Though he would have preferred to stop at Orb and speak with Cagalli first and explain what he was doing, he knew it would have been inappropriate for him to enter Orb in a ZAFT mobile suit, so he wasn't going to try.

The temperature in the cockpit rose from the friction of atmospheric entry as the mobile suit began to shudder. But it was certainly a lot smoother than the last time he entered the atmosphere. After a few minutes, the temperature dropped and the shaking subsided. Athrun double checked the Savior's nav computer, confirming the location of Carpentaria and took off for it. It would only be a short ten minute flight to the base and the _Minerva_.

As he flew towards Carpentaria, Athrun couldn't help but wonder what Kira and Cagalli were doing at the moment.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Stationed at Carpentaria

"Deuterion charge complete," confirmed Suiren as the Rose's power levels rose to a hundred percent and the _Minerva_ ceased firing the deuterion beam. "The new settings are perfect."

One of the more interesting functions of the deuterion beam technology was a mild frequency fluctuation present over ranges greater than fifty meters or so. It was so minor that the Kyusai Team had only discovered it after months of testing, just a week and a half before the Armory One Thefts. However, in that time, they'd discovered several possible uses for it.

The one Suiren had now had applied to the _Minerva_ would be critical if they were to face the stolen Second Stage units again. Those machines, like the Rose and Impulse, could receive a recharge from the deuterion beam. It would, admittedly, be difficult, but it was possible that they could intercept the beam when it was fired, and Suiren believed that to be a firm possibility with the pilot of the Specter, given everything she knew of him.

However, by controlling and slightly altering the fluctuation in that frequency, the entire beam, and by extension, the charge, could become disrupted if the suit wasn't set up properly to receive the charge. Now, while the Rose and Impulse had been properly set for the new frequency, the stolen machines would only be able to intercept the beam at a range of fifty meters or less. If they pulled it off, that was fine—that close to the ship, they wouldn't last much longer anyways.

At that moment, a blip appeared on the Rose's radar.

"What? A mobile armor?" she questioned as she turned to face the streamlined red machine now approaching. "No… that's a transformable mobile suit. Is it another Second Stage Gundam?"

Suiren flew to intercept the red mobile armor as it shifted to mobile suit mode. No doubt about it, this was another Second Stage machine. Suiren's eyes narrowed slightly. But why…?

"This is Commander Suiren Kyusai in the Rose," said Suiren as the red machine pulled up short. "Pilot of the unknown, identify yourself."

"_This is Athrun Zala in the Savior,_" came a familiar voice. Suiren blinked in surprise. "_I've been assigned by Chairman Durandal as a pilot of the __**Minerva**__._"

"I see," said Suiren. "I must say, this is a surprise." She turned to face the _Minerva_, and opened a comm. line with the warship. "_Minerva_, I'm returning to the ship. Prepare to receive the Savior as well."

"_Yes ma'am._"

In the hangar, everyone was caught off-guard by the announcement of another mobile suit boarding with the Rose.

"That's weird," said Saul. "I never received any word of another pilot joining us."

The hangar doors opened as the Rose and a red mobile suit entered and stepped into the two empty cradles. They powered down their VPS armor simultaneously, opening the cockpits. As Suiren leapt down easily, everyone focused on the newcomer as he emerged clad in a purple-red ZAFT pilot suit with a FAITH badge on the chest, his helmet still on and a briefcase in his hand. He gripped the zipline hanging from his cockpit hatch, and descended amidst the gathering crowd of the _Minerva_'s hangar crew and pilots, who parted to allow Saul and Suiren to pass to the front. Once the pilot reached the ground, he took a step forward, setting his case down before for his helmet and pulling it off, revealing…

"I don't believe it…" whispered Saul.

"Well, this is a surprise," said Shiho with a light smile.

"Yes, it is," agreed Nicol, a wide grin spreading across his own face.

"Athrun Zala?!" exclaimed a stunned Luna.

"Identification Number 285002, Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces, requesting permission to come aboard," said Athrun, handing his helmet to a mechanic that had rushed to his side to take.

"Granted," said Saul, grinning. "But what in the world are you doing here anyways?"

Before Athrun could answer, Shinn joined the group in the rear, and was caught completely by surprise by Athrun's presence.

"It's you," he said, surprised, making his way through the crowd, his collar undone and his hands full. "But… I thought you were with Orb? So why are you here?"

Luna elbowed him in the stomach. "Shinn, please, try to watch what you say," she hissed in a low tone. "He's a member of FAITH and our superior officer now."

Upon saying those words, Luna quickly saluted Athrun, with everyone else following suit, save for two people: Suiren and Shinn. But Shinn, realizing that he wasn't saluting a superior officer, quickly looked for some place to put his stuff. Not seeing anything, he settled for thrusting the bag and cup into Meyrin's hands and then tidied up his uniform before saluting as well. Suiren, on the other hand, merely eyed Athrun curiously. Athrun returned the salute, and a moment later, everyone put their hands down.

"FAITH, huh? Now that's a surprise," said Suiren mildly. "Not that I don't trust your competence, but it seems odd that you would be given that position immediately upon your return."

"The Chairman felt that I should be given the authority," said Athrun. "So that I may hold true to my own ideals. I can't say that I didn't feel the same way you did, though."

"Will you be taking charge of the mobile suit team?" asked Saul. Athrun shook his head.

"No, I'm only here at the request of the Chairman," he answered. "I have no intention of taking command from those more experienced than myself."

"Nevertheless, you're authority is still greater than that of a mere team commander," said Suiren. "Don't hesitate to use it when you feel doing so is necessary."

"I won't," said Athrun. "I assume Captain Gladys is on the bridge?"

Suiren shook her head. "No," she answered. "Talia is in her office. I'll–"

"I'll escort him ma'am!" said Luna and Meyrin simultaneously, cutting her off. Suiren glanced mildly at the two.

"No," she said evenly. "Zala, I'll escort you to the Captain."

"Thank you," said Athrun. "And please, call me Athrun."

A short while later, the two were riding one of the elevators up to the crew's quarters, where the Captain's Office was located, attached to her quarters. Suiren glanced at Athrun, now wearing the uniform of a Redcoat with the FAITH emblem pinned to his breast.

"So, why did you decide to come back?" she asked.

"I felt that I couldn't just sit by while all this was happening," replied Athrun. "Saul, Nicol, Shiho, you and the crew of this ship, you were all out doing something to help end the war as quickly as possible. Everyone was, but I just can't seem to find what I should be doing."

"So you've decided to do something you know, and for the side that you feel is in the right," said Suiren, nodding.

"Something like that," said Athrun. "At least here, I can do something useful."

"I see," said Suiren. "How did Lady Cagalli take it?"

Athrun hesitated a moment before he answered. "I haven't actually told her."

Suiren glanced at Athrun oddly. "Really?" she said. "I'm surprised. You're girlfriend isn't going to pleased."

"Girlfriend?" said Athrun, caught off-guard as he turned to face her.

"I saw the way you two looked at each other," answered Suiren mildly. "And I doubt your friendship with her brother would've gotten you into the position you were in." Suiren sighed as Athrun looked at her almost incredulously. "But there's a bigger issue. What about Orb? You are aware that they've joined the Earth Alliance, right?"

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Athrun's face paled as his eyes widened. He was at a loss for words.

"What? But Cagalli would never…"

"The treaty was to be signed three days ago following the wedding of Chief Representative Athha to the son of Prime Minister Seiran," said Suiren, cutting him off as she stepped out of the elevator.

Athrun felt his heart stop beating for a moment. He had known of the wedding arrangement for some time now and that Cagalli would have to inevitably marry Yuna, but a part of him had always hoped that she would find some way out of it. But now…

"That means that we might end up fighting Orb down the road," continued Suiren as she started walking. "Are you prepared for that?"

Athrun didn't answer as he followed after her. He was too busy struggling to accept that Cagalli had gotten married three days ago and there was nothing he could've done to stop it.

Suiren stopped, turning to face Athrun, who stopped as well. The blonde's mismatched eyes held an arctic iciness.

"Taking up that uniform and fighting for ZAFT again means that you must commit to ZAFT," she said. "At least enough to be ready to fight against the country where you took refuge after the war."

"I… I am ready to fight them," said Athrun, straightening up. "News of Cagalli's wedding…"

"The ceremony was never finished," said Suiren. Athrun looked at her in questioning surprise. "The final document of the treaty can't be signed by any but the Chief Representative, and seeing how she is missing, she can't do that."

"What?! Missing?!" demanded Athrun.

"She was kidnapped in the middle of the ceremony," answered Suiren. "By the White Angel of Freedom."

Athrun stared at her in shock before sighing. Well, at least he knew she was safe. But still…

"How did you find that out?" he asked. Suiren turned around, and started leading him to the Captain's Office again.

"I have my ways," she said. "Don't go spreading that information though. Nobody else is aware of it. In any case, it matters little in the grand scheme of things unless Lady Cagalli returns, takes control, and refuses to sign the document. The Taiyonoha have withdrawn from the Union, and neither the Yagami nor the Sahaku have enough political power left within the government to stop the Seirans, who are avid supporters of the Atlantic Federation."

Before Athrun could reply, they reached their destination, and Suiren knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the reply.

The door opened and the two entered the room. Talia was at her desk, studying a pad her XO had given her, who was standing a foot away from her desk.

"What is it?" she asked, looking up at them. Needless to say, both officers were surprised by the sight of Athrun. "Athrun Zala? What are you doing here?"

Athrun snapped a salute. "Identification Number 285002, Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces," he said. Talia returned the salute, and Athrun continued. "Chairman Durandal has reinstate me within the ZAFT Military as a part of FAITH and has asked me to serve aboard the _Minerva_. He also asked me to give you these."

Athrun set the briefcase he was carrying on the desk and opened it, handing her a folder filled with papers and placing a small case on the desk. Talia carefully read the documents from Chairman Durandal several times over, studying them for some kind of hidden meaning. She set them down and reached for the small case, holding a FAITH badge.

"He's assigned you to FAITH, given you one of our newest mobile suits, assigned you to us, and is promoting me to FAITH as well," she commented. "I can't help but wonder what the Chairman is thinking…"

"I'm sorry to disappoint, ma'am," answered Athrun. "But I'm not a hundred percent sure either."

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," said Talia, setting down the case and turning to Suiren. "And what about you?" Her question caught both Athrun and Arthur off-guard. How did she expect Suiren to have any answers?

"Chairman Durandal does what he must to fulfill his own agenda," answered Suiren. "He has always been a believer in peace and living life to the fullest. It is therefore my belief that he feels the _Minerva_ will be the key to ending this war and bringing us closer to just such a world."

"You may be right," said Talia, picking up the papers and turning to Athrun. "Are you aware of the details of these orders?"

"No ma'am."

"I see… it's rather interesting," she mused. "Once the ship is ready, we've been ordered to head for Gibraltar, to support the forces stationed there for an assault on Suez."

Athrun, Suiren and Arthur were all surprised by this.

"We're supporting the forces station at Suez?" asked Arthur, confused and a little worried by their orders.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Suiren. "Suez is halfway around the world. There's no way we could make it there in time unless we crossed land, which, last time I checked, is enemy territory, which would be nothing less than suicidal for one ship to do. Does it say how he wants us to get there?"

"He wants us to go through Western Eurasia," replied Talia. "There are some regions there that wish to break away from the Eurasian Federation and take a neutral stance. The Chairman believes that if we travel through some of those areas, we'll be able to evade the Earth Forces. However, those regions are in the minority."

"The Middle East? This is a disaster waiting to happen," said Suiren with a sigh, shaking her head. "How big are these regions and what can we expect from them?"

"Not as much as we'd like," said Talia. "While the whole area in question has been the source of brutal oppression from the Eurasian Federation for decades, in the last year and a half, they've changed their policies regarding the region and have been in the process of reconciliation with the people there, so Alliance popularity is on the rise while anti-Alliance sentiment is dropping, but despite that, there are many there that wish to be an independent nation. Nor have they forgotten the brutality of those that are now trying to win their loyalty."

"So what does he expect us to do?" questioned Suiren. "Rally the spirit of the people against the Alliance long enough for us to slip by, only for them to be beaten down by the Alliance afterwards?" Suiren sighed. "Well… Captain, what do you intend to do?"

"I don't know what the Chairman is hoping for," admitted Talia. "All we can do is follow our orders and see what happens."

Suiren nodded. "Excuse me," she said, snapping off a quick salute before leaving. Out in the corridor, the blonde let out another sigh.

She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.

* * *

Several hours later

After informing the other pilots of their mission orders, Suiren had arranged the use of one of Carpentaria's cleared training grounds. These were areas setup specifically to allow the pilots to sharpen their skills and keep practice when they weren't expecting battle. With Carpentaria's current state, no one was using these training grounds anyways.

The training grounds were setup as a miniature city edge, bordered by flatlands. Within Carpentaria, this essentially amounted to large stone blocks for cover, similar to actual buildings, and a fair bit of clear concrete with no buildings on them. The cover had been steadily scaled back, replaced less and less often as it was often annihilated by the powerful beam weapons used by modern mobile suits.

Suiren was worried, and she wasn't the only one. All the veterans were worried about how the rookie pilots would hold up in the battles ahead. For this reason, the rookies had been paired up with one another to act as teams, while each of the veteran Redcoats acted as an individual unit. Tristan and Rey had been paired up, as had Shinn and Jessie, a combination intended to force the two to work together, leaving Luna with Aleksi, who'd been included in the group to balance the uneven numbers. Even with that, the veteran Reds all had a very distinct technological edge, as only Shinn had a unit that could hope to match the ones piloted by the two commanders and three Redcoats. The only chance the rookies really had for any of them coming out on top was their superiors facing off with one another.

"Say, Aleksi?" said Luna.

"_Hmm?_"

"What can you tell me about Commander Kyusai?" Needless to say, the question caught Aleksi off-guard.

"_Why do you ask?_"

"Because I really don't know much about her at all," said Luna. "She went up against a foe comparable to the Dauntless Angel, led one of ZAFT's best teams at Second Jachin, and has since been leading a unit testing experimental technology. But there has to be more to her than that… right?"

Aleksi was silent for a moment as she peaked around the corner of a 'building', searching for their opponents.

"_Yes,_" answered the blonde after they'd begun moving again. "_Commander Kyusai is known to be rather… particular, about what pilots she takes under her command._"

"What do you mean?"

"_She looks for individuals with special talents,_" explained Aleksi. "_You know the Earth Forces old Moebius Zero Corps? She looks for people like that. Those gifted with a high degree of spatial awareness—individuals who can be called 'Newtypes'._"

"New… types?" murmured Luna.

"_Yes,_" said Aleksi. "_That was the title tagged onto them by Dr. David Dante, who was perhaps the single most significant researcher into the phenomenon. These are individuals with gifts that could be considered almost borderline-psychic, especially in the stronger individuals._"

"But you were on the Kyusai Team, right?" said Luna. "So are you one of these… 'Newtypes'?"

"_Yes,_" said Aleksi. "_So are Commander Kyusai and Rey. So is the man who stole the Specter._"

"Wait, you mean that guy is…?"

"_Yeah,_" said Aleksi. "_If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to fight him, you're best hope is that you can survive long enough and escape far enough for one of the veteran pilots to come help you. In terms of raw power, he surpasses even Commander Kyusai, but he has no control over it. Not that most people need it—he certainly doesn't. And surrendering to him isn't an option, either. He's ruthless, without any understanding of the concept of 'mercy', unless it serves as a tool of convenience for him. No matter what happens, I want you to promise me that you'll avoid the Specter at all costs._"

"Yes ma'am," said Luna. "I understand."

"_Good, now be careful, Rey is around the corner here,_" said Aleksi.

"How can you tell?" asked Luna, hunkering down slightly.

"_So-called Newtypes are able to sense one another's presence,_" she answered. "_Rey already knows we're here._"

* * *

Elsewhere

"I can't _believe_ they stuck me with you," growled Shinn in annoyance as the Sword Impulse and GuAIZ R searched for any of their opponents.

"_Suck it up, Asuka, we've got our orders,_" said Jessie. "_I don't like this anymore than you do._"

"This coming from the asshole that head butted me for no reason?"

"_As far as I'm concerned, you had it coming, but to be honest, that was mostly a mistake on my part,_" said Jessie. "_Anyways, the Commander's right. We need to learn to work together, or we're not gonna last._"

"Yeah, I know, I know," said Shinn irritably. "But why us? We don't work well together anyways."

"_That's probably why,_" said Jessie. The two glared at each other's image in their respective comm. screens.

After several minutes of walking in silence, the two came upon a trench. By mutual agreement, the two leapt in, and started moving along the trench in hopes of finding one of their targets. The two had no ability to really stand one another's presence, but both recognized that they'd have to get over that, preferably now rather than on the field, just in case they were ever forced to work together. And if they could learn to work with each other, they could work with anyone.

What they didn't know was that the veterans were actually watching them from a hiding place above the buildings. Saul, Athrun and Shiho were listening in on the conversation too, and Saul shook his head.

"Those two won't go anywhere at this rate," he said. He stood the ZAKU Surge back up. "I think I'll pay them a visit. Keep an eye on things from up here, okay?"

"_No problem._"

* * *

Meanwhile

Shinn and Jessie weren't the only ones being observed. Suiren and Nicol were also watching the battle between the remaining two teams.

"They're all good," said Nicol. "But it looks like Aleksi and Lunamaria have the advantage."

"Of course," said Suiren. "_Aleksi is more experienced and I trained everyone in the Kyusai Team, with the exception of my second, to work as a team, and Luna is readily able to follow her. On the other hand, Tristan and Rey can work together, but neither of them is taking charge in an effort to counter their opponents._"

"You want to teach them a lesson, or should I?" asked Nicol mildly. Suiren smirked.

"_Have at it, Reaper,_" she said. Nicol scowled, but decided to test them himself.

* * *

_John Paul Jones_

Haruka Tsukino leaned against the railing, staring out at the ocean. Next to her was Stella, sitting on the ground with her knees held to her chest, also staring out at the ocean.

Given the chance to meet with and talk briefly with the Extended, Haruka found that Stella was easily the one she liked the most. The others were just too eager, too bloodthirsty, too hate-filled, too well programmed. Stella was just Stella—even if that did imply a certain amount of crazy. The blonde's biggest problem was that, mentally, she was very much so a child.

She was also Haruka's real reason for being here, so it was a good thing she kind of liked the girl.

"The ocean… is pretty," said Stella. Haruka glanced at her, smiling lightly before turning back to the ocean herself.

"Yeah, it is," she said. "I've lived my whole life with the ocean in my backyard, and I still can't help but marvel at its beauty."

Stella smiled slightly. She enjoyed the brunette's company. She was different from the others. She was almost like Neo.

Haruka, sensing the presence approaching, looked over her shoulder to see Leon approaching.

"Goodbye, Stella," she said. "We'll have to do this again some time." Stella nodded, and Haruka turned and walked over to Leon. The two immediately headed to the upper deck, where they could get a measure of privacy.

"Would you care to tell me what you're doing here?" said Leon.

"I'm a mercenary," she answered. "I'll work for whoever will pay me. It's not like either side is in the right here."

"I don't believe that," said Leon.

"What about you?"

"I have my own agenda to fulfill," said Leon. "And I think that you have one as well."

"Do you really think I'd tell you if I did and what it was?" she replied.

"No, I don't think you would," he agreed. "But I know that you're no mere mercenary. There's no way you'd have _that_ machine if you were."

Haruka froze, slowly, dangerously turning to Leon, her eyes blazing with unholy fire.

"You didn't…" she growled. Leon looked at her nervously.

"Didn't what?"

Faster than he could react, which was a feat he'd thought impossible, Leon found himself on his knees, arm twisted awkwardly behind his back. He had no leverage, and Haruka would only need to twist her hand slightly to snap the bones in the arm she held.

"Don't touch Astarte," growled Haruka dangerously. "If _anyone_ touches _my _machine, they'll only have twenty-four hours of slow, agonizing torture in which to regret it."

Leon gulped invisibly. It was clear that this was not a woman to cross.

* * *

Carpentaria Base

An hour later

"Well… I have to say, they did better than I expected," said Saul. Once he'd engaged Shinn and Jessie, he'd easily overwhelmed them, but they soon managed to get their act together and double-teamed him. It hadn't worked, of course—they just weren't good enough and couldn't work together well enough to overcome him.

Meanwhile, Nicol had engaged Aleksi and the remaining rookies. It was there that the pilots truly learned what fear was, facing the terror that was the Grim Reaper. However, with four of them, and much better teamwork than Shinn and Jessie had achieved, they'd driven Nicol off, only for Suiren to come in and eliminate them while they were distracted, reinforcing the lesson of not allowing such distractions on the battlefield.

After that, they veterans had all broken up and played an intricate game of cat-and-mouse throughout the training grounds, finding and eliminating one another as quickly as they could. In the end, Athrun had defeated Saul and Nicol, while Suiren overcame Shiho after an extended duel. Before the two could square off, power had run dry, and they'd decided to call it quits.

"There's still a lot of room for improvement though," said Suiren. "But I think they've got enough to survive. I don't like the fact that we'll need to babysit them somewhat, though."

"Aleksi should be able to do the babysitting," said Saul. "Well, for most of them. The rest of us will probably have to keep an eye on Shinn."

* * *

_Archangel_

The following night

Flay was tossing and turning in her sleep, her body soaked with sweat. Suddenly, she shot up from her bed, waking from the horrible nightmare. Ever since the last war ended, she had suffered from terrible nightmares from time to time. Mostly of the things that had happened in the war, the people that had died and the horrors that had been unleashed. But at times, she experienced dark and disturbing ones that she found unable to describe, like the one she just had. Thankfully, she had her own room, so she didn't wake anyone up and likely would have been forced her to explain why she had woken up, something she didn't want to do. Flay rose from her bed. She doubted that she would be getting anymore sleep tonight.

A change of clothes, a cup of coffee and a short walk later, Flay found herself on the _Archangel_'s observation deck, staring out at the ocean floor. The submersible tech upgrades were perhaps one of the most useful to be applied to the _Archangel_, but Flay was also grateful for the recreational facilities—particularly the spas—that had been added during the assault ship's year and a half of inactivity.

"Nightmares?" came a voice suddenly. Flay turned to see Makoto walking toward her. While everyone else except Cagalli and Lacus was wearing a Taiyonoha Fleet uniform, Makoto had also foregone the uniform. Instead, she wore a white t-shirt under a black leather top, shorts, and a trenchcoat, though it was currently tied around her waist, giving her the appearance of wearing a skirt that didn't extend to the front.

"Yeah," admitted Flay, staring back out at the ocean.

"The Raven?"

Flay shook her head. "No, but it was about as bad as that one."

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Makoto gently.

"I don't really understand it," said Flay softly. "It was just… just so…"

"Shh," murmured Makoto softly, wrapping her arms around Flay and hugging the other redhead from behind. "It's alright. You can talk about it when you're ready."

Flay was silent, extremely grateful to Makoto. The older redhead had a way of soothing those around her, and really, Flay needed that for her frazzled nerves right now.

"Thank you," said Flay. "For helping me. For believing in me."

"You deserve it."

* * *

_John Paul Jones_, docked at Earth Forces Indian Ocean Base

The next day

"_You want me to launch all the Windams under my command?! Are you serious?!_" Commander Mason shouted into the comm.

"I'm dead serious," replied Neo, annoyed at the man questioning his orders. "We're going up against the _Minerva_. We'll need everything to defeat them. Haven't you seen the data from the battle off the coast of Orb?"

"_That's not what I'm talking about! We were dispatched here to create a frontline base to battle against Carpentaria! And despite the fact that we're not even done, you want us to hand over all of our mobile suits?!_"

"Your mission is to accomplish this base _and_ to defeat ZAFT," said Neo. "So quit screaming and prepare your mobile suits. Besides, I'm leaving the Gaia and the Verde Buster for your defense. That should be more than enough—unless you've slipped up and ZAFT will send forces to attack in the middle of the battle?"

"_But–_"

"That's an order, so do it," said Neo, cutting the line and ending the conversation. They had detected the _Minerva_ and a _Vosgulov_-class leaving Carpentaria earlier that morning, heading on a course that would bring them near the new base, providing them the perfect chance to ambush them. He turned to one of the bridge officers. "Status of the mobile suits?"

"They're all ready to launch."

"Alright. Don't move the _Jones_ from its designated position," he ordered. Neo glanced over his shoulder at his subordinate. "I'll be leading the attack personally."

Treize, clad in an immaculate blue Earth Forces uniform, a pair of lieutenant rank badges pinned to his collar, nodded.

"As you wish sir."

* * *

Hanger

"You mean I gotta babysit Stella?" said Rache, sounding annoyed. "The Verde Buster can fly and I'm one of the best we got, so why am I the one being set to watch Stella?"

"Because you can make long-range bombardments the rest of us can't, so you can still participate, especially with that experimental artillery cannon," answered Silber. "We'll send you the coordinates while you aim and fire the gun at the _Minerva_. Sound fair?"

"I prefer to be in the middle of the action," said Rache. "Fine."

"That cannon is our secret weapon in this battle," said Neo, stepping onto the catwalks with Treize, clad in his black and white pilot suit, at his side. "Their sensors won't be able to track the shots or locate you and the gun as you fire on them."

"Assuming the damn thing gets through the first shot," said Rache. "I've looked it over, and I think it's got more power than it can really handle."

"All the more reason for you to be the one handling it," said Treize. "Unless some miracle occurs, one shot is all it will take as long as you're at the controls."

* * *

Elsewhere

It had been a few hours since the _Minerva_ and its _Vosgulov_-class escort, the _Nyiragongo_, had left Carpentaria and so far everything was proceeding smoothly. But even then, Talia couldn't help but feel uneasy. They were heading into enemy territory, alone once they reached land. If they were lucky, they'd only encounter a few small groups from outposts and smaller bases. If not… well, at least they would go down fighting.

"Ma'am! Incoming enemy contacts!" shouted Bart, drawing Talia from her thoughts.

"All hands, Level One Battlestations!" she ordered immediately. "How many?"

"Detecting…" Bart paused and gulped. "Thirty Windams, the Specter, Chaos, five of the other six units that were with them and two unknowns."

"Thirty Windams?" gasped Arthur, horrified.

Talia didn't blame him. Although she didn't show it, she was deeply worried about the numbers too. Thirty-nine mobile suits against eleven were terrible odds. The pilots on the _Minerva_ could potentially even that up, normally, but considering that seven of their enemies were _those_ pilots…

"It's them," she said softly. "Inform the pilots and tell the _Nyiragongo_ to keep an eye out for anything under the water."

Undoubtedly, the Abyss was heading for them underwater as well and Talia doubted that the _Nyiragongo_'s GOOhNs would be enough to handle the newer machine.

* * *

Hangar

Saul swore in his cockpit as they got the report on the enemy strength.

"This is going to be a difficult fight," he said. "Everyone, stick close to the _Minerva_! They'll be gunning for her without a doubt. Tristan, Jessie, you two stay on standby, just in case."

"Roger," said the two.

Saul's ZAKU Surge was placed on the port catapult as the Savior was placed on the starboard catapult.

"Good luck out there everyone," he said. "Saul Kessel, ZAKU Surge, launching!"

"Athrun Zala, Savior, taking off!"

The catapults activated, launching the two mobile suits into the air. As they took off, the _Minerva_'s central catapult opened, the Core Splendor preparing to take off.

"Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!"

The small fighter took off, followed behind by the Impulse's Chest and Leg Flyers, and the Force Silhouette. A moment later, they combined, assembling the Force Impulse as the Rose other ZAKU's began to launch.

Ahead of them and closing fast, was the large Earth Alliance force. Twenty-nine white and blue Windams, a thirtieth purple one, the Specter, the Chaos, the Blu Duel, the Strike Noir, the Rosso Aegis, the Divina Guardian, the Viola Surge and two new Gundams, not quite like anything any of them had ever seen before. A formidable force for them to be facing down on their own. Their only real chance to win here was to take out the ship these machines came from.

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize grinned as they neared the _Minerva_ and its mobile suits. And with them, was that white combining one that had eluded him before. But not today.

"Sir, permission to bring you the head of the mobile suit that has been giving us problems," he said.

Neo nodded. "_Granted. But don't–_"

Whatever he was about to say was lost as Treize raced ahead of the group, seeking to battle the Impulse.

"You're going down Coordinator," said Treize, drawing his beam revolvers and firing into the group. "One way or another, I'm leaving this battle with your head!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: This chapter has a moderate level of departure from the corresponding one. The next should have a fair bit more deviation to it. One thing that bothered me about the next chapter in _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_ was how choppy the battles seemed, with several characters vanishing, and a bit too much focus seemed to be on Shinn, Treize, and the MAAC. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I felt about it.**

**Anyways, this is troubling, as it seems both of our "mercenaries" have their own hidden agendas and have the resources or the backers to get their hands on two entirely new Gundams. And is it just me, or does Suiren seem like she knows more than she should about everything? We also learn that she has some level of support for the Newtype theory, and if every member of the Kyusai Team was a Newtype or had Newtype-potential, it might serve to explain part of the reason they've been so bloody dangerous.**

**What mysteries are Suiren, Haruka and Leon hiding from everyone? What are these two unknown Gundams capable of? What could Haruka's interest in Stella be about? Why am I asking questions to which I already know the answers?**

**Please leave a review everyone, and I'll hopefully see you tomorrow with the next chapter, or, if we're really lucky, maybe tonight.**

**Ja ne!  
**


	16. Phase 16: Clash in the Indian Ocean

_**Excellent!**_** While I was actually hoping to get this out several hours earlier, I can't really complain. I'm glad I decided to keep this seperate from the previous chapter--because thus far, this is easily the longest in _SEED Serenity_. This also brings me that much closer to catching up with Akatsuki Leader13, so my friend, if you are reading this, please be understanding when I say that I am hoping your muse leaves you alone for a week--my arms are dead from working on this chapter, and I've still got four more to go before I'm finally caught up!**

**Of course, go figure, _most_ of my current thoughts for the future will only be truly helpful_ after_ the point you've reached (I've got, like, three dozen things planned out there, but I can't use any of it yet!).**

**In any event, the next chapter will probably be more or less the same as the corresponding_ Destiny: A Retelling_ chapter. There will, of course, be new stuff, maybe some of the old stuff taken out, but overall, I'm pretty sure the next one will be at least fifty percent edited from Akatsuki Leader13. That sucks because I hate ripping off on that level, but it's also somewhat of a good thing, because otherwise, I might well be screwed here.**

**Alright, enough of that. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own both the MRA-X01 Astarte Gundam and the AHW-X004 Valiant Gundam.  
**

* * *

Phase Sixteen: Clash in the Indian Ocean

October 26th, C.E. 73

* * *

"Alright," said Saul, surveying the approaching force as he gripped his rifle tightly. "Watch each other's backs and stick close to the ship."

"_We know, you said that already,_" commented an annoyed Shinn.

"Good, then you'll remember that," replied Saul. "Standard Earth Forces tactics: they're going to try to swarm–"

Saul's words were cutoff as the Specter raced ahead of the other Earth Forces mobile suits, heading towards them at nearly full speed, firing off its beam revolvers. The ZAFT pilots instinctively scattered, firing back. But the Specter gracefully evaded their shots as it continued to fire. One beam nicked Shiho's left thruster. The brunette pilot swore as her machine was knocked off-balance, and struggled to compensate while still evading the incoming fire. Fortunately, the Rose soon descended between the ZAKU Duel Arms and the Specter, Suiren skillfully deflecting the shots with her shield and sword, buying Shiho the time to compensate for the damage and bring the Duel Arms back up.

"Damn, this bastard is good," said Nicol, struggling as he evaded and blocked several shots.

"No arguments there," said Saul as the remaining Earth Forces mobile suits reached them. "Of course, things are about to get a whole lot tougher."

Shinn swore as the Specter closed in on him, holstering its right gun and drawing its sword. The dark mobile suit swung the blade at him, with Shinn only barely managing to dodge.

"You've gotten better, but so have I!" said Treize, pressing his attack, knowing that, despite the near-defeats suffered in orbit, the pilot of that red ZAKU had truly pushed Treize. The EX-C had become complacent—but no more. He owed that pilot his thanks, in a way.

He'd give it to him, when he became one of the worthy trophy kills that scarred Treize's arm.

* * *

Meanwhile

Suiren swore when the Specter rushed after the Impulse. That pilot was incredibly powerful—if Suiren weren't as strong and well disciplined as she was, his mere presence would've made her sick to her stomach. Shinn didn't stand a chance against a pilot like that!

But as she turned to rush to the Impulse's aid, she felt a massive surge of power, easily equal to her own, and pulled back as a large beam split the battlefield, cutting her off from Shinn. She turned to the source of that power surge, her eyes narrowing.

Forget the Specter—this pilot was like Suiren, combining raw power with a strong discipline. This one was just as dangerous, maybe even more so.

It was one of those new Gundams. The machine was predominantly black, but the armor sections on the shoulders, hips, over the main body and head were silver. It looked somewhat bulky, but graceful at the same time, with what appeared to be the wings of the Dauntless mounted on the back, a large sword mounted on the right shoulder, and a beam cannon mounted on the left.

"_Well, well,_" came the feminine voice of the pilot. "_Never expected someone so like me here._" Her statement was punctuated by a shot from the rifle held in her Gundam's left hand.

"You're not the only one!" said Suiren, dodging to the side and returning fire with her own rifle. This shot was likewise dodged. The Earth Forces pilot holstered her rifle on her machine's waist and reached over to the right, gripping the massive sword mounted there and drawing it before surging forward.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?!" said Suiren, holstering her own rifle and drawing her second Tempest beam sword. Twin swords met the massive broadsword, the two pilots struggling for dominance.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Well now, the Grim Reaper," said Leon, grinning as he rushed the black ZAKU with his Valiant Gundam. "Let's see if you're really worthy of that reputation, Mr. Reaper!" Leon withdrew his anti-ship sword, unfolding and swinging it down.

But that reputation, it seemed, wasn't undeserved: a pair of odd-looking physical swords slipped from the shields into the hands of the ZAKU Phantom, and Leon was surprised when those blades snapped upwards and outwards, revealing them to actually be scythes. Those scythes were almost instantly engulfed in beam blades, then combined at the bottom of each of the small scythes, forming an impressive looking double beam scythe that deflected Leon's sword.

Leon was then forced to pull the Valiant back as the Grim Reaper opened up on his machine with his Hydra beam gatlings. Leon grinned, unfolding the shield on his left arm to intercept the shots.

"Alright, looks like this could be fun after all!" he said.

* * *

The _Minerva_

The CIWS guns of the _Minerva_ opened up on the mobile suits, but all of the Earth Forces pilots were more than skilled enough to evade their bullets.

"All right Windam pilots," said Neo. "Team up and come at them together."

The _Minerva_ had acquired a fair number of new mobile suits, but the odds were still in their favor. Treize had already started fighting the white machine, Haruka had intercepted that feminine-looking silver one, and that new dark blue ZAKU Phantom had gone after Silber without a second's hesitation. But out of all the new ones, it was that red one that interested Neo the most.

"Well Mister Red, let's see what you're made of," he said, firing off a few shots.

Talia watched as their mobile suits desperately battled the Earth Forces machines. She glanced at one of the screens, displaying the face of Captain Philips.

"Have you managed to pick up anything?" she asked.

"_No, we haven't found any ships out there,_" replied Philips.

"Then they must have a base somewhere nearby," said Talia grimly.

"_A base? This close to Carpentaria?_" asked Philips, disbelieving the possibility. "_We would have noticed it before._"

"Perhaps," agreed Talia. "But had they come from a fleet, we would have picked up the ships they came from by now. Either way, keep an eye out for anything."

* * *

Earth Forces Indian Ocean Base

The Entropie was the latest experimental weapon from Actaeon Industries. Intended to be a base model for larger and more powerful cannon intended to be supported and used like a turret from a base or the deck of a warship. The Entropie itself was much smaller, designed to be used as a hand-held cannon, though it was best to use the built-in tripod mount. The artillery cannon was railgun capable of launching projectiles at high-speeds towards targets further away than conventional artillery weapons and beyond the sensor range of any warship, meaning the enemy would never know just what was hitting them unless they focused their sensors on the area they were coming from—something that was virtually impossible in the middle of a battle.

Because of its power-intensiveness, the Entropie was equipped with its own battery, but used from a base as it was now, it was also hooked into an external generator. In terms of actual use as field weapons, they were likely intended for use by nuclear-powered mobile suits, though Rache doubted any such machine would actually use the Entropie. As he understood it, most of their nuclear resources were being conserved for the time when they could make an all-out assault and finally purify humanity of the filth that was the Coordinator. Therefore, any nuclear machine would likely be purposed towards direct, senseless destruction, capable of clearing away whatever feeble defenses the Coordinators might throw in the path of the nukes.

However, while he was no mechanic, Rache was easily able to recognize that the Entropie wasn't tough enough to withstand its own power, as the high acceleration and energy flow would likely cause it to tear itself apart. The larger version of it would likely be able to handle it, but the Entropie just didn't have enough integrity to hold up.

Therefore, Rache knew he would have to make every shot count. He wasn't likely to get more than one or two, if he was extraordinarily lucky, _maybe_ three, but he was going in to this under the assumption that it would break after the first shot. Fortunately, the Entropie did have one genuinely useful feature, and that was a variety of ammo. Again, mostly to test for the more advanced version, but he could make some use of it here.

"This should work," he said, loading one of the ammo packs into the Entropie, one he felt was most likely to give him a second shot. He knelt the Verde Buster down on one knee, bracing the machine and allowing him to easily aim it high enough to reach the ZAFT warship. "I'm loaded up sir. Ready whenever you are."

Some distance behind him, the Gaia was pacing back and forth. Stella was both bored and worried about Neo, and perhaps a little worried about Haruka as well. Why had she been left behind? So what if the Gaia couldn't fly or swim? She wanted to be with him, protecting him from the bad guys.

"Quit pacing, would ya Stella? It's getting on my nerves," said Rache sharply.

Stella stopped, glancing at him for a few seconds before resuming her wandering. Rache sighed and shook his head. He couldn't entirely blame her—he'd rather have been out there in the fight too. Before he could say anything more, a set of coordinates came in, which Rache quickly targeted.

"Hold together, you piece of junk," he said to the Entropie as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Suddenly, a number of small explosions blossomed across the hull of the _Minerva_ and the waters around the ship.

"Evasive maneuvers! Arthur, why didn't we detect those missiles?" demanded Talia as the shaking warship calmed down.

"I don't know ma'am," replied Arthur. "A number of the mobile suits have been hitting us with laser designators, but even then, we should have picked up a spread of long-range missiles. But there was nothing, not even a thruster trail for us to track."

"_**Minerva**__, this is Athrun,_" came the voice of the Savior's pilot as he battled the purple Windam and Chaos. "_I caught that attack. You weren't hit by missiles. I think it was some kind of scattered artillery barrage._"

Talia bit her lower lip, holding back a few curses. They couldn't track an artillery shot, especially at an extreme range like this. Their only option was to evade and take out the mobile suits.

"Helm, keep performing evasive maneuvers!" she ordered. "If we can't track the shots, we'll just have to avoid staying in the same spot for any length of time!"

* * *

Earth Forces Base

"How was that, sir?" asked Rache.

"_Good work Rache,_" said Neo. "_But they're starting to take more evasive maneuvers. Fire another barrage of those cluster shots._"

"No can do sir," said Rache in disgust. "I was right about this thing. It'll shatter after the next shot. I'm gonna load a round that should take out the ZAFT ship, but only if it lands. Can you try to hit the engines for me?"

"_Understood,_" said Neo. "_I'll see what we can do._"

* * *

Elsewhere

Aleksi fired off her rifle, but the Rosso Aegis dodged the shot and returned fire with its Scylla II. Even on a Guul, though, Aleksi's reflexes and enhanced awareness allowed her to evade the curving beams. Using one shot as a visual cover, Aleksi fired, catching one of the Rosso Aegis's claws.

"Raaaagh! I'll crush you!" roared Gyunei, shifting to mobile suit flight mode and charging forward, activating one of his machine's beam sabers.

"As if!" said Aleksi, charging forward as well. Gyunei fired his Scylla II, but Aleksi pulled up an instant before he did so, and it was too close for him to bend the beam. The blonde then fired off her extensional arrestors, catching the Rosso Aegis in the shoulders.

"Damn you!" roared Gyunei, recklessly charging upwards.

However, as Aleksi retracted the extensional arrestors and pulled away, a trio of solid projectiles flew in, crashing into the Rosso Aegis and sending Gyunei spinning towards the ocean.

"I _hate_ relying on Chen's skills at the fire control station," muttered Aleksi. Her arrestors had been a mere distraction, ensuring her opponent didn't realize she'd pegged him with a laser designator, making him an easy target for the _Minerva_. But she didn't like relying on that.

Nearby, Luna viciously exchanged fire with Nanai, the Guul-mounted Gunner ZAKU Warrior and Divina Guardian circling one another as they fired repeatedly.

"You're in the way!" shouted Nanai. "I want to see the beautiful explosions!"

"I won't let you sink the _Minerva_!" said Luna, snapping off a shot with the Orthros. But the Divina Guardian was too fast and agile for the clumsy cannon, and Luna tried firing her Guul's missiles. But Nanai merely spun about, turning tail to the missiles, and opened up with the wing-mounted vulcans, then shifted to mobile suit mode, flipping over and opening up with the Divina Guardian's entire arsenal: the headcrest cannon, the twin hyper beam rifles and all twenty-four torso mounted missiles.

Luna's eyes widened in horror as the massive barrage flew her way. She pulled back, retreating towards the _Minerva_. But while she managed to dodge the hyper beam cannon blast, one of the rifle shots took off her ZAKU's shield, and she was forced to bring the Guul between herself and the missile barrage, jumping off towards the _Minerva_ as the flight platform was obliterated.

"Damn it!" cursed Luna as she landed on the _Minerva_ and raised her Orthros, snapping off another shot that Nanai easily evaded. "How the hell are we supposed to beat something like that?!"

Nearby, Rey squared off with Mariemeia. The black-haired EX-C laughed as she fired shots from her rifles and railguns at the Guul-mounted Blaze ZAKU Phantom. Rey dove down, firing his Guul's missiles at the Strike Noir. Maia responded by firing a frenzied barrage from her rifles at the missiles, gunning them all down before they could reach her.

"Yes… yes… more!" she cried. "I want to feel the beat of the music in my bones!"

Rey grit his teeth. These pilots were tough opponents, even tougher given their mobile suits. If he was going to take it down, he needed to be careful and come up some kind of plan. But with all potential support, even the three Commanders, drawn elsewhere, he was gonna have to pull this off on his own.

Rey snapped off a shot with his beam rifle, which Maia easily danced around.

_Think Rey, think!_

As Rey dodged a shot from the Strike Noir, he withdrew a fragmentation grenade. He fired off another barrage of missiles from his Guuls, and as Maia took aim to gun them down with her rifles. Maia's first shot hit the primed grenade, detonating it, the explosion and detonating all of the missiles.

From behind the dust cloud, another barrage of missiles and several shots from the beam rifle were let off. Maia gunned down the missiles with her CIWS and dodged most of the beams, but one grazed the Strike Noir's ankle. The EX-C laughed insanely.

"Yes, that's it!" she cried. "Come on Patchworker! Keep it up! Don't let the music slow down!" Maia fired her beam rifles at the ZAKU, pressing Rey hard.

_Well, that didn't work_, thought Rey as he returned fire. The Strike Noir was magnificent machine with an equally magnificent pilot. The situation just got better and better!

Rey ejected his spent energy clip, grabbing a replacement and firing off a repeated, wild barrage of missiles, adding his beam rifle to the mix a few seconds later. It was inaccurate, but it forced Maia to focus more on dodging and gunning down missiles than on Rey himself.

The blonde ZAFT pilot changed angles, grabbed, primed and threw another grenade, then shifted again to a different angle as he snatched up one of his beam tomahawks.

The grenade, unlike everything else, finally hit home, exploding and consuming the Strike Noir in smoke. Rey rushed forward as quickly as he could, even leaping off his Guul and sending it down towards the ocean as he swung his tomahawk into the smoke.

But all he caught was air.

Rey's eyes widened in surprise. "What?! Where–"

"_Surprise!_" shouted a voice suddenly as Maia dropped down on the ZAKU with beam blades in her machine's hands.

Rey only had time to do one thing, bringing up his tomahawk and rotating one shield, intercepting the Strike Noir's blades. The two pushed off from one another, Rey firing thrusters and orienting himself to land on his Guul as he fell. The platform dropped under the sudden weight, but quickly pulled itself back into the air. Rey holstered his rifle, drawing his second tomahawk as the Strike Noir closed in. Blades met, the two struggling for dominance for a few seconds before pushing back once more.

"Oh yes!" cheered Maia. "Yes, yes, yes! Hahahahaha! Such a glorious dance! I don't want it to ever end!"

* * *

Meanwhile

Shiho squared off with Silber, the two flying circles around one another, taking shot after shot with their rifles, neither able to land a clear hit. Both pilots grit their teeth, growing increasingly annoyed with one another.

Silber didn't like these odds. They were too even. He needed to stack more in his own favor.

Taking a hand off the Blu Duel's controls for a moment, he quickly hit the switch for his drugs, and felt a surge as they were pumped into his system.

With a roar, Silber refocused on the battle, firing his railgun as he closed in with a beam saber.

"Not a chance in hell, you bastard!" roared Shiho, drawing both Blizzards as her Memoria let loose repeatedly on the Blu Duel. The two dodged one another's shots, but Shiho quickly closed in, dropping under and spinning over, her Blizzard cutting the barrel of the Blu Duel's railgun. Silber growled, swinging his beam saber down, but it was intercepted by the second Blizzard as Shiho pulled away, firing her Memoria once again.

"I won't let you get away with insulting Yzak like this!" shouted Shiho.

Not far away, Saul was facing down Miguel, ZAKU Surge against Viola Surge. However, while the Viola Surge was faster, the ZAKU Surge had the far better pilot, and Saul was a master of high-speed combat. As the two exchanged fire, Saul evaded, but Miguel flew straight into one shot, destroying one of his ten wings.

"Damn you!" roared Miguel, charging straight in, beam sabers drawn.

"The copy is never as good as the original!" said Saul, skillfully intercepting both sabers with his Falx G7. "And that's all you are! Not a successor, but a cheap knockoff! You're pathetic!"

As if to punctuate that statement, Saul let off a barrage of Firebee missiles straight into the Viola Surge's face. He pushed back, twisting to deliver a vicious kick to the torso, spinning over to cut away several more wings with his Falx G7. Miguel spun about, firing off one of his Hakenfaust.

"Oh, thanks!" said Saul, dodging and grabbing the line of the Hakenfaust. "I always wanted to know how people felt when they did this to me!"

With that, the ZAKU Surge tugged on the wire, pulling the Viola Surge in. As Saul's beam axe descended to split his opponent in half, Miguel pushed his thrusters—now badly damaged—to their limits to buy time as he withdrew a Stiletto and threw it at the ZAKU Surge.

But Saul had gone up against many of the best pilots of the previous war, and while usually not victorious in the grand scheme of things, he did pretty well for himself, and that was saying something when one considered two of his foes had been the Angels.

Seeing the dagger coming his way, Saul pulled himself out of the way, his Falx G7 instead cutting the wire of the Hakenfaust as a result, but still managed to bring himself over to kick the Viola Surge's already badly damaged thruster array and send it careening away as he retrieved one of his beam revolvers.

Saul wasn't the only one doing well for himself. Even double-teamed by Neo's Windam and Sting's Chaos, Athrun was holding his own.

The Savior, in mobile armor form, slipped under the fire from the Chaos's rifle, returning fire with the Afmortas and Super Fortis cannons. Sting grit his teeth, struggling to dodge the precision fire.

"This guys good," commented Neo, firing his rifle on the Savior. Even distracted by the Chaos, the red mobile armor was easily able to evade. Neo's danger sense went wild as the mobile armor tumbled directly in front of him as it finished shifting to mobile suit mode, a beam saber already in hand and descending on Neo's Windam.

Neo pulled back, twisting out of the path of the beam saber, and lashing out with a kick at the Savior's head. But Athrun ducked under this, and lashed out with his shield at the Windam's torso. Neo brought his own shield down, knocking Athrun's away, and both pilots fired their CIWS, aiming to take out the opponent's main camera. Bullets pinged off the armor of both machines before the pilots pushed away, and Neo snapped off several shots with his rifle while Sting fired a spread of missiles.

The Savior shifted to mobile armor mode, twisting threw the beam fires and spinning behind the missiles, which crashed against one another in a futile effort to track their target. As Athrun fired off his cannons at the purple Windam, Neo pulled away into a cloud, the water dispersing the strength of the beams and concealing Neo's position as he reemerged, beam rifle blazing.

But he still couldn't land a blow on Athrun. Had any of the Phantom Pain pilots known this machine was in the hands of the legendary Crimson Knight of Justice, almost all would've wanted him for themselves.

And Treize especially would've been coming for the head of the Crimson Knight personally, with every intent of making the legendary war hero the tenth scar.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Ma'am!" Bart called out. "We've just received word from the _Nyiragongo_. They've detected the Abyss heading toward us, and are launching their GOOhNs to intercept it."

Talia bit back a curse before turning quickly to Meyrin. "Tell Tristan and Jessie to equip themselves for underwater combat and to join the GOOhNs as soon as they're ready," she ordered. Even with that, she knew they were in trouble. The Abyss was at its best underwater. As good as Tristan and Jessie were, they were handicapped underwater, but it was better than nothing.

Fortunately, the Windams hadn't landed any clear hits yet, but they obviously gunning for the _Minerva_'s engines. She had a guess as to what that was about. Most likely, the Earth Forces were worried about the position of their artillery cannon being discovered if they used it too much, and so, they wanted to get a very clear shot in on the ZAFT ship. Without those engines, the _Minerva_ would have no way to escape the next artillery shot, and it would likely be a crippling one.

* * *

Hangar

"C'mon! You heard the lady! Get those bazookas loaded!" yelled Jessie as he sat impatiently in his GuAIZ R's cockpit.

"_Calm down,_" said Tristan. "_The __**Nyiragongo**__ has six GOOhNs. They'll be able to hold him off until we launch._"

"Do you really think they'll be able to handle that blue bastard?"

"… _no._"

"_Alright, you're good to go_," said Abes, interrupting their conversation.

"_Right,_" said Tristan. "_Open hangar doors. Meyrin, have the GOOhNs engaged the Abyss yet?_"

"_Yes, just moments ago,_" answered Meyrin, pausing for a moment. "_The Abyss just took out two of them!_"

"Damn it," said Jessie, ducking under the opening hatch. "C'mon, let's go!"

"_I'm coming!_" said Tristan, moving to catch up with his impatient teammate.

The two dove into the water, heading towards the aquatic battle. They could see the battle between the Abyss and the four remaining GOOhNs playing out. Unfortunately, the Abyss was just too fast in the water and too advanced for the outdated GOOhNs—designed for battle against ships and coastal targets, rather than close combat with underwater mobile weapons, which brought up the question of why they hadn't been given ZnOs—to even hope to match. The Abyss, in its mobile armor mode, fired off a spread of torpedoes, catching one of the slow-moving GOOhNs and annihilating it just as Tristan and Jessie started heading for the battle.

"That damn blue bastard is going down today," growled Jessie.

* * *

Elsewhere

Shinn narrowly avoided another of Treize's sword swings and tried to get some distance between himself and the Specter, but as soon as he started to move, Treize fired at him with his beam revolver. Shinn cursed as he found himself again trying to evade his shots. He just couldn't seem to do anything but avoid getting hit. And sooner or later, his luck would run out. He needed to get on the offensive.

Suddenly, a pair of Windams fired on him and Shinn scrambled to evade their shots. But it gave Treize an opening to exploit. The Extended lunged at the Impulse from behind, his Tempest sword coming down on its back…

But it was not meant to be.

The Savior, in its mobile armor mode, collided with the dark mobile suit, throwing it back.

"Damn you, you red bastard!" shouted Treize, firing at Athrun.

Athrun flew up, dodging his shots as he transformed the Savior back. The Windams rushed up at him, firing their rifles. Athrun cut his thrusters, dropping the Savior suddenly and catching the two pilots off guard. The Savior fired and beams tore through the chests of the mobile suits.

Treize folded his sword, storing it back under his shield and drew his holstered beam revolver. One gun trained on the Savior and the other on the Impulse while they had their rifles trained on him.

"I don't need anyone else. I can take you both out!"

Not far away, Neo glanced back as he led Sting towards the _Minerva_. They needed to get the engines, and the battleship had proven just persistent enough to avoid any serious damage to that area. He didn't like leaving Treize to deal with both those machines at once. Individually, neither really worried him, despite the obvious skill of that red pilot. But together…

Well, Treize could handle himself.

* * *

Meanwhile

Leon deflected the double scythe of the ZAKU Blitz with his shield, using the kinetic energy to help push himself away. The Grim Reaper really did live up to his reputation, and Leon was enjoying every minute of this duel.

Snatching up his rifle, he let off several shots, but the black ZAKU easily dodged them. The double scythe was suddenly split in two, deactivated, and stored. Leon's eyes narrowed, as the ZAKU Blitz raced into a cloud, disappearing from sight.

"Now where could he be I wonder?" questioned Leon, shifting from his rifle to the bazooka stored on his backpack. The bazooka unfolded, and Leon shot a round into the cloud. The ZAKU Blitz had not emerged from this side…

The explosive detonated within the cloud, superheating the water molecules within and pushing them apart before pulling them back into the vacuum of air.

And still, no ZAKU Blitz.

Suddenly, Leon's danger sense triggered, and he fired his engines to max, pulling away as a beam scythe slashed through the air where he'd just been. He looked back at the distortion in the air that quickly faded back into the ZAKU Blitz, holding its Falx G9 beam scythe.

Leon grinned, switching to a beam saber.

Near the _Minerva_, Aleksi continued her battle with Gyunei. The Rosso Aegis had taken a considerable pounding, while Aleksi's situational awareness had allowed her to avoid much more than some scratches and grazes. The damage was mostly cosmetic, though Gyunei had managed a few decent hits.

The Scylla II lit up the sky, heading straight for Aleksi. The blonde pilot pulled away, firing a barrage of missiles from her Guul straight into the path of the beam as she pulled into a cloud. Gyunei growled in annoyance, but another spread of missiles gave him the location of the Guul, and he shifted to mobile suit mode, firing the Scylla II into the cloud in that direction. As the beam tore through the cloud, an explosion sounded within.

Suddenly, extensional arrestors shot out from another location within the cloud, taking hold of the Rosso Aegis and pulling it in as the GuAIZ, now lacking the support of its Guul, fell from the sky. Gyunei was caught completely off-guard, and Aleksi took advantage of that.

The Rosso Aegis lost its head to a shot from the GuAIZs beam rifle. As the mobile suits entered melee range of one another, the claws on Aleksi's shield cut into the Scylla II, detonating it. She kicked and punched the Rosso Aegis in every damaged area, and the PS armor soon faded as Gyunei lost all combat power. Aleksi released the Rosso Aegis, using it as a jumping platform, activating her thrusters at full as a Guul shot from the _Minerva_'s central catapult.

Skillfully, the veteran Greencoat landed on the Guul, and turned to finish the Rosso Aegis just in time to see it fall into the water, twisting to flee.

Luna fired a shot at the Divina Guardian from her position atop the _Minerva_, but Nanai easily evaded, returning fire with a spread of missiles. The _Minerva_ opened up with its CIWS, clearing the missiles as Luna fired again, this time aided by a shot from the _Minerva_'s Tristan beam cannons.

However, this distraction allowed one Windam pilot to pull in close to the _Minerva_'s engines. He was just about to take the shot that would end the battle when a beam pierced the chest of his Windam. Two other Windam pilots experienced a brutal death as beam-tipped extensional arrestors pierced their cockpits and drove straight through their skulls.

A fourth Windam, speared on the claws of Aleksi's GuAIZ, was tossed away as it exploded.

Neo had to admit: he was impressed. He'd never have expected a mere GuAIZ to defeat Gyunei, and the pilot had just taken out four Windams easily. She was gifted, he could feel it. But she wouldn't be given another shot at their Windams. Well, any but his, of course.

Aleksi pulled out of the path of the fire from the purple Windam, turning to face the Earth Forces pilot. He was very strongly gifted, much more strongly than her, and in a better machine to boot. Her only chance was the training in harnessing her gifts she'd been given by Suiren.

"_Neo, we've got a problem,_" came Rache's voice over Neo's radio. "_Stella's moving towards the coast._"

Neo frowned. Rache was right, that was a problem. Neo sighed.

"Rache, switch over to whatever ammunition you feel has the best balance between its chance of hitting and the amount of damage it will do," he said. "Gyunei's been forced to retreat, Treize is being double-teamed, and the Grim Reaper is among our enemies as well."

"_Roger that sir,_"

* * *

Elsewhere

The Tempest beam swords of the Rose Gundam met the Haretsu Suru mega sword of the Astarte Gundam, the two female pilots battling an elaborate dance of swords as they struggled to overcome one another. The two pushed off, both panting lightly, both smiling grimly. This is the sort of battle they'd both been waiting for!

"You're good," complemented Suiren.

"_So are you,_" said Haruka. "_But then, I'm well-suited to dealing with you, and vice versa._"

"You're a practitioner of Shinsei Tsurugi," said Suiren in realization, understanding now why this pilot's movements had seemed familiar. It had been difficult to see, with that large sword, but now that she knew, it was obvious.

"_And so are you!_" replied Haruka, charging forward. Suiren cursed as she barely blocked the mega sword. With its left arm alone, the Astarte began to push the Rose and both Tempest swords back.

"You're a Coordinator!" said Suiren. "You obviously can't be blind to what the Earth Forces real goal is! So why are you fighting for them?"

"_I have something to protect,_" replied Haruka.

"What?"

The Rose's railguns suddenly snapped into position, firing on the Astarte, but Haruka had already pushed back and pulled gracefully away. Suiren panted slightly. Haruka wielded that sword with the grace of a knife fighter and the power of a titan. She was truly a master of Shinsei Tsurugi, perhaps even comparable to Makoto! This would be Suiren's toughest battle yet.

Haruka lent an ear to the reports of what was going on. When she heard that Gyunei was forced to retreat, and worse, Stella was moving, she knew the situation was bad, in more ways than one, as twenty-two of the remaining twenty-three Windams continued to swarm the _Minerva_ along with the Chaos and Divina Guardian.

"Sorry, but its time to change things up!" she said to Suiren. "Go, Takusan!"

The large, rounded hip armor attached to the Astarte's sides were the location of these unique weapons. From within their partial concealment, the eight Takusan blades snapped out, before shooting out of their storage completely. Suiren's eyes widened as the blades flew threw the air, and swore viciously.

DRAGOON units! Tiny ones, capable of operating in an atmosphere! The Takusan swarmed the Rose Gundam, attacking from all sides, operated with such skill that dodging and taking the occasional potshot with almost no chance of hitting was about all Suiren could manage. Even her powerful awareness wasn't helping!

Meanwhile, Haruka stored the Haretsu Suru and drew her Hitotsu beam rifle. The Daini beam cannon on the Astarte's left shoulder unfolded, a section down on the back, behind the left wing snapping up, extending the back of the cannon, while the top section, normally unnecessary, flipped forward, extending the front barrel. Then, sections slid out from within that barrel, extending the Daini a bit further.

A connection plug on the top of the Hitotsu flipped open and up, while a similar component lowered down from the Daini. Haruka connected the Daini with the Hitotsu through these, forming a hand-operated bazooka-like cannon attached to the Astarte's shoulder.

As Suiren continued to evade the Takusan, Haruka aimed the newly formed Hakai Suru at the ocean near the _Minerva_, specifically at the location she'd determined the _Vosgulov_-class escort submarine to be.

Power built-up in the Hakai Suru, and Haruka squeezed the trigger.

What happened next would forever be engraved in the minds of everyone on the battlefield.

A massive beam tore free of the Hakai Suru, the recoil sending the Astarte back over twenty meters. The beam impacted with the water, and where most beams would've been dissipated and never moved beyond the surface, the Hakai Suru's blast tore straight through the water, straight through the _Nyiragongo_, and finally impacted with the ocean floor.

Explosions tore up the area, water exploding as it was superheated well beyond the boiling point in seconds, casting up a thick mist off the _Minerva_'s starboard bow and sending waves crashing into the battleship and the islands and rocks surrounding the battle. The _Nyiragongo_ exploded, and Jessie, Tristan and Auel all fled as the boiling water heated up the outer surface of their machines, and the GOOhNs were compromised, collapsing in on themselves. Even had the pilots lived through that, the water would've boiled them alive.

When it faded away, the entire battle, from Treize to the crews of the _Minerva_, had been frozen with shock, terror and awe. Haruka separated the Daini and Hitotsu as she recalled the Takusan, their task of distracting Suiren long enough to fire the Hakai Suru complete.

In the water, the rest of the ocean quickly cooled what the Hakai Suru had done, removing the Abyss and GuAIZ Rs, which had escaped before getting too hot, from any sort of danger as all three pilots forgot about fighting each other and stared at the massive crater on the ocean floor below where the _Nyiragongo_ had once been.

"W-what the hell was that?" gasped Jessie.

Above the water, everyone else was asking themselves the same question.

"A beam cannon capable of bypassing the water and destroying the _Nyiragongo_ in one shot?" questioned Talia, utterly horrified by the power that had been displayed just now. And, in spite of herself, extremely grateful it had not been turned on her ship.

The rookie ZAFT pilots were all trembling. How was such a thing possible? In the Specter, Treize couldn't help but grin. After that display, he began to think he could enjoy having Haruka as an ally.

Many of the Windam pilots, though, were now just as terrified as the ZAFT pilots. What kind of machines and pilots was Phantom Pain producing?!

When the second artillery barrage suddenly descended on the _Minerva_, inflicting severe damage as the shrapnel detonated, nearly taking out Luna's ZAKU in the process, it was like a signal for the battle to resume.

And resume it did, much more viciously and bloodily than before.

* * *

Underwater

"Damn it, what the hell was that?!" shouted Jessie as he and Tristan evaded swings from the Abyss's lance. "_Minerva_, what happened?! The _Nyiragongo_ was destroyed and this huge crater we could hide the ship in was left behind!"

"_Some kind of new mobile suit weapon,_" said Meyrin. "_We're not sure how it did it, but Commander Kyusai is currently engaged in battle with it!_"

"_A mobile suit capable of doing that kind of damage?!_" exclaimed Tristan. "_What the hell are the Earth Forces pumping out of their factories?!_"

Tristan and Jessie fired their bazookas, but the Abyss was simply to quick for them to get anywhere close to hitting it, and it returned fire with a spread of torpedoes, forcing the two to dodge.

"Damn it!" roared Jessie, snapping his GuAIZ R's railguns into place and firing on the Abyss wildly.

"Hey, hey, being crazy is something we should leave to the EX-Cs, don't you think?!" said Auel, dodging the rounds and shifting to mobile suit mode, rushing in to strike with his lance as Tristan readied another round from his bazooka.

* * *

Elsewhere

Saul bit off a vicious curse as the Viola Surge fired wildly at him. That _thing_ had just knocked out their escort, and while Saul had realized something was off and that the _Nyiragongo_ should've been able to provide more aid than it was, it was still a severe blow, particularly to the morale of the _Minerva_ crew and pilots.

It was insane! Not even the Conviction's Praemium beam bazooka had been capable of what that beam cannon had just done. How the hell was such a thing possible on any mere mobile suit?!

"_Saul, the situation's taken a turn for the worst!_" said Shiho. "_We need to turn things around, quickly, or we'll be forced to retreat to Carpentaria, and I don't think we could actually make it back if it came to that!_"

"You're right," said Saul. "I know that. Aleksi helped even the odds somewhat, but the Specter's now locked down both Athrun and Shinn, and there are still twenty Windams left going after the _Minerva_!"

"_This bastard in the Duel-knockoff is good,_" said Shiho as she crossed swords with the Blu Duel. "_Nicol, what about you?_"

"_No dice,_" said Nicol. "_This other Gundam is pretty strong as well, and Suiren's dealing with that… __**thing**__. Aleksi's also under attack by the purple Windam. I think it's the command unit._"

"Damn it!" cursed Saul. A wild shot from the Viola Surge grazed the ZAKU Surge's ankle. "Alright, that's enough! You're getting on my nerves!"

Saul snatched up both of his beam revolvers and let loose a storm of fire all around the Viola Surge, one shot piercing the knockoff's rifle. Saul punched up the ZAKU Surge's thrusters, shooting forward at high speed. He swapped out one revolver for a tomahawk, and fired a spread of missiles as he approached. The Viola Surge's head lit up as it fired its CIWS guns, but Saul was suddenly in its face, his axe descending straight through the left arm of the Viola Surge. Saul rammed the head of his ZAKU into the copycat's head, knocking the Viola Surge from the sky. He switched back to beam revolvers as it hit the water, and opened up on the Windams, swiftly gunning down three that were caught completely off-guard.

Neo watched the battle play out in between exchanges with the pilot of the gold GuAIZ—Treize had called her 'Goldilocks'. He had to admit, he wasn't certain how to assess it. The _Minerva_ had taken a considerable pounding, but they'd now lost almost half their Windams, and both Miguel and Gyunei had been defeated. That speedy dark green ZAKU was now ready to square off with their Windams, and Neo didn't think they'd last long against a pilot of that caliber.

Worse, as Rache had warned, the Entropie had almost literally fallen apart after the second shot, and while he'd done quite a bit of damage, Rache didn't have any more long-range artillery. On top of that, Stella was heading to the coast, if she wasn't already there, and that's where Treize was keeping the white and red Gundams busy. If she engaged them, it could draw those two onto the coast, near the new base. And if they managed to find it and pass its location onto Carpentaria…

Neo knew he had to make sure that those two would be taken out as soon as possible, lest they discover the base.

Much as he hated to do so, Neo broke off his match with the gold GuAIZ, disengaging his beam saber from her beam claws, and headed off to where Treize battled his two foes. He was holding his own extremely well against the two pilots. The pilot of the white one had gotten better since their last encounter, no surprise seeing as he'd single-handedly taken out a Zamza-Zah, and the red one was being piloted by a truly incredible war veteran.

However, even Treize was slowly but surely getting pushed back. The white one was mostly just a minor aid, but that aid was all the red one seemed to need. So far, none of them had taken significant damage, but the Specter looked just a little worse off than its two foes.

Actually, the fact that Treize was doing so well under his present circumstances was actually a tribute to just how great of a pilot he was. Neo pushed his Windam faster, because there was another, far more critical problem. If Treize were to lose this fight, it would be soon, when he ran out of power.

Neo fired off a few shots from his beam rifle at the two as Treize fired on them, causing them to scatter.

"I'll take care of that red one, you finish off that white one," ordered Neo, chasing after the red mobile suit. "They've put some of their best on that ship—even Miguel's been taken down. We need to finish this quickly."

"_Of course, sir._"

* * *

The Coast

Stella stood on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. She loved the water, but now wasn't the time to admire the ocean. Neo was out there, fighting the bad guys and he needed her to help him. She knew it. But the question was how was she going to get there to help him? The Gaia couldn't swim like the Abyss or fly like all the other mobile suits.

Suddenly, she saw that stubborn white mobile suit that always got in their way being chased by Treize. It was going to pass close by her. Stella knew how she could help Neo. She'd get rid of that evil white one for Neo.

But then she caught sight of something new: it was a red mobile armor, and it was fighting Neo's Windam. Suddenly, the red machine transformed into a mobile suit, and fired a shot at the Specter, right as Treize locked swords with the evil white one, who saw what was happening and suddenly grabbed onto the Specter, trying to hold it in place.

It was futile, of course, but Stella reacted on instinct: Treize was Neo's second. Protecting him would help Neo. And that red mobile suit must be what was threatening Neo.

Treize was just about to escape from the Savior's shot when the Gaia leaped in the path of the beam, intercepting it with her shield. Stella transformed the Gaia to its animal-like mobile armor mode as she landed in the shallow coastal waters and started running towards Neo and the red one.

Red… the color of blood… _her_ blood… her blood… hers…!

Letting out a roar of pain, Stella suddenly leapt into the air as the Savior transformed into a mobile armor. But to everyone's surprise, Stella flipped the Gaia over in the middle of the air and fired up her thrusters, and the black wolf-like mobile armor landed atop the red fighter-like one. Athrun bit off a vicious curse as the Gaia threatened to crush the Savior under its weight in the shallow waters, and tumbled over, shifting to mobile suit mode. Stella transformed the Gaia back to mobile suit mode as well, and both machines landed in the shallow waters.

Athrun raised his rifle to fire at the Gaia. At that instant though, Athrun's situation took a turn for the worst.

A red-tinted amethyst jewel seed rushed through Stella's mind, shattering in a nova of light.

Before Athrun could react, the Gaia was on top of him, beam saber drawn and descending. The Crimson Knight's incredible reflexes were all that saved him, but the Savior's rifle was obliterated.

Treize paused for a second in his duel with the Impulse. What was that?

In the skies between the _Minerva_ and the coast, the Rose and Astarte also paused in their match. Haruka glanced back towards the coast.

"Stella… she's awakened," she whispered.

The Gaia was like some kind of black goddess, dancing through Athrun's attempts to counter with an ease nearly comparable to the Specter, and all his attempts to get back into the air were thwarted. What was going on? The pilot had gone well beyond what Athrun knew of their previous capabilities. Even what he knew of Shinn showed no signs of _this_ level of advancement!

Athrun's eyes widened as he realized what was going on, remembering his lessons on the enigma that was the Soul of Divinity… and his eyes widened further when he realized that he could no longer tap it for himself.

"You!" cried Stella as the Savior deflected a saber strike. Stella shifted, crouching slightly, and fired the assault cannons of the MA mode without even bothering to transform. "You tried to hurt Neo!" Stella ducked under Athrun's retaliatory slash, then came up with her own. Athrun deflected this with his shield again, but Stella flipped over, kicking the Savior in the head mid-flip, and transformed the Gaia to mobile armor mode to continue her assault.

Neo stared in surprise. What was with Stella? It was like she'd flipped a switch or something… then, Neo realized just what it might be. After all, he'd seen it before.

"_Sir, I've got a shot on the white machine,_" came Rache's voice. Neo frowned.

"Rache? Where are you?"

"_I followed Stella after the Entropie fell apart,_" said Rache. "_Wanted to keep an eye on her. But I've been listening to the reports, some of which you might've missed fighting the red bastard. The situation's gotten worse. We're down to no more than a dozen Windams, Silber and those mercs are still locked down, Auel's fighting the GuAIZ Rs below, and that damn gold GuAIZ has rallied the rest of the ZAFT pilots and turned the tables on Nanai and the others._"

Neo frowned. That was bad.

Treize also heard, and was surprised, and a little frustrated, if he was being honest with himself. That gold GuAIZ was proving to be perhaps the biggest thorn of all. Goldilocks herself was not even half the pilot the ones in the red and silver Gundams were, but her ability to lead the others effectively was causing no end to trouble.

How many scars would this ship provide for him? Would she become another?

"Take the shot, Rache," he said. He'd love to have the kill for himself, but Treize was a soldier, first and foremost. Pride had no place in the heart of a soldier.

"_Agreed,_" said Neo. "_I'll head back and deal with Goldilocks. Treize, take charge here._"

"Yes sir!"

An instant later, as the purple Windam turned back for the _Minerva_, a beam lanced through the air. However, at that instant, Shinn had pushed off from the Specter, and the move unwittingly saved his life as the shot from the Verde Buster's combined beam rifles sliced through the air, right where his cockpit had been half a second earlier.

Athrun saw this as well, and realized things were a bit worse here than he'd believed.

"Shinn!" he called out, dodging an attack by the Gaia, now back in mobile suit mode. "They lured us here for an ambush. We need to get out of here and back to the _Minerva_."

"Shut up!" Shinn yelled back as he stepped onto dry land. Did Athrun really think that little of his skills that he believed that he couldn't handle this? Athrun was wrong. Shinn knew he could handle this. "I can handle this!"

But Athrun wasn't about to let him go off on his own and potentially get himself killed. "Shinn! I'm giving you–"

But Athrun was cutoff as the Gaia shifted to mobile armor mode and slammed into the Savior, knocking onto his back in the water, the Gaia on top of him. Athrun knew it was about to finish him off, and on reflex, reached out to grip the black wolf-like armor's shoulders, then kicked up, knocking it into the air over his own head to land in the deeper waters. Stella fired her thrusters at maximum and shifted to mobile suit mode, pushing herself back into the shallows. The time it would take to swim back could potentially allow the red evil one to escape into the air again!

On land, the Impulse exchanged fire with the Verde Buster on the ground and the Specter in the air, fleeing steadily deeper and deeper into the island, unknowingly drawing nearer and nearer to a secret the two EX-Cs absolutely _did not_ want him to find.

"_Uh, Treize…?_"

"Yeah, I see it," said Treize. "Damn! His piloting skills are subpar at best, but his reflexes are incredible!" Indeed, at least, in Treize's mind—but it was clearly the only reason the Impulse hadn't been annihilated yet.

The Specter shot down, drawing its Tempest sword and swinging it down on the Impulse. Shinn managed to raise his shield just in time, but was sent to the ground. Instinctively, he activated the thrusters in the Force Silhouette, flying out from the spot he'd landed just in time to evade the blasts from the Specter's revolver and the Verde Buster's rifles and cannons.

He was about to charge forward with his own saber drawn when something struck the Impulse, knocking him back. More shots followed, forcing the Specter and Impulse further apart.

Treize cursed the stupidity of the base commander and operatives. The fools! Even a blind man could've seen that the Impulse was focused on the Specter and Verde Buster. Now, they'd just drawn the white machine's attention, and revealed themselves to ZAFT!

In the Impulse, Shinn turned to his new attackers and was surprised. It was tanks, turrets and a full but incomplete Earth Alliance Forces base. But that wasn't all. There, on the ground, was some kind of turret-mounted cannon. It looked like the barrel had blown itself apart. Well, that explained the end of the artillery barrages.

It didn't matter though. The Specter, Verde Buster and the forces at the base were beginning to converge on him. He knew he had to get out of there, and fast. Shinn took off, heading to leave the base, firing at tanks and turrets he came across. Shots were going off all over the place, hitting buildings and warehouses, causing explosions.

That's when Shinn noticed them: a large group of civilian workers that had been hired to build the base trapped between the base's outer wall and the battle that was going on. A group of Earth Forces soldiers were desperately trying to cut open the chain-link fence for them. But with only one set of wire cutters, it was moving agonizingly slow. Nor were they the only ones there, on the other side of the fence, a growing group of civilians screaming and pleading for the soldiers to hurry.

Shinn knew what he had to do. He approached the group and the fence, careful to avoid stepping on anyone. The Impulse reached out and grabbed the fence, crushing it like a soda can, and with one good tug, Shinn tore out a large section of fence, allowing the civilians to escape.

Unfortunately, both Rache and Treize realized what he was doing a split second too late, and both had let off shots at him, shots they would've held otherwise because, while they cared little for the lives of the civilians, their objectives were clear, and the consequences could prove disastrous.

Instinctively, Shinn dove to his right, dodging the attack. Unfortunately, the beams, projectiles and missiles continued on, crashing into the heart of the fleeing civilians. Shinn cried out in horror as the fire consumed many of the people there. Flashes of the Battle of Orb and his own family's death played in his mind.

"Why… why… WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" he screamed at the two mobile suits.

"_Rache, leave us,_" said a voice he recognized as belonging to the pilot of the Specter. The Verde Buster did as told, Rache understanding that, from here on out, he'd only been in Treize's way. "_And to your question, I assure you that it was unintentional. However, __**you**__ are the one who is at fault for bringing the battle right on top of them._"

"SHUT UP!" Shinn roared in anger at the Extended, a ruby red seed shattering in his mind as he opened fire on the Specter. But Treize easily dodged.

"_I see,_" said the Specter pilot. "_Now it makes sense. You're indeed worthy. Hehehehehe. Well now, allow me to explain something to you: there is a reason you have survived up to this point. It's not because you're good, or you have superb reflexes. You haven't died yet for a blindingly simple reason._"

"And what is that?!" roared Shinn, swinging his beam saber at the Specter, but Treize deflected with the bayonet of his revolver. As the two struggled for dominance, the Specter's eyes suddenly flashed menacingly.

"_Because… you are __**mine**__ to kill!_"

With the uttering of those words, a coal black, menacingly evil-looking jewel seed in the back of the Extended's mind shattered in a nova of darkness.

Suddenly, Shinn paused, a sense of dread creeping up his spine as a sinister laughter filled the comm. lines…

Suiren and Haruka were exchanging sword strikes—Suiren couldn't figure out _how_ the Astarte could _still_ have power without using nuclear technology—when they felt something in the back of their mind. It was like someone had just poked them with a rather hard pen or something, and both paused to glance in the direction the feeling was coming from.

The direction the Impulse, Specter and Savior had gone off in. The direction from which Neo's Windam had come.

_Be careful Shinn_, thought Suiren. _If you don't, you'll die._

But they weren't the only ones to feel it. Both Rey and Neo glanced off in the same direction from where they were. Only Neo knew what it was.

"I pity whoever's facing Treize right now," he muttered. "One way or another, they're dead."

Treize's chilling laughter faded, but Shinn's dread only grew.

"My turn," said Treize, grinning like a predator standing over its prey.

Shinn barely caught him as the Specter charged, blocking his sword with his saber. Shinn was freaked out. It was like the Specter was standing there one moment and then it was on him the next. The Specter was fast, but it couldn't be _that_ fast. No machine, save for the Faith, ever could. But then how could he be so fast?

"_Not so confident now, eh Coordinator?_" mocked Treize, knocking the Impulse back.

"I… I won't lose…" uttered Shinn, trying to expel the aura of dread that was gripping him. He repeated the mantra over and over, his fear leaving and his focus returning bit by bit each time he repeated it. "I won't lose to you!"

He lunged forward, throwing away his shield to draw his second saber, swinging the new saber at the Specter. The instant Treize blocked it with his sword, Shinn struck with his right saber, but Treize raised his shield in time. Shinn then followed up with a kick to the Specter's torso, knocking it back. However, the machine stayed on its feet and struck back, swinging its Tempest sword in a downward arc. Shinn pulled up sabers, crossing them together, blocking the swing. The two were locked in a contest of strength, trying to overpower the other, their machines beginning to groan under the strain.

Treize was the one to gain the upper hand, kneeing the Impulse, breaking its guard. His sword cut into the Impulse's left shoulder. But it was shallow and caused no damage, save for cutting into the armor.

"Looks like first blood goes to me, Patchworker," said Treize mockingly.

"_So what? You won't beat me!_" Shinn yelled back, thrusting both sabers forward.

Treize twisted the Specter to the side, avoiding the sabers by only a few feet and hit the Impulse's head with his free fist.

* * *

Airspace over the _Minerva_

"Damn," muttered Leon as his power began to fall low and he continued exchanging strikes with the ZAKU Blitz. His abilities were superior to the Grim Reaper—he knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt! But the Grim Reaper had experience that Leon did not. While Leon was good, he was still only somewhat above a rookie, and his superior abilities had been key to his standoff with the Reaper. In the end, though, Leon knew he couldn't win this first match between them.

Nearby, the Blu Duel was facing problems of its own. The ZAKU Duel Arms had managed to strike at the Blu Duel's forearm mounted beam guns with its Memoria, and while Silber had managed to take out these railguns and even knocked away one of the Blizzard swords, Shiho had managed to take down both beam sabers.

The two pilots were nearly perfectly matched, Shiho armed with a pure skill that very few pilots could match, and Silber armed with raw ability well beyond the norm for Coordinators. Furthermore, the two piloted machines that were clearly equal in power. Ultimately, though, Shiho's skills had overcome Silber's enhancements. The victory, this day at least, was hers.

And as good as Nanai, Maia and Sting were, as powerful as their machines were, they just couldn't stand up to Saul or the Aleksi-led Luna and Rey.

In the skies overhead, Suiren fired off a full barrage with every weapon she had. Haruka raised the Haretsu Suru, using the mega sword as a shield. To Suiren's surprise, it withstood the entire assault without even seeming to be scratched.

"Oh? We're playing that way, huh?" said Haruka. "Fine! Takusan!"

"How?" whispered Suiren as the Takusan descended on her once more, some trying to ram her with beam blades, others firing on her with beam guns, all moving and firing too quickly for her to keep up, while Haruka stored the Haretsu Suru and began firing with both of her forearm-mounted Renpatsujū.

However, Suiren suddenly flipped over as two Takusan passed by. She slashed at them, but they pulled out of the way as two more prepared to fire from behind. But this had been Suiren's intent all along, as her Orca cannons snapped halfway free and fired, obliterating the two Takusan.

"Oh my," said Haruka as she recalled the winged DRAGOON blades. "Well, it doesn't matter. This battle's over. But…" Haruka smiled warmly. Dangerously. "I look forward to our future battles together."

Her words were proven true seconds later: as Silber was forced back, Shiho spun about, and fired a single, decisive shot that ended the battle in the _Minerva_'s favor as one of the last two Windams exploded.

Neo frowned. It was over.

* * *

Earth Forces Base

"_Treize! They've compromised the base's location and destroyed all the Windams. We have no choice, we're withdrawing,_" Neo ordered over the radio, momentarily distracting Treize.

The white haired Extended scowled at the orders. "Very well sir. I'll be there in a moment."

It was time to end this.

* * *

The Coast

Stella heard the order as well, sabers locked with those of the Savior. She could win this, she knew it! But… but Neo…

"_Come along Stella,_" came Haruka's voice as the brunette flew her machine by overhead. "_Let's go home._"

"Yes ma'am," said Stella softly, even as she continued to glare at the red machine she struggled with. Suddenly, the two leapt back as Haruka's Daini cannon fired on the Savior. Stella shifted to mobile suit mode, and began to run away from the Savior. Athrun panted, grateful for the retreat. That pilot… the Gaia's pilot… how was that possible? Athrun hadn't been so challenged since he'd last fought Kira at the Marshall Islands. Who was that pilot?

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize grabbed the Impulse's right arm. Before the ZAFT pilot could react, Treize drove his sword into the joint between the Impulse's right shoulder and chest, severing the limb.

"Damn it," cursed Shinn as he pulled up his left saber to block another attack.

But Treize was faster, slicing off the Impulse's remaining hand at the wrist. The Specter's left hand reached out and grabbed the Impulse's head.

"_Like I said before, I'm not leaving without your head,_" said Treize, raising his sword.

With a single thrust into the Impulse's neck, Shinn's mobile suit was decapitated. The Specter pulled back its hand, the Impulse's head still in its grasp. Treize smirked. "See. Now to finish you _off_!"

Shinn, panicking now, tried to break free of his grasp. He couldn't believe it! Despite everything he had thrown at the Specter and its pilot, he just couldn't seem to touch it while it had practically crippled the Impulse.

"It can't end like this…" he whispered to himself.

"Die!" roared Treize, moving to strike him down.

Suddenly, a barrage of beams stuck the ground before him, pushing Treize back. Both pilots looked up. The Savior, the Rose and the ZAKU Surge were flying towards the pair.

"_Shinn, are you alright?_" Athrun called out as they resumed firing on the Specter.

"Yeah…" Shinn replied in a shaky tone.

Treize swore as he backed away, evading the shots. He was running low on time and the Specter's battery was low on power. As much as he hated it, he had to withdraw. Treize took off, raising the severed head of the Impulse in front of him.

"Coordinator, you have proven yourself worth being killed by me. I trust you won't disappoint me by dying before then."

And with that he was off, heading back to the _John Paul Jones_.

Shinn suppressed a shudder as he fled with Athrun, Saul and Suiren. That pilot was a monster. A truly terrifying monster. If he was going to take him down, Shinn knew he needed to get stronger. It was the only way.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Oh my. How deliciously chaotic. And how close, too! It's kind of funny, but when I first started out, I hadn't actually planned for Aleksi to be the one to ultimately save their asses, but as I progressed, that's what ended up happening, and personally, I rather like it. While Gyunei is certainly superior to Aleksi as a pilot, he doesn't think, and that gives her the critical advantage she needs, since Aleksi primarily wins on the merits of her own cleverness rather than being some quasi-unstoppable pilot. When Saul deals with Miguel, it effectively cements their victory, particularly when Shiho finally overcomes Silber.**

**Moving past that, the Astarte is truly a terrifying machine. DRAGOONs, a massive sword and a cannon that can do _that_?! The only good thing in this is that she doesn't seem to want to sink the _Minerva_, because I don't think the ship would've survived. And on top of that, Haruka is also yet _another_ practitioner of Shinsei Tsurugi? This is... troubling, especially given the level Suiren believes she's at, and the fact that she's chosen to fight for the Earth Forces. Oh dear.**

**Leon gets the chance to test his skills out against the Grim Reaper, and all things considered, he doesn't seem to have done too bad for himself. We'll have to see what happens with some more experience under his belt.**

**Finally, the real kicker: those who have read _Destiny: A Retelling_ already knew that Treize had the SEED. But here, I've gone and thrown it in on Stella as well, and she nearly kills Athrun with it.**

**That was one thing I realized I wanted to change early on: in _Destiny: A Retelling_, Stella goes after Shinn, even though Athrun is the one squaring off with Neo. Despite her opinion of the Impulse, I feel that she'd more likely have gone after the Savior if it was battling Neo instead. More troubling: not only is Athrun unable to trigger the SEED himself, but Haruka speaks of Stella "awakening". Awakening what? Because it certainly doesn't sound like it can be anything good for our quasi-heroes who are destined for antagonism... whoops, shouldn't have spoiled that, but I figured you could guess at a plot point like "Shinn becomes the antagonist".**

**Alright, enough with that. I'm gonna take a bit of a break, and hopefully get to work on the next chapter when my arms recover. I'm not worried about creativity--while most of that is focused for a bit later on, I assure you that my brain is still buzzing.**

**Please leave a review, min'na! Ja ne!  
**

* * *

_"Don't touch Astarte. If **anyone** touches **my** machine, I promise you, they'll only have twenty-four hours of slow, agonizing torture in which to regret it."_ – Haruka Tsukino.**  
Astarte Gundam:**  
Description:  
This unique and powerful mobile suit was hand-designed by Haruka Tsukino over the course of Cosmic Era 73. Built with a revolutionary Deuterion Drive System—also developed for the Sincerity Gundam by Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha—the Astarte Gundam has an effectively limitless operating time, as well as a number of unique weapons systems, such as the Hakai Suru mega beam launcher, Haretsu Suru mega sword, and the eight Takusan atmospheric operable remote weapons. It remains a mystery how Haruka managed to obtain the resources and technology for this machine, but its high-performance is undeniable.

**Model Number:** MRA-X01**  
Code Name:** Astarte Gundam**  
Unit Type:** Custom Prototype General-Purpose Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Haruka Tsukino**  
Operator(s):** Haruka Tsukino**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 17.39 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 62.37 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift Armor; DRAGOON System; Twin Mobile Assault Wings;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x "Washi" 12.5mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x "Renpatsujū" Beam Handgun, mounted on forearms, hand-operated in use; 2x "Sashikizu" Beam Saber, stored behind shoulders, hand-carried in use; "Daini" Beam Cannon, powered by independent battery, mounted on left shoulder, can be connected to beam rifle to form "Hakai Suru" Mega Beam Launcher; "Haretsu Suru" Mega Sword, stored on right shoulder dock, hand-carried in use;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** "Hitotsu" Beam Rifle**  
Remote Weapons:** 8x "Takusan" Winged DRAGOON Blade: Beam Gun, Beam Blade, stored on hip armor**  
Pilot:** Haruka Tsukino**  
Appearance:** The Astarte looks like the Gundam Throne Zwei, but with the Gundam Throne Eins beam cannon on the left shoulder and the Gundam Throne Drei's beam gun on the right wrist. It also has the head of the Throne Drei rather than the Throne Zwei.**  
Color:** Black torso and limbs, gold trim, and silver armor and head.**  
Notes:** The machine of Suiren's apparent nemesis. I drew inspiration for the Astarte from the three Gundam Throne's of Mobile Suit Gundam 00. As a consequence, it is extraordinarily versatile and just as extraordinarily powerful, with one particular weapon that it seems is somehow able to surpass the power of the Conviction's beam bazooka—that's troubling. On top of that, though, it has the first true DRAGOON system that can be used in an atmosphere, and the clear key to its power: the same Deuterion Drive System that is used to power the Sincerity Gundam. But that just brings up the question of how in the world Haruka managed to amass the technology and resources for a machine such as this.

_"Alright, looks like this could be fun after all!"_ – Leon Vanyel.**  
Valiant Gundam:**  
Description:  
A unique prototype mobile suit belonging to Leon Vanyel, a mercenary in the employ of the Earth Alliance Special Forces unit known as Phantom Pain. Developed primarily with the technology of Actaeon Industries, the Valiant Gundam uses many of the same technologies commonly employed by other Earth Alliance mobile suits, but also equips tailed binders and a twin engine backpack, inspired by the Dauntless Gundam's wing binders and Strike Gundam's Aile Striker backpack. Most significantly, the Valiant features a unique prototype beam armor system for defense, but this system is viewed unfavorably by the pilot for its power intensiveness.

**Model Number:** AHW-X004**  
Code Name:** Valiant**  
Unit Type:** Custom Prototype General-Purpose Mobile Suit**  
Manufacturer:** Unknown**  
Operator(s):** Leon Vanyel**  
First Deployment:** Unknown**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** Overall height 18.27 meters**  
Weight:** Max gross weight 73.69 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** Unknown**  
Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor, Dual Engine Mobile Flight Unit; Twin Tail Binder; Prototype Beam Armor System;**  
Fixed Armament:** Anti-Ship Sword, folded and stored behind right shoulder, hand-carried in use; 2x ES04B Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x Mk315 "Stiletto" Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armor Penetrator, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; 2x Folding Manipulator Claw, includes beam blade, mounted in forearms; 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Folding Shield, mounted on left arm;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** M9409L Beam Rifle; Folding Bazooka;**  
Pilot:** Leon Vanyel**  
Appearance:** Appearance is the same as the RX-78GP03S Denbrobium Stamen from Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, but with the anti-ship sword mounted on the back.**  
Color:** Its main color is cerulean blue, with yellow trim. The backpack and binders are black, as are the joints, and the eyes are crimson.**  
Notes:** I had a lot of trouble deciding on what mobile suit to give to Leon. Ultimately, I decided to keep things simply, and gave him the GP03S Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. I made some adjustments, such as the beam armor, the 'Stilettos', the beam blades on the manipulator claws, and the anti-ship sword, but otherwise, it's more or less the same machine as in Stardust Memory, but without the Orchis.


	17. Phase 17: The Soldier's Life

**Not an overlong chapter, this time, but it's a decent length. There actually ended up being more edited than I'd initially expected, mostly towards the first half. The second half, from the _Minerva_'s arrival in Mahamul onward, is pretty much unchanged from Akatsuki Leader13's version. Even still, this came out "better" (more redone) than I'd been hoping for.**

**I didn't get many reviews last chapter. I can only guess as to why. Most likely, the Astarte's display with its Hakai Suru raised more than a few eyebrows. Things will be explained further in this chapter, but I think it's safe to say that the Hakai Suru will only be used two or three more times throughout the story. I only know of one instance where it will be used beyond a shadow of a doubt, and on that occasion, well... Eh, I'll let you read and find out. It shouldn't be too much longer.**

**Aside from the Astarte's cannon, the only other significant thing discussed by my four reviewers (*sigh*) was Stella having the SEED. This is a matter that will be addressed further in the future.**

**Anyways, not much of Leon either... yet. We'll get a look into him a few chapters from now. In the meantime, however, I won't bore you all. Please, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply (not getting any less lazy over here, and the slew of updates is not helping).  
**

* * *

Phase Seventeen: The Soldier's Life

October 26th, C.E. 73

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

The hanger crew of _John Paul Jones _cheered as the Specter entered the hanger, the Impulse's head in its hand. Treize set it down on the hanger floor before taking his mobile suit's position in the hanger.

"Did you finish it off?" asked Neo, approaching Treize as he exited his machine.

"No. A few of his buddies showed up while my power was starting to run low. I had to withdraw," answered Treize, disgusted that he had failed to finish the Impulse off.

"At least you sent them a message," said Neo, looking down at the severed head. "They aren't unbeatable. We'll finish them off next time."

Treize nodded, before turning to face Haruka. The woman had changed outfits, now wearing a black Earth Forces uniform like Neo and Leon, though she kept all her jewelry. Like Neo, she also refrained from using pilot suits. Curiously, Stella was sticking very close to the woman, behavior reminiscent of what she displayed with Neo, or what Maia displayed with Treize himself.

Needing his curiosity sated, Treize walked over to her.

"I'm curious," he said. "What was that weapon you used?" Haruka eyed him, eyes and face neutral.

"The Hakai Suru?" she said, before shrugging. "It's a mega beam launcher. Its power is comparable to the beam bazooka of the Conviction, but more focused, and designed to use high heat to bypass water. However, one shot consumes nearly three-quarters of Astarte's initial power supply, and the barrel has to receive manual cooling and maintenance, so it can only be used once per battle."

"I see," said Neo, coming closer. "Quite the machine you have there." He glanced around. "You're all dismissed! Extended, report to the doctors." As the everyone began to disperse, Neo spoke up again. "Haruka, Stella, wait a moment." The two female pilots paused.

"Yes, Neo?" asked Stella happily. Haruka used 'captain' in place of 'Neo'.

"Stella, you did well today," said Neo. "However, I must ask that you not abandon your post again like that." Stella's happy expression faded.

"But Neo…"

"No buts, Stella," said Neo sternly. Stella's childishness began to take over a little more, as she looked on the verge of crying. But Haruka spoke up, stepping in front of Stella.

"Captain, please," she said. "Allow me." Neo nodded, and Haruka turned to the blonde.

"Stella, please, listen to me," she said softly. Stella looked up at her, expression still sad. "Neo doesn't need your protection. Neo is strong, too strong for any but the messengers of the gods themselves to defeat. Neo only wants to protect you, so you can grow strong as well. He only wants what's best for you, understand?"

Slowly, Stella nodded, her sadness steadily melting away. Haruka smiled gently.

"Good," she said.

"Stella," said Neo, speaking up again. "Do you like Haruka?"

Stella smiled. "Yes," she said. Neo nodded, turning to Haruka.

"From now on, I'd like you to take charge of her on the battlefield," he said. Haruka and Stella were both caught off-guard by this, but Stella smiled almost immediately. "Stella, go see the doctors now. Tell them I'll be along in a minute, and not to do anything until I get there."

"Yes, Neo!" said Stella happily, turning and leaving, her cheerful demeanor readily apparent. Haruka stared at Neo critically.

"Me, sir?" she questioned. "Captain, I'm _only_ a mercenary. I'm not complaining, but why me?"

"Because she's uncomfortable around everyone but you, me, Sting and Auel," said Neo. "And she's even uncomfortable around Auel at times. Sting is no leader, and I can't be there every time. I have too many responsibilities to be looking after one pilot. You, on the other hand, are left to your own discretion, so I don't think looking after Stella should be very troubling for you. More importantly, Stella _listens_ to you. You can talk to her in a way that she'll understand and will not turn against. Even I can't do that."

"I see," said Haruka thoughtfully. This was perfect—it was even better than she'd been hoping for. "I understand. I'll look after her."

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

Things weren't that much different in the _Minerva_. While they had technically won, they had lost the _Nyiragongo_ and her crew in the battle, to a weapon unlike anything they'd ever seen before. Then there was the matter of Shinn's actions in the battle.

"You fool!" snapped Suiren, slapping Shinn brutally across the face. Athrun and Saul winced, but they were unsympathetic. "You were given specific orders to stay close to the ship, not go off on your own, leaving us to battle the Earth Forces without you!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Shinn yelled back, trying to defend his actions. "The Specter pulled me away from the _Minerva_! And every time I tried to head back to the ship, it only pulled me back further! Even then, I still found their base! And I… I…" Shinn paused, remembering the murdered civilians. "I did what I could to help us push them back. That's all I did!"

Now it was Athrun's turn to get involved. "Quit making excuses! War isn't about being a hero!" he replied, slapping Shinn as well. "Do you know why they fled? It wasn't because you found their hidden base, it was because everyone else managed to take out all of the Windams that were supporting them. Something we would have achieved much sooner and with less damage had you not gone off on your own and tried to play the hero!"

Shinn clenched his fists in anger, trying to come up with something to say in his defense. But he couldn't.

"All you managed to achieve was locating their base, something we could've done after the battle, without needing to put anyone in as much danger as you did," said Suiren icily. Watching them, Aleksi shivered. Only once had she ever seen Suiren like this, and it hadn't been pretty. "The Captain is already sending Carpentaria the location of that base so they can launch a preemptive strike. But even if we hadn't been able to discover the base otherwise, the results don't excuse the actions. Athrun came to your aid and ordered you to fall back with him, which you disobeyed." That wasn't entirely accurate, seeing as Athrun had been locked in battle with the Gaia, but it was more or less the truth.

"However," continued Suiren. "You're getting off easy, this time. I vouched for you to be the pilot of the Impulse because, as Commander Kessel assessed, you _have_ potential. It's the only reason I'm not ordering that suit into the hands of someone more competent. The next time you disobey orders, I'll see to it that the Impulse is assigned to someone else, and if you're lucky, you'll be piloting a ZAKU. If not, I'll send you back to the PLANTs to sit reserve. Am I clear?"

Needless to say, Suiren's warning shocked people, and Shinn didn't like this one bit, but it wasn't like he could do much. Suiren and Saul shifted the position of commanding officer as they felt worked best, but it was clear that no one would go against her on this. She could punish him as she saw fit, and no one would say anything about it unless it was a death sentence.

"Yes ma'am," said Shinn, forcing himself to answer.

* * *

The next day

"_Just yesterday, ZAFT's newest warship, the __**Minerva**__, was engaged by our brave soldiers from a partially completed base in the Indian Ocean,_" said Serena Ryker to the crowd as, on large screens behind her, images of the Impulse fighting the forces of the Indian Ocean Base were displayed."_While the battle raged several miles from the coast, a lone ZAFT mobile suit snuck into the incomplete base, where this White Devil proceeded to viciously attack defenseless civilians who had been hired to build the base!_" The Impulse appeared on screens, standing over the civilians trying to flee from the base. Suddenly, it fired its rifle. Explosions and fire consumed the fleeing civilians. The crowd cried out in horror and anger."_Thankfully, our own ace pilots, seeing this cowardly and monstrous attack, drove the White Devil off, allowing the base's surviving personnel to lend aid to those who survived its brutal assault. Sadly, many innocent lives were lost despite their best efforts. Yet has Durandal or ZAFT made any public statement about this incident?_"She paused, waiting for an answer that no one gave. "_No they haven't._"

The screens stopped playing, instead showing a waving Earth Alliance flag. "_This, my friends, is why we cannot allow Durandal and his bloodthirsty cronies to remain in power. Because they care little for those of us who live on Earth! For those of us who are Naturals!_"

"_Yeah!_"

"_Down with Durandal!_"

"_Down with the monsters of Break the World!_"

The crowd continued to shout and scream for a few minutes before Serena raised her hands, quieting the crowd. "_They don't care so long as we remain quiet, obedient dogs. Those people were mercilessly gunned down by the White Devil because they were hired by the 'enemy' and therefore were the enemy while their families that come, worried about their safety as the nearby battle raged, were the enemy because they were there and were related to the 'enemy'. Hence, to the White Devil, they deserved the same as any enemy of ZAFT: annihilation!_"

Images of dead and dying people filled the screens as Alliance medics and soldiers frantically tried to save as many as they could. There were gasps and cries of anger and horror from the crowd once again."_People of Earth, I give you this solemn vow on behalf of the Earth Alliance, Durandal, the White Devil, and all the other criminals hiding in the PLANTs will be brought to justice for their crimes. Justice will be swift. It will be merciless. And it will be righteous._"Serena slammed a fist into her podium while the crowd broke out into cheers.

"_For the future of our world and its people!_"she shouted, thrusting a fist into the air.

"_For the future of our world and its people!_"the crowd echoed, thrusting their own fists up.

"That's a lie!" Shinn screamed, throwing a can at the screen as the other people in the lounge began to whisper and mutter amongst themselves. Only the Captain, Athrun, Saul, Suiren and possibly the XO, who had all read his report, had any idea on what had happened. And aside from his report, he hadn't told anyone about those deaths. "I didn't kill those people! They did! I was trying to get them out of the base and away from the fighting!"

"Calm down Shinn," said Rey, putting a hand on Shinn's shoulder. "We know you didn't kill those people, but people like her don't care. They'll twist the truth to trick the people of Earth into hating us. But we can't let their words get to us or we'll become what they say we are."

"Though what she said did have a grain of salt," said Shiho, who was sitting on one of the couches in the lounge. "Had you not entered the base and tried to help those people, they wouldn't have been caught in the crossfire. In a way, it is your fault for their deaths."

"But I–"

"Didn't pull the trigger? That may be, but at times, it can far more damaging to help someone than it is for them to struggle on their own," said Nicol. "Of course, to be honest, had I been in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. But regardless, there's nothing we can do to change what's happened." He stood up. "All we can do is try to make sure that such things don't happen again." He put his hand on Shinn's shoulder. "I've been through this dance before, so let me give you some advice. Things will happen, you'll screw up, people will die, and you'll lose teammates, friends, before this is all over. I know it's a lot to handle, but all you can do is accept it and move on. You let your emotions and your pride run wild, it will only make things worse. Take everything one day, one mission, at a time and you'll do fine."

* * *

Durandal's Office

Aprilius One

"_For the future of our world and its people!_"

Durandal shook his head as he muted the screen. He knew that Shinn did not kill those people without reading any of the reports, at least not intentionally. It just wasn't in his character. But to try to tell that to the people of Earth would just be throwing more fuel on the fire. Denying it would only make them look even guiltier. Of course, saying nothing would be just as bad. It would show that he didn't care about the people of Earth. What he needed was some brutality on the part of the Earth Alliance, to show the people of Earth their real side. Until that time, there was little he could do.

He turned his attention to his chessboard, studying it as though it were the entire war and everyone fighting in it. His eyes focused on the black queen, the _Minerva_. That ship was vital to everything he had planned. As the _Archangel_ changed the course of the last war, so too would the _Minerva_ change of this war. But his hopes weren't the only thing aboard that ship. Most of his most useful and dangerous pieces were with it. Shinn, the Kira Yamato of his _Archangel_, was among the most vital of them. With Rey's whispers in one ear and his words in the other, Shinn would one day become the greatest champion of the new world. Then of course, there was Rey, one part of Rau's legacy, yet the only one that had been completely unaware of Rau's insane, obsessive quest to destroy humanity. Rey was the single most loyal person he had, which was due in no small part to his long friendship with his older 'brother' Rau and the talks they had after his death. Had it not been for the fact that Rey was doomed to a much shorter life than that of a normal person, he too would have become a great champion of the new world. Instead, he would simply be one of the many lesser and forgotten people who helped bring about the new world. Then of course, there were the other, lesser pilots, who would carry out their duties loyally but were merely pawns on the board. Though there were some that were questionable about how far their loyalty would go. But they would be dealt with if they stepped out of line.

But there were also potentially dangerous individuals on the _Minerva_. Saul Kessel, Nicol Amalfi and Shiho Hahnenfuss. They were veterans and heroes of the last war; unfortunately, while they could have been useful warriors, they were dangerously connected to Lacus Clyne. He didn't trust them, which was why they aboard the _Minerva_, so Rey could keep a close eye on them and report back any suspicious behavior from them. Though his biggest concern was with their influence over Athrun. The son of Patrick Zala was another useful knight, but he was standing on a fence. While he could become another champion, he could just as easily become one of their greatest enemies.

Only time would tell which side the Red Knight would side with. Hopefully, Athrun would side with him, and then he and Shinn would strike down the White Knight, the Silver Knight and the Black Knight, the three most dangerous pilots his enemies had and help usher in the new age.

But…

Durandal fingered another piece. One he had not originally intended to be where it was. This piece, much like the other Knights, moved largely independently of outside influence. It was a piece Durandal refused to cross, because this piece was perhaps the most dangerous if it should turn against him.

Even he could not guess as to what drove the Gold Knight down her chosen path.

* * *

The _Archangel_

Off the Coast of the Kingdom of Scandinavia

The bridge crew of the _Archangel_ and some of their pilots watched the various news broadcasts going out across the planet as the ship rested on the ocean floor. Needless to say, nearly all of it was about the war.

"There sure is a lot of depressing news these days," mused Andrew. "Don't you wonder if there was any uplifting news for them to report on?"

"Like a dolphin in an aquarium giving birth to a little white baby calf?" replied Murrue playfully, earning a few chuckles from the crew.

"Well… not _that_ uplifting."

"But still, it feels like there's something amiss here," commented Cagalli. "It's always that woman who gives the first word on anything big and everyone else just echoes her words. Take that battle the other day. No one uttered a single word about any battle in the Indian Ocean until she first spoke. Now they're all attacking Durandal and ZAFT."

"You're right," said Makoto. "That woman is an agent of Blue Cosmos—though she's being a bit more careful, and focusing the blame more on the Chairman and PLANT leadership rather than the people of the PLANTs themselves, like she did in that first broadcast. Blue Cosmos has a critical media advantage, as well, thanks to that opening broadcast and the fact that, stationed on Earth, they can react to things more quickly than Durandal because they're closer to it." The redhead scowled. "For the future of our world and its people? I'm getting sick of how blind people can be."

"You're hearing 'For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World' too, huh?" commented Kira. Makoto nodded.

"So, you think Blue Cosmos is still running the Atlantic Federation?" asked Murrue.

"Azrael may have been killed in the war along with a lot of other Blue Cosmos agents in the upper echelons of the Alliance, but in the chaos that followed, I doubt they'd have had a problem getting other agents up to replace them," said Natarle evenly. "Though from what we've seen, I'd guess they're either less anti-Coordinator, or more easily able to focus on long-term goals."

"And in the PLANTs, this is all they're talking about," added Lacus, bringing up one of the PLANT networks.

It was the fake Lacus Clyne, clad in a highly revealing dress, singing a faster, upbeat version of one of Lacus's old classics before a cheering crowd of ZAFT soldiers.

"Well… she certainly is _lively_," commented John, a hint of disgust in his voice, though what it was for not even Victor could fathom.

"Yeah. Though its kinda creepy that she has Lacus's face," added Liz. "To see someone dress and dance like that, but with Lacus's face is just bizarre."

Flay shook her head at the screen. "I don't know," she said. "She looks more like some kind of showgirl, using her body to sell something."

Andy shrugged. "Sex sells. It's been like that since the dawn of man."

"They do all seem to be enjoying themselves," commented Lacus, a concerned and saddened edge to her voice.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Cagalli asked the songstress. "We could try to do something about this."

"If we could do something about it, we would. But we can't afford a careless move at this point. If word got out to the wrong people, it'd be big trouble, especially to the Kingdom of Scandinavia, who so kindly took us in," Andy pointed out.

John nodded his head, agreeing with his old friend. "Yeah, there's too many dangers out there at the moment. But eventually we'll straighten things out."

"But we can't stay here forever, hiding at the bottom of the ocean," retorted Cagalli. "…And I'm worried about Orb."

Kira glanced at his sister. "We can't make a move yet. We still don't have all the facts," he said, sympathizing with his sister. "There's too many unknowns out there for us at the moment."

"That's true," commented Murrue, rubbing her chin in contemplation. "Even though the dropping of Junius Seven inflicted a large amount of damage to the Earth, the stance of the PLANTs after the incident has been sincere while the Alliance seems more focused on rallying all the people on Earth against Durandal and his government rather than driving aggressively against the PLANTs."

"Yeah. They're being careful about what they say," added John. "While what they say sounds like the words of Blue Cosmos, they focus not on the PLANTs and all Coordinators, but rather Durandal and the leaders of ZAFT. I think they're trying to undermine Durandal and his government by turning the people against them."

"Indeed. Perhaps they seek to overthrow Durandal and replace him with a puppet government while the people of the PLANTs thank them for it," suggested Victor. "Which would be far more practical than trying to wipe out the PLANTs. And beneficial too, as the Earth Alliance would be the only super power left and there would be no legacy of wiping out all of the PLANTs to achieve it."

"But it does appear to be a difficult task for them," said Murrue. "Ever since the war started, ZAFT has taken no aggressive move beyond a few small preemptive strikes and reactivating a number of smaller bases and outposts from the last war, but all for defensive reasons. There's been no major attacks, no conquering of regions. My first reaction to his actions and the rhetoric of the Alliance is the urge to join ZAFT and teach the Earth Forces a lesson."

"When I first met him, I thought that Chairman Durandal was a great leader. But then when I learned of the attempt on Lacus…" said Cagalli, her tone unsure. "I just don't know what to make of him now, but I can see why Athrun wanted to go back to the PLANTs."

"Nothing good," said Makoto. She looked over at Kira, silently asking him for permission to speak her next words. He gave a slight nod.

"Finally going to tell us the truth?" asked Shizuka, the only one besides Lacus to catch the exchange. Everyone else looked confused.

"Yes," said Makoto. "What most of you are unaware of is that Durandal was involved in the Divinity Projects." There were several gasps of surprise. "Furthermore, he was involved in Canard's disappearance, and likely tied into the Divinity Sabotages." Shizuka's hand balled into a fist as the brunette started shaking. "He was the man who directed Canard to kill Kira. Kira is a threat to whatever it is he is planning. Lacus is a threat because she can reveal the truth. I'm a threat because I am a figure that, not to sound arrogant, is nearly as popular with the people as Lacus is. He needs to eliminate those who can undermine his plans—plans that, more than likely, have been in motion since the conclusion of the Divinity Projects. Maybe even in the middle of them."

"Divinity… does everything really come back to that nightmare?" asked Murrue softly.

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Haruka leaned back in the couch of the pilots lounge, watching Ryker's broadcast with a measure of disdain. The other Phantom Pain pilots surrounded her, and Stella sat on the couch next to her, practically clinging to her side. It had come as a surprise to everyone when Neo informed them that Haruka would now become Stella's 'handler', taking charge of the blonde Extended both on and off the battlefield.

One of the things this meant, and a part of the reason it had been such a surprise, was that Haruka had authority over Stella that was surpassed only by Neo and his superiors, meaning that the doctors couldn't do anything that wasn't _absolutely_ necessary to Stella without Haruka's permission or Neo's orders. The girl would never suffer a memory wipe without their approval/order, and Haruka had the authority to punish anyone—except Treize—who used Stella's block word unless they had a reason for doing so of which she approved, or had been given orders to do so by Neo.

"So now they're doctoring evidence to showcase Durandal's 'evil' and our own heroism?" she muttered. "When the truth gets out, this is gonna come back and bite the Alliance in the ass."

"If it gets out," said Treize, leaning against a wall. He couldn't help but agree with her. While many of Ryker's early broadcasts had used the truth as weapons, the defensive stance ZAFT was taking would make it harder to justify their attacks, but if it got out that they were doctoring evidence, it would turn a lot of support away from the Alliance. Even Treize, who considered himself a career soldier rather than a politician, could understand that, and so could Rache and Silber, though the rest of the Extended did not seem to grasp it so well.

"What do you think the chances are of it actually happening?" asked Leon mildly. Haruka took a sip of her tea before answering.

"For the Preservation of our Blue and Pure World," she said. "For the future of our world and its people. The two are more or less identical, and once someone strips away that thin veil and reveal the true puppet masters, people will start questioning, and then there will be hell to pay. Blue Cosmos has been getting increasingly unpopular since the end of the First War."

"Are you a supporter of their ideology?" asked Silber sharply. Haruka let out a small, mirthless laugh.

"No," she said. "But as long as the more radical members remain in check—which, as near as I can tell, they will—then Blue Cosmos becomes the lesser of two evils. I've become increasingly convinced of _that_ ever since he became Chairman of the PLANTs."

"That's all I need to know," said Treize, straightening up. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I don't need your approval—only your acknowledgement that you and I are not enemies."

"You have that," said Haruka, sipping at her tea.

"Good." And it was—Treize knew that she was right, and not everyone felt as the EX-Cs and Blue Cosmos did. Even the majority of Naturals did not feel that way. Of them, only Gyunei and Miguel seemed likely to be unable to work well with those who did not share their beliefs. Treize frowned at that thought. He might need to talk to Neo about that. It might be a good idea to tell Haruka about Gyunei and Miguel's blocks, just in case. Especially after that last battle and her assignment to Stella, she was much more valuable than Leon. Much more valuable than those two as well, the weakest of the third generation as far as he was concerned.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Near ZAFT's Mahamul Base

Two days later

"I've picked up the guide beacon from Mahamul Base, ma'am," said Meyrin.

"Lock onto the beacon and prepare to dock," ordered Talia.

"Beacon fixed. Commencing docking procedures," said Malik.

Mahamul had been a deactivated base from the last war that had been reactivated during the aftermath of Break the World, serving as a relief station for the locals. Mahamul had also been the staging ground of the famed Andrew Waltfeld's African campaign that led to the successful conquest of much of the continent before the Desert Tiger moved his operation to Banadiya and, a few months later, suffered defeat at the hands of the _Archangel_. Now the base was a vital ZAFT outpost in the Middle East, from which ZAFT could launch, if need be, attacks against the Earth Forces from the Middle East to Egypt.

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

"Man… those guys at HQ are so lucky," complained Vino. "Lacus Clyne hasn't performed in ages. I wish I could have been there."

"You know, she's changed her singing style, don't you think?" added Yolant.

Vino nodded his head. "Yeah."

"I'd always thought she'd sound better if she sang the way she does now. It makes her sound… younger. She looks cuter now too."

"Don't you just love that outfit she wears now?" asked Vino eagerly.

"Oh yeah! You can tell she's totally stacked!" said Yolant, picturing Lacus Clyne and the things he'd love to do to her. "I can't wait until I get a poster of–GAH!"

Both boys shrieked in surprise as Athrun appeared, approaching the pair.

"Where is Savior's maintenance log?" he asked calmly.

"Ah… right here sir," answered Vino quickly, handing him the personal computer that contained the machine's maintenance logs.

Athrun took it and nodded his head, studying the screen. "Gentlemen," he said, walking away.

Both boys breathed sighs of relief. Athrun hadn't heard them ogling his wife-to-be. "You believe he's her fiancé? He's so lucky," said Vino, wishing that he was Athrun.

"You know, it wouldn't be that hard to pull a few cables out of the Savior…" suggested his friend slyly.

"I can still hear you two," Athrun called out.

Both techs froze, thinking the same thing. _Crap! He heard that…_

"And everything else you said," he added.

"Sorry sir!" the two quickly shouted.

Nearby, Saul started laughing as he walked towards Athrun. "Figures. You get the world famous fiancé that everybody can't stop talking about and ogling."

Athrun scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, but…"

"So how's Cagalli taking it?"

"I… I haven't spoken to her since I left for the PLANTs."

Saul winced in imagined pain. "Ouch… you know, she's going to beat you to death with your own skull when you too meet again. Especially if she sees those tabloid photos they got of you two in the PLANTs."

Now Athrun winced. Someone had taken photos of them together? That wasn't good. Hopefully Cagalli would understand. He wasn't attracted to Meer, he loved Cagalli. If not, he was in for a world of hurt when this was all over.

His thoughts soon strayed to someone else, and Athrun paled and broke out in a cold sweat. Worse than Cagalli, if _Kira_ saw those photos…

Saul saw him pale, and grinned lightly. "Yeah, I imagine it would be even worse if _he_ saw them… we all know how protective he can be." His grin faded, and he glanced around for a moment.

"You're situation gets worse though," he said. "Everyone still thinks you're engaged, and if the Chairman knows anything to the contrary, he's not showing it. He actually seems to be encouraging the image. I don't know if you've seen any of the tabloids in the PLANTs, but they're talking about you and her all the time."

Athrun's face reddened in embarrassment. "What?!"

Saul nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Some of them claim that the two of you have spent the last two years living on some tropical island together to escape everything that had happened in the war. In fact, someone's writing a book based on that notion."

Athrun's face somehow managed to become even redder, while he also started to sweat. Oh, if those twins found _that_… "You're joking…" whispered Athrun, sounding desperately hopeful that he was right.

"Nope," said Saul. "In fact, my girlfriend, Naomi, has been bugging me about it. You see, she knows that I know you and she wants to know if it's true. If you and Lacus have been living on a tropical island before all this happened."

"I… I… I… you have a girlfriend?" asked Athrun.

"Yes!" replied Saul angrily. "Why do people always ask that when I tell them I have a girlfriend?! Is it really that hard to believe?! …Wait. You're trying to distract me aren't you?"

"…Partly," admitted Athrun.

"Well I do have a girlfriend, so let's not go into that. We're talking about you and that Lacus. Why is she _really_ around already? I know you know more than you talked about back in the PLANTs."

Athrun sighed. "She's a girl named Meer," he said. "The Chairman hired her to help keep the people of the PLANTs calm with everything going on."

"So it really is that simple," commented Saul, pondering things. "You know, it makes you wonder why he feels the need to have a fake Lacus. Surely a skilled speaker like himself wouldn't need Lacus Clyne, fake or real. Ah well, I got some things to take care of. See ya later."

With that, Saul turned and left. And for the first time, Athrun really began to wonder why the Chairman had Meer to begin with...

* * *

Mahamal Base

With the _Minerva_ now docked at the Mahamul Base, Talia and several of her top officers were disembarking to greet the Base's Commandant. The ship had taken a beating, but it wasn't as bad as it had been when they pulled into Carpentaria. In another day, they'd be back up to a hundred percent.

"Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_," greeted Talia, saluting the group of ZAFT officers from Mahamul.

"Arthur Trine, Executive Officer of the _Minerva_," added Arthur with his own salute.

Athrun, Saul, Suiren and the other _Minerva_ officers with them saluted as well.

"Suiren Kyusai, Commander of the _Minerva_'s mobile suit team." Saul had decided to leave this one to her.

"Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces."

As the Mahamul officers returned the salutes there were whispers and murmurs from some of them, wondering if it was _that_ Athrun Zala.

"Joachim Ruddle, Commandant of the Mahamul Base," said the base commander, dropping his salute and reaching out to shake Talia's hand. The two officers shook their hands. "Thank you for making it out here. Please, make yourselves at home here."

Talia bowed her head. "Thank you."

"We may not have much here, but we do have some damn good coffee beans," offered Ruddle as he guided the Minerva's top four officers into the base.

* * *

Commandant Ruddle's Office

A short while later

The officers had dispensed with the pleasantries and focused on the matters at hand. Ruddle quietly listened as they explained what had happened in the Indian Ocean and what little they knew of that weapon used to take out the _Nyiragongo_. The described power had made many shiver in fear. Once they finished, Ruddle sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Captain Phillips was a good friend. But it couldn't be helped. You were in difficult situation. Outnumbered and struggling to survive, and we've never heard of such a weapon before."

"The situation here seems difficult too," commented Talia, studying the map.

Ruddle nodded. "Yes," he said. "With the fighting strength they have at Suez, we can't afford to go in carelessly. If we want to take care of Suez, we should just do an orbit drop operation. That's what we did in the last war. But for some reason, the council will not approve that particular plan."

Talia nodded her own head in agreement. "I'm not surprised that they didn't rubber stamp that idea, after telling the world that we don't want to acquire new territory."

"No one wants to needlessly escalate this war. I fully support the actions of the Chairman and the current administration," replied Ruddle. "But… because we're trying to play nice, it makes our job harder."

Talia felt a growing tug in the pit of her stomach, a bad feeling. "What do you mean? Are you saying there's something else, other than Suez?" she asked, but already suspected what the answer was.

"It's safe to assume that the forces at Suez are preparing to attack us here in Mahamul, then swing around to hit Gibraltar again," explained Ruddle, tracing a path on the map. "Fortunately, they are currently unable to do that. And why? The reason is here," he added, pointing to the region west of Suez.

Arthur blinked. "Lower Western Eurasia?" he asked.

"Yes," said Ruddle. "Now that we have both Gibraltar and the Indian Ocean under our control, maintaining the stability of this area between Suez and the rest of Eurasia is a must. If not, Suez would become cut off and isolated." Ruddle pushed a button on the table, activating a 3D hologram of the area. "That's why they've built a stronghold here, at the energy plant in Gulnahan. It's from there that they're maintaining a lifeline to Suez, as well as cracking down on a few of the more dangerous factions in the region. While those groups are being run to ground by the Eurasian forces, they are eager to get rid of Eurasian control over the area, and may be able to help us."

Athrun stared at the map, putting together all of the information they had just received. "I see. So what you're saying is, taking out that base will not only cut the lifeline to Suez, but aiding the resistance movement and dealing an indirect blow to the Earth Forces by breaking their control over the region. Is that about right?"

If Ruddle was surprised but Athrun's insight, he didn't show it. "Yes," he said. "That's a good summation of things. But they're aware of this as well. Obviously, they're not going to make it easy for us." The map zoomed in on a canyon that led straight to Gulnahan. "The only way to approach Gulnahan is through this ravine. But the Eurasian forces already know this and have placed a formidable defense line there. They've built a positron cannon there and have a new mobile armor, equipped with reflectors, as well as an ace team of black high-performance Windams to defend it. We tried to attack it once before but it ended in a disaster. When they tried to attack the cannon, the mobile armor shielded the cannon with its reflectors while it charged up. The cannon fired, wiping out most of the force we sent. Those that did survive were hunted down by the black Windams as they tried to regroup and flee."

Suiren's hand curled into a fist, and she had to consciously fight to relax it, lest she cut into her palms with her nails. Positron cannons… on Earth… what were those bastards thinking?!

"It's just like that one from before," said Arthur quietly, remembering the Zamza-Zah and its formidable reflectors.

"But… perhaps with the _Minerv_a, we can take it out," said a weary Ruddle, the pain of those lost soldiers still fresh in his mind.

Now Talia fully understood why they had been sent here. "I see. Essentially, we won't be able to reach Gibraltar unless we break through here, isn't that right Arthur?"

Arthur blinked a few times in confusion. "Huh? Yes ma'am."

"I wonder what _sly fox_ thought up this plan." Of course, Talia already knew who did, but it wasn't like she could do anything about that. She shook her head, less then pleased with Gilbert's actions. "Oh well… if it's our orders then it's our duty to carry them out. Is there anything else we need to know?"

"No," answered Ruddle. "Nothing related to the mission. Though it's highly unlikely that they'll be able to dispatch anything from Suez to aid those stationed at what our people are calling the Lohengrin Gate, as I've recently heard that Gibraltar will be launching a few raids against Suez to distract the Earth Forces there. I believe the veteran Dante Team is involved in the first raid that's taking place tonight."

Suiren's eyes narrowed, and Athrun immediately perked up at hearing the name, reminding him of old times. "A veteran team you say? I've never heard of that team," he commented.

"Really? That surprises me. The Dante Team is led by another FAITH operative and they are one of the Chairman's personal teams. In fact, Commander Dante was one like yourselves, a youth who fought in last war and some of its greatest battles, Jachin Due, Operation Spitbreak, and the like."

Athrun's eyes widened, his thoughts racing wildly in his head. It couldn't be. Could it? He died at Jachin Due. But could he have survived somehow? But if it was him, why hadn't he tried to contact them?

"Commandant Ruddle, do you happen to know this commander's name?"

"Christopher Dante." The answer, to everyone's surprise, did not come from Ruddle, but instead from Suiren.

"What?" breathed Athrun, shocked. Impossible…

"You haven't heard of the Dante Team because until three weeks ago, they were the Kyusai Team," she said, voice low and dangerous. She did not sound pleased by the news they'd just received. Everyone stared at her, shocked. "What the hell is he doing with _my_ team?" She leaned forward, slamming a fist into the table. "I told him not to interfere with me like that. Those people are _mine_, not _his_."

Everyone shuddered. They did not envy Commander Dante, though Athrun felt he needed to meet him. He needed to know who was using the Midnight Raven's name.

What only Talia realized was that Suiren was not talking about the second who'd apparently taken over leadership of her team.

She was talking about Gilbert Durandal. Suiren was one of the few people Talia knew of that Gilbert seemed to be at least weary of, if not outright feared.

* * *

In the Mediterranean Sea

Midnight

"Alright people, these ASHs are brand new machines. We're the first team to use these things in actual combat," said Commander Dante as his team traveled through the Mediterranean Sea. "Intelligence is reporting that Suez is preparing to launch an attack against Gibraltar. We'll just be launching a short raid against the Suez Base, but hopefully it will delay their attack long enough for our forces to have prepared to attack Suez as planned. Remember, this is just a raid. We go in, we attack and we pull out. No heroics, just in and out."

"_Don't worry Commander,_" said Heine from his orange ASH. "_I speak for all of us when I say that we don't want to die in these ugly tin cans._"

Commander Dante chucked in the cockpit of his red and black ASH. Of course, his words had actually been directed towards the newbie, Hathaway. "Alright then, let's show these Earth pilots who they're dealing," he said, gunning the throttle. "Inflict as much damage as possible."

The rest of the Kyusai Team sped up, racing towards the Earth Forces base. Undoubtedly, they had detected them already, but they were ready for whatever the Earth Alliance could muster in the short term for their defense.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, now we see things getting setup for the next chapter. Shinn is slapped with the moniker "White Devil", the Zeon nickname for Amuro Ray in the original Gundam series. This is certainly more appropriate than slapping the moniker on Kira, seeing as Shinn is more comparable to Amuro than Kira is. Of course, to be fair to Amuro, the original Gundam series was focused more on the war than on the characters, and while that worked, I personally preferred the way SEED focused on its characters. Also, Amuro did eventually come to understand what he should really be fighting against, as opposed to Shinn.**

**Then, let's see... Suiren is less than pleased with how Durandal's been using her team in her absence, and it seems that, aside from perhaps Hathaway, the members of the Kyusai Team, even Dante, see themselves as her people, regardless of who's in command. Christopher Dante, hmm...? Well, those who have read _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_ know what that's about, but I won't talk about it for those who haven't.**

**Not much else to say here... oh, wish me luck. When I get one or two more stories completed, I plan to do an "independent" rewrite of Gundam SEED Destiny, where Kira replaces Athrun at the start, and is the one to join the _Minerva_. A major point of appeal, I think, will be the way I portray both Shinn and Rey protagonistically in that story. It'll be fun.**

**Anyways, that's all. Please, please, _please_ leave reviews! I'm begging you! *Gets down hands and knees* _PLEASE!!!_**

**... Ja ne.  
**


	18. Phase 18: The Lohengrin Gate

**Well, here we are. Yet another chapter. I'm close, now. Personally, I feel that I can relax somewhat, now, particularly since I think I'll probably be combining the next two chapters into one. That's no guarantee, but I think the chances of doing so are pretty good.**

**Anyways, we again get a fair mix of edited and unedited content. One thing to note is that I removed the _Minerva_'s use of the Tannhauser. I have to question that: throughout all of SEED and Destiny, the _Archangel_ fired its Lohengrin cannons what, five times? Escaping Heliopolis, at the beginning and end of the battle en route to Artemis, escaping into the atmosphere at the end of the Orb invasion, and when it destroyed the _Dominion_. In contrast, how many times does the_ Minerva_ use its Tannhauser? I can think of at least six times, just off the top of my head, half of them on Earth, plus a seventh time where they attempted to use it and Kira stopped them. How is it that they never faced consequences for this? Well, it's something I intend to change, somewhat.**

**Once again, let's avoid boring all of you and get on with the show.**

**Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

* * *

Phase Eighteen: The Lohengrin Gate

October 30th, C.E. 73

* * *

O.M.N.I. Enforcer Suez Base

Just after midnight

"Don't let them surface! Fire!" a Windam lieutenant shouted to his squadmates as they fired their rifles from one of the Suez Base docks, their beams impacting the water.

Suddenly, a red ASH leaped out of the water, a few feet from where the beams were hitting surface. The lieutenant managed to utter a single curse before its beam claws tore into his machine and the Windam on his right. Before the rest of the Windam squad could react, the ASH fired its shoulder-mounted beam guns and hand-mounted machineguns at the machines at its sides, destroying them. The ASH's monoeye swiveled around its track, circling the black raven centered on its head.

Nearby, Heine's ASH jumped on the dock, firing a spread of missiles onto the deck of a docked _Des Moines_-class cruiser, before turning and firing on an advancing Windam squad. "Come on punks! This ain't a ZAKU but its more than enough to beat you guys!"

Commander Dante ignited his beam claws, rushing towards the Windams. Several fired on him while the rest fired on Heine. But Dante was too fast, dodging their beams as he raced for them. He swung his left claw, severing one Windam at the waist while ramming his right claw into the chest of another. As they exploded, Dante deactivated his beams and grabbed a third machine. He ripped off its right arm before throwing it into another Windam. At the same time, Heine gunned down two mobile suits and blew the head off a third which Dante finished off. Suddenly, an explosion tore through the bottom of one of the parked carriers.

"_Yeah!_" cheered Heine as the ship began to sink. "_Take that!_"

"Was that Harr or Seiei?" asked Dante, not looking as he raised his ASH's right arm and fired at a Windam.

"_Seiei I believe,_" answered Heine.

Dante nodded as he continued to fire without looking, downing another Windam. "Let's see if we can get another carrier."

"_Yes sir._"

Harr, still underwater, neared one of the carriers, preparing to fire his phonon maser cannon. Seiei had managed to sink one carrier so he was going to do the same. But at that moment, a pair of Deep Forbiddens appeared, firing their phonon maser cannons at him. Harr nimbly dodged their shots, firing back at them. He managed to hit the cannon of one, triggering an explosion and destroying it. The other pulled back its pack and lunged at him with its trident. Harr sidestepped his thrust and grabbed the weapon with his claw. He pulled the weapon, pulling the mobile suit towards him as he drove his other claw forward, tearing through the Deep Forbidden's chest. The machine exploded as Harr turned to the carrier. "Now to get that… oh crap…"

More Earth Forces aquatic mobile suits were heading for him. "This is gonna be a challenge."

Suddenly, a barrage of maser beams tore through the group of mobile suits, destroying some and scaring off the others. They didn't get far, as a blue-trimmed white ASH appeared, tearing one apart with its claws and gunning down two more.

"_Remember the objective,_" said Seiei. "_Continue the mission._"

"Y-yes sir."

Above, Commander Dante grabbed a large supply crate and threw it at a docked frigate, hitting its main cannon, damaging it. A Windam fired at him, but he ducked under the shot and fired barrage of missiles at it, taking it out. Dante took a moment to look at the mission clock. They had been engaging the enemy for nearly ten minutes and enemy resistance was increasing.

"This is Dante. Gentlemen, it's time to withdraw," he said over the comm.

"_I read you sir,_" said Heine, standing nearby.

"_This is Aker. Grace and I ready to pull out whenever you are._"

"_Seiei here. I have Hathaway with me. We're encountering heavy resistance from Alliance undersea mobile suits. We can't remain here much longer._"

"Don't worry. We're leaving," replied Dante, leaping back into the water, Heine close behind.

The two sped off, heading toward their sub. Nearby, the other ASHs were withdrawing as well. But they weren't alone; a number of Deep Forbiddens were chasing after them.

"They're stubborn alright," commented Dante. "But we're faster. Transform and gun it."

The six ASHs transformed into their cruising modes and pushed their throttles to the maximum, quickly outpacing the Earth Forces mobile suits, forcing them to give up the pursuit.

"Good work gentlemen. Mission accomplished," said Commander Dante as they raced back to the _Cousteau_. A part of him marveled at the fact that that the sub was still in one piece after all these years. "Oh, and Heine, the Chairman has seen fit to promote you to FAITH."

"_Sir?_"

"Yes. I received the message yesterday morning. I have your badge in my quarters."

Heine was at a loss for words. "_Ah… thank you sir,_" he managed.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do anything," replied Dante. "Thank the Chairman if you must."

* * *

Earth Forces Gulnahan Base

Several hours later

Lieutenant Nero Silverburgh wandered through the large warehouse that was currently functioning as a mobile suit hanger, studying the maintenance log of his Windam. The Gulnahan Base was a dull as hell assignment for the newly created Wolfpack Squad, but he couldn't complain. He had heard that some of those Phantom Pain units had assignments in less than pleasant places.

_Serves those punks right_, he thought. _Those Phantom Pain punks couldn't even take out one ship._

Nero was a young pilot, too young to have served in the last war. But despite that, he had shown a natural talent for piloting mobile suits in the academy and had graduated at the top of his class and got promoted to lieutenant. But he didn't think that his skill was the only reason he had gotten promoted. Someone was interested in him. Shortly after this war started, he had been assigned to a new, elite unit, the Wolfpack Squad, and given a limited production Windam of superior capability.

"Ensign Almeta," greeted Nero. "How has your training been going?"

Ensign Mohinder Almeta was one of the locals from Gulnahan. As part of the Alliance's new reconciliation efforts, they were reaching out to locals, helping them out with domestic problems when they asked for help and training and supplying volunteers to help defend the region. For the most part, it was working. Unfortunately, in the Middle East, there were a lot of ancient hatreds among the people that just wouldn't die. While many were willing to come together and set aside their old hatreds, others were unwilling to and were causing all kinds of problems. Mohinder was young like him, but eager to protect and serve his people. Nero respected that.

Mohinder had lost nearly all of his family in the crossfire of the last war or at the hands of fanatics that hated his people for some forgotten offense from over a couple hundred years ago. The only family he had left was his little sister, Coniel.

"Good sir," replied the eager Eurasian pilot. "I finished my training yesterday afternoon and they've assigned me a Windam."

"Ah, then you're one of the lucky ones to have gotten a Windam instead of a Dagger," commented Orion, walking towards the pair.

Abram Lucas Alexander Orion, or Orion as he preferred to be called, was Nero's second-in-command and an old friend from their days together in the academy. Like Nero, he was an extremely handsome individual and both had been chased after by many of the female cadets they had trained with at the academy. Orion had black hair and green eyes to Nero's blond hair and blue eyes. Though unlike Nero, who was rather humble about his appearance, Orion was a bit on the vain side and was a ladies man through and through. But he was also a very talented pilot as were all the Wolfpack members.

"Indeed. Most of the other local pilots have assigned the older Dagger Ls," added Nero.

"Yes. It is a great honor," said Mohinder. "Perhaps one day I'll be good enough to join your team, Lieutenant Silverburgh."

Nero chuckled and patted him on the back. "I look forward to that day. And if there are more pilots like you out there, this war will come to a swift end."

* * *

The _Minerva_

Shinn stood on one of the _Minerva_'s outside decks, staring out at the ocean as the sun rose. It was quiet, save for the sounds of base personnel going about their duties. The _Minerva_ would soon be taking off, heading onto their next mission. But for now, things were peaceful.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked Athrun as he stepped onto the deck and started approaching Shinn.

"Nothing," replied Shinn, wanting him to just leave. "Should you even be out here? Aren't FAITH members busy with important stuff? How do you justify being out here and slacking off?"

Athrun stopped for a moment and rolled his eyes. "You really have a way of saying things that get on a person's nerves, you know that?" he asked. "So what's really bugging you? Me coming back, or is it that Suiren and I slapped you?"

"No, I wouldn't say that I'm upset. But you're not going to find anyone that likes being hit," answered Shinn as Athrun walked up to him. "Think about it. One day this guy's the bodyguard for the Athhas of Orb and the next, he's my superior and a member of FAITH. I'm having a hard time understanding it and taking your orders. It just doesn't seem like there's any real reason for you to be here, _Commander_."

"Yeah… I understand what you're saying and you do have a point," admitted Athrun as he stared out from the deck. "I can see how it must look to you. It must be pretty difficult to make sense of what I'm doing. So is that the reason? Is that why you can't follow my orders, because you don't like me?"

This caught Shinn off-guard. "Well… no," he said, staring at Athrun while struggling to find the right words.

"So what you're saying is that you're always right and that whatever you don't like or agree with is a mistake."

Now Athrun was getting on Shinn's nerves. "I never said that!"

Athrun turned to face Shinn. "Okay. Then what about what you did in the Indian Ocean? Do you still believe that it was the right thing to do?" he asked.

"Yes."

Athrun paused, accepting the answer. Shinn did try to do the right thing, even if it had been the wrong thing to do. There was something else he wanted to ask Shinn. He had talked to both Rey and Luna about Shinn and his past, specifically about his grudge with Orb and the Athhas. Unfortunately, they knew little about that. But they did know that Shinn was an orphan, which confirmed Athrun's suspicions. "You lost your family on Onogoro Island, didn't you?"

Shinn scowled and looked away. "They were killed. By the Athhas."

Now it all made sense. Shinn had lived in Orb all his life until that day. When they died, like so many others, he needed someone to blame. In this case, Lord Uzumi Nara Athha and his family for the difficult decision to oppose the Alliance. What Shinn failed to realize was that any choice Lord Uzumi made would have met with Orb being attacked. "Well if you want to think that, then go right on ahead. But is that when you came up with the _idea_?"

Shinn turned to Athrun, visibly confused by what he was asking.

"You know, when you thought to yourself, 'If only I had the power. I need more power.'"

"More power? Why are you saying this?" demanded Shinn.

"Anyone who's ever wept because they felt weak or powerless has had these thoughts. Yes…" He stopped for a moment, staring out into space, remembering dark moments from the past when he had those feelings. His mother's death. Nicol's near death. He shook his head, clearing those memories from his head. "But the moment you acquire all that power you've dreamt of, you become the one who causes others to weep tears of loss."

Shinn just stared at him. The teen was at loss of words.

"Just try not to forget that."

With that, Athrun started heading back inside. "We're going to be going into battle again soon. If you forget that while you're out there and throw your power at others out of a sense of your own self-righteousness or because it conveniently suits your purposes, than you'll be nothing but a destroyer. And that's not what you are, are you?" Athrun stopped, glancing back at Shinn. "We're here to carry out our mission as soldiers. We're not here to pick fights."

"I get the point," replied Shinn, his tone a bit less disrespectful than it had been.

"We'll leave it at that. As long as you don't forget what I've told you, you'll be one hell of a pilot one day," said Athrun, stepping into the doorway, but not going inside completely. "But if you do forget, then you're a damned idiot."

Before Shinn could say anything, Athrun stepped inside the ship, the door closing behind him.

* * *

An hour later

The base personnel watched as the _Minerva_ took off, flying over the base, a _Lesseps_-class land battleship, the _Desmond_, and a _Petrie_-class land escort ship, the _Bagley_, following after it. Their destination: the Earth Alliance Forces stronghold known as the Lohengrin Gate.

* * *

Pilot Briefing Room

Several hours later

All of the _Minerva_'s pilots save for Athrun and Suiren, were in their pilot suits and waiting for the briefing to start.

"So, Saul, what are we doing today?" asked Nicol.

"No idea," replied Saul. "I sat out the briefings yesterday. Figured I'd leave it to Suiren."

"Just because the rookies understand where they are relative to you now doesn't give you an excuse to be lazy," said Shiho sternly. Saul waved it off, and Tristan spoke up.

"The two of us," he said, indicating himself and Jessie. "We were playing poker last night with some of the techs from the base, and they were telling us how an entire time was wiped out on a mission the other day, though they didn't know much beyond that. Perhaps what we're doing today is related to that."

At that moment, Arthur entered the briefing room, followed by Athrun, Suiren, and a tanned man in civilian clothes. All of the pilots instantly snapped to attention.

"Please be seated," said Arthur to the _Minerva_'s pilots. Once the pilots were sitting down, he continued. "Well, let's get to it then. This briefing is to explain the greater details of the operation to break through the enemy defense battery, the Lohengrin Gate, which we are conducting jointly with the Ruddle Team as well as with a local resistance group. I'm sure you're all aware that taking out this enemy battery is tall order. A team from Mahamul has already tried to take this battery out, but unfortunately, the mission was a failure. But I'm confident that we'll succeed. Suiren, Athrun, I trust that you two can take it from here."

The two nodded their heads. Arthur stepped away from the front of the room, turning out the lights and turning on a projector, displaying a town, a large industrial area next to it, and a large rocky region south of it with a single canyon traveling through from the bottom of the map to the town.

Suiren pulled out a pointer and turned to the map. "This is an overhead view of the Gulnahan region and the ravine we've dubbed the Lohengrin Gate. The town and the large energy plant lie here, behind this bluff. The only route to the town is through this canyon pass. However, the enemy has placed a positron cannon on the bluff, covering this section here," she explained, pointing to the various parts of the map. "There's no cover in the ravine, meaning that no matter how someone approached it, they would be in the open. Plus the bluff is heavily fortified against long range attacks, and the cannon itself is kept concealed beneath rock and armor when it is not in use. Furthermore, mobile suits also guard it, and a mobile armor equipped with reflectors, not dissimilar to the machines we faced during Operation Reclaimer. Ultimately, a direct assault is impossible." Many of the ZAFT pilots present didn't like the looks of how things were shaping out. It was an ideal defensive position and an absolute nightmare for any attacker to assault without a positron cannon and a reflector equipped mobile armor of their own.

"However," continued Suiren. "No target is unassailable, and we're here to prove it. Our objective is to–"

"You want us to destroy the mobile armor, blow up the cannon and enter Gulnahan, right?" interrupted Shinn.

Suiren glanced at Shinn, who recoiled ever so slightly at the ice in her eyes. Before she could say anything, though, Athrun spoke up.

"That is what we want to do," he said. Suiren shot him a small glance, but acceded to allowing him to deal with Shinn. She didn't want to be cleaning up Durandal's pets. "But that's why we're here, talking about how we're going to accomplish that, Shinn. Ideas?"

"I could take it out if I put my mind to it," replied Shinn offhandedly.

"Wow! Would you do that for us? We'll just wait behind while you go take care of it," said Athrun, playing with the teen. "Just be sure to let us know when you're through."

Shinn, on the other hand, thought he was being serious. "What?! You want me to… I was just…"

The other seated ZAFT pilots began to laugh and chuckle at the panicking Shinn. Suiren loudly cleared her throat, drawing attention back to herself.

"Well, now that the day's entertainment is out of the way, let's get back to the topic at hand," she said. "Mister Kassad."

The civilian nodded his head. "Yes?"

"He's going to be the pilot," said Suiren, gesturing to Shinn. "Give him the data."

"That idiot? Commander, surely you must be joking."

Not one to be insulted by anyone, let alone a stranger, Shinn shot up to his feet. "Hey!"

"This plan rests entirely on a single pilot and their ability, and you want to trust it to that whelp?" asked Kassad, ignoring Shinn completely. "Are you sure he's the best you have?"

"Say what?!"

"He has the ability to do this," said Athrun, trying to reassure the man.

Kassad turned to Athrun and Suiren. "You two are the ones in charge here," he said. "Shouldn't one of you be the pilot for the mission? If this whelp screws it up, our group is done for, and Gulnahan will remain in the hands of those Alliance dogs."

"Hey! I'm a damn good pilot!" shouted Shinn, nearly ready to deck the man for repeatedly insulting him.

"That's enough, Asuka, sit down!" growled Suiren. Submitting to his superior, Shinn sat back down in his chair. "Mister Kassad, I'm afraid that Shinn is the _only_ pilot for this mission. Truthfully, I would've liked Athrun to handle it, but we only have one machine that can perform this mission in the given time, and mastering the particulars take time. Time that we don't have. Shinn's been using it for weeks now, and knows how to handle it, at least better than any of us could in just a few hours. This mission hinges on Shinn, so I suggest you stop wasting time complaining, time that could be better spent making sure everything is ready and increasing our chances of success." Kassad stared at Suiren, unmoving. The blonde's mismatched eyes narrowed. "Mister Kassad, give him the data, or there will be no hope for this mission to succeed."

Kassad shook his head and sighed. "Very well," he said, walking over to Shinn and pulling out a data drive. "But you better not fail whelp. My group has already suffered heavy losses during our last attempt to drive the Alliance out when ZAFT failed the first time. Those of us that survived barely made it out of there. If you fail, we won't survive." He handed Shinn the data drive.

A red jagged line appeared on a rocky section of the map, reaching up to the bluff of the Lohengrin Gate.

"The Earth Forces have covered the ravine approach completely," said Suiren. "However, they've left this cave that starts here and ends at the base of the bluff wide open. Unfortunately, they did so with good reason, needing nothing more than to seal it off, because the tunnel is too small for a mobile suit to get through. At least, not a normal one, which is why only Shinn can perform this mission. The Impulse's Core Splendor System will enable you to fly straight through the cave, blast out of there at the base of the bluff, form up, and destroy the cannon before they retract it. Because of the tight turns and narrow corridors, you won't be able to take any Silhouette packs with you, so you'll only have the Impulse's base equipment to work with." Arrowed lines appeared within the ravine, moving forward to meet similar lines moving from the location of the positron cannon. "Meanwhile, the rest of us will be engaging the mobile suits and the mobile armor, drawing them away from the bluff to make your task easier once you get there. But time is of the essence, Shinn. The longer you take, the more shots that cannon can fire at us. Our lives are in your hands. It's now up to you to prove that we haven't made a mistake."

Shinn was getting annoyed with the constant questioning of his abilities, but he understood where Suiren was coming from. They were placing a big responsibility on his shoulders. He _had_ to rise to the challenge, no matter what!

At that moment, Meyrin's voice came in over the PA, ending any further conversation. "_Approaching Point B. Operation is about to commence. All hands standby. Executive Officer Trine, please report to the bridge._"

"Alright, you heard the lady," said Saul, standing up as Trine left with Kassad, intending to escort him off the ship before heading up to the bridge. "Get moving everyone."

"Wait," said Suiren, surprising everyone. Actually, no, not everyone: Rey and Aleksi didn't seem surprised at all. "I have a very bad feeling about this mission. I'm not sure what it is, but I can't help but feel like something's not right, and I've learned to trust that instinct. Everyone, please, be careful out there." Everyone but Suiren's fellow blondes were surprised. This was a new, almost motherly side of Suiren that none of them had ever seen before.

"We'll keep that in mind," said Athrun, reassuringly.

"Yeah," said Shinn, throwing a quick salute. "I promise, Commander, I won't disappoint you."

* * *

Later

The Impulse's Core Splendor was the first to take off, heading for cave, the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer following after it. It didn't take long for Shinn to find the cave opening. Unfortunately, he didn't expect the cave to be pitch black.

"Damn it," swore Shinn in frustration. "I'm going to have to fly entirely by the data!"

Which was something much easier said than done. The tunnels were narrow and were far from straight. After a minute or two of flying, the tip of the Core Splendor's wing grazed the cave wall. Shinn pulled away, only to scrape into the opposite wall.

"Screw them and their 'you are the only one who can do this' crap! They just didn't want to have to do this themselves!"

* * *

The _Minerva_

Talia watched as the remaining mobile suits launched from the _Minerva_ while the BuCUEs and the GAZuOOTs were launched from the land ships below. Jet Striker-equipped Windams and Daggers were heading towards them with their new mobile armor bringing up the rear.

That wasn't good. They needed that mobile armor as far away from the cannon as possible. When discussing strategies to lure it to the front, Ruddle had suggested the Tannhauser, which might even have destroyed it. However, the idea was almost immediately discarded—politically, the Alliance had ZAFT on the ropes, and the unnecessary use of positron cannons here could provide ZAFT with its first chance to start fighting back in that arena. Ruddle hadn't been pleased, but unlike the last war, politics were much more critical in this one.

"Prepare to fire the Tristans at the mobile suits," ordered Talia. "Remember to use the new settings."

"Yes ma'am."

It would most likely take two shots to lure the new mobile armor forward. But that was fine. Unlike the Tannhauser, these wouldn't damage the environment, and could be fired more often, even with the adjustments.

"Fire!"

The _Minerva_'s beam cannons suddenly lit up the sky. They'd have to restore them to normal afterwards—massive beams, nearly comparable to what was generated by a positron cannon blast, tore free from the cannons, splitting the sky. The Gells-Ghe, though, reacted faster than they'd thought, rushing forward and intercepting with its powerful reflectors. Even with the new adjustments, the positron reflector easily absorbed the blast, pushing the Gells-Ghe back, but ultimately inflicting no damage.

That was fine though. While they could take multiple shots, too many would cause critical damage to the cannons. While it might've been nice to take out a few new suits, their primary objective had been accomplished.

Suddenly, the Earth Forces mobile suits and the Gells-Ghe pulled off to the sides as the Lohengrin Gate cannon fired, its beam streaking towards the airborne _Minerva_. But the ZAFT warship dove down, scraping the canyon floor, evading the positron beam.

The second their attack ended, the Earth Forces mobile suits raced forward.

"First objective is accomplished," said Suiren. "Alright everyone, here they come. Remember, we have to keep them, especially that mobile armor, here. Shinn's gonna come out with very little to work with, so let's not leave him much to deal with."

"_Yes ma'am!_"

As Suiren and the rest of the pilots took to the air, firing their rifles, a new voice came over the radio.

"Can't let you do that ZAFT!" Nero called out, his black Windam, equipped with a Jet Striker, appearing out of nowhere, firing on the ZAFT mobile suits.

"_So, this is the __**Minerva**__,_" said Orion, his Windam appearing and igniting its beam sabers. "_It doesn't look so tough._"

"Don't underestimate it," replied Nero as the rest of the Wolfpack Team appeared, surrounding the two ZAFT land ships. "If the _Minerva_'s here, so is the White Devil. That monster has been giving everyone problems."

"Damn! Mirage Colloid!" said Saul, firing at one of the nimble black machines only to have it disappear for a moment before reappearing and firing at him.

"Gells-Ghe, withdraw to the base and defend the cannon," ordered Nero, gunning down a pair of BuCUEs. "We'll handle these guys."

As ordered, the insectoid mobile armor began to pull back from the fighting, heading back to the Lohengrin Gate. Shiho raced after it, but several Windams and Daggers intercepted her, forcing her to stop and deal with them.

"Athrun!" she called out, dodging their shots. "Stop that mobile armor!"

"_I'm on it,_" replied Athrun, transforming the Saviour and chasing after it.

But he didn't get very far before Nero's Windam appeared in front of him and fired, forcing Athrun to bank right. "Come on Mister Red," he said. "Let's see what you got."

Nearby, Nicol swung his scythe at one of the black Windams. The pilot dodged back, disappearing under Mirage Colloid. Nicol's eyes shifted side to side. These pilots… they didn't know how to use their Mirage Colloid to the fullest. That had been obvious to him almost immediately.

Unfortunately, it was a weakness only Nicol, a master of the technology, could exploit as he closed his eyes for a moment.

"_Heh, the Reaper isn't so tough,_" said one Wolfpack pilot as Orion raced towards the ZAFT land ships. "_I'll finish him off no pro–ARGH!_"

"_Kane? Kane!_"

As the pilot had spoken, Nicol's eyes snapped open. The ZAKU Blitz spun three-eighths of the way to the right, and Nicol fired his Hydra cannons, pummeling the Windam that had been preparing to attack him. Just to be certain, the Falx G9 proceeded to slice the Windam in two.

"Seems the Reaper really is as dangerous as they said," said Orion, turning to go after the ZAKU Blitz after slicing through a pair of GINN OCHERs. However, he was cutoff by a beam that split the air ahead of him. He looked to the source to see that feminine mobile suit descending on him, rifle in the left hand and beam sword in the right.

"_I'm afraid I'm your opponent today,_" said the pilot as her sword descended. Orion raised his shield, just barely managing to halt the beam sword. He lashed out with his own saber, but the Rose tossed its rifle away, snapping its hand out to grab his Windam by the wrist and push the saber wide.

"Not bad," said Orion as the two struggling against one another. Suddenly, the Rose's Signum railguns snapped into position. Orion leapt upwards, twisting about where his Windam's wrist was still held, just barely dodging as the railguns lit up. He chuckled. "No, no bad at all. But should such a lovely sounding woman really taint her hands with blood on a battlefield?"

"_The most beautiful souls are those that accept that taint to protect others from suffering that fate,_" she replied easily, releasing his Windam and reaching up to catch her rifle as it fell back to Earth. She holstered it on the Rose's waist, and withdrew a second beam sword. Orion chuckled.

"I suppose you're right," he said, releasing his shield to draw a second beam saber. The two rushed in, swords against sabers. "Abram Lucas Alexander Orion, Windam pilot of the Wolfpack Team, at your service my dear. May I inquire as to what you're name is?"

"_Well, since you were polite enough to share…_" she said as the two pushed back, swords now at their sides in a momentary lull. "_Suiren Kyusai, pilot of the Rose Gundam aboard the __**Minerva**__._"

"Hmm… Suiren Kyusai… I'll remember that, beautiful," said Orion. "But don't think that I'll go easy on you just because you sound so lovely!" With that, the Windam and Rose charged each other once again. Swords locked, and Suiren suddenly slammed the VPS-reinforced head of her machine into the unprotected head of the Windam, chipping off a moderate chunk of the black mobile suit's head as Orion tumbled through the air before quickly regaining control.

"_Good,_" said Suiren. "_Because I think its time for me to stop holding back._"

Orion hoped she was bluffing.

Luna fired her Orthros cannon at a wing of Daggers, destroying two while severing the leg of a third. But a second after she fired, one of the Wolfpack fired at her. Luna tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. The beam struck her Guul and it exploded from underneath her feet. Her ZAKU fell to Earth, but as she fell, she fired at the Windam, missing it, but still forcing it back as she landed.

The Windam started circling around her, firing as it moved. Luna frantically dodged the shots, hoping she could move fast enough to evade the beams.

Suddenly, Rey appeared, firing his assault rifle at the Windam. The Earth Forces machine nimbly evaded his shots and activated its Mirage Colloid.

"Thanks Rey," Luna called out.

"_Don't thank me yet, Lunamaria,_" he replied, searching for the Windam.

It reappeared behind Rey, a Stiletto drawn. But Rey spun around, pulling his rifle in front of him. The blade pierced his rifle, destroying it, but not Rey's ZAKU. Rey quickly drew a beam tomahawk and swung at the Windam. However, the Windam was too fast and pulled away before his blade could reach it.

"Blast! These black Windams are fast," said Rey.

"_I know,_" replied Saul, downing a normal Windam. "_They must be high performance models. And I suspect they have a new and improved Mirage Colloid system._"

"_And their pilots are pretty good too,_" added Nicol, clashing with one of the Wolfpack pilots. "_They haven't mastered the tech yet, but they learn from their mistakes quickly._"

"_Yeah, because that's just our luck,_" said Saul, firing his revolver at Nicol's opponent.

The black Windam pivoted, raising its left arm to intercept the shot with its shield, the beam dissipating against the anti-beam coating. Then the pilot raised his shield at the ZAKU Surge, revealing a pair of missiles on the underside and fired.

"Damn," muttered Saul snapping off two shots to obliterate the missiles.

Nearby, a trio of Daggers raced towards the _Minerva_, firing off their Drache air-to-surface missiles at the warship. But the _Minerva_'s CIWS guns managed to shoot down the missiles and even get one of the Daggers. Unfortunately, one of Wolfpack snuck up on the ship and fired its own missiles, impacting the ship's hull.

"Damn," murmured Aleksi. Rey and Luna were tied up with one of those black Windams, Athrun and Suiren were squaring off with two more, Shinn still hadn't gotten through the cave, Shiho was being hounded by nearly a dozen machines, and Saul and Nicol were now struggling against a trio of the black machines. That left her to lead Jessie and Tristan in direct defense of the _Minerva_. But against these numbers… "This is bad."

Aleksi closed her eyes, quickly running herself through a calming exercise taught to her by Suiren.

"Jessie, Tristan!" she called as the two fired on the Windam that had just struck the _Minerva_. "Formation Lambda 17!"

"_Roger!_"

The three GuAIZs all pulled back to the _Minerva_, firing in all directions along with the battleships CIWS, pushing the enemy forces back. Then, the three surged at a large cluster of enemy machines, Jessie and Tristan slightly ahead of Aleksi. The two fired viciously with everything they had, Aleksi taking the occasional shot from the rear. Many machines pulled out of the way, and a black Windam closed in with a normal one, both wielding beam sabers. But as they were nearly on top of the two, the GuAIZ Rs cut thrust to their Guuls, suddenly falling from the skies.

Behind them came the GuAIZ's extensional arrestors. The Wolfpack pilot dodged, but the other wasn't so fortunate, the arrestor grabbing hold of his machine a few feet left of the cockpit. The arrestor knocked him completely off-balance, and Jessie fired a cluster of missiles from his Guul accompanied by fire from his railguns and rifle, obliterating the Windam, while Tristan attacked the Wolfpack pilot, preventing him from trying to get at Aleksi.

"These guys are good," said Aleksi. She frowned. Iota 1 would work, in this situation, but that formation required more firepower than their GuAIZs had, and Tristan and Jessie had never trained in performing that dangerous and risky assault. "Damn it. Formation Delta 9!"

* * *

The Tunnel

Shinn grunted as he turned the Core Splendor on its side, squeezing through a particularly narrow section of the tunnel. Once again he cursed his commanding officers for choosing him for this mission. He'd much rather be fighting the hordes of Earth Forces mobile suits and the mobile armor than flying through this cave in complete darkness. But at least he was nearing the end of the tunnel.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Saviour swung its beam saber at the black Windam, but Nero ducked under the diagonal swing and struck back with his own saber, only to end up hitting the Saviour's shield. Athrun knew he had to get away from Nero and draw the attention of the Gells-Ghe, and fast. Shinn would be breaking through the cave in a matter of minutes, if not less. And if that mobile armor was still guarding the cannon at that moment, it was unlikely that Shinn would be able to destroy it in time.

At that moment, the Lohengrin fired again, forcing Nero and Athrun to break away to avoid the beam. Most of the ZAFT and Alliance forces managed to evade the beam as well, but not all of them. Several Daggers, Windams, GAZuOOTs, a BuCUE and the _Bagley_ were caught in the beam's path and were annihilated.

This was Athrun's chance and he wasn't about to waste it. He raced towards the Gells-Ghe as it stood on the bluff. Switching to his beam rifle, Athrun fired at it as the mobile armor responded with its two beam rifles. And it wasn't alone. There were a number of Windams and Daggers on the bluff as well, firing at him.

Athrun dodged the beams as he continued towards the Gells-Ghe. As he drew close to the mobile armor, the mobile suits stopped firing, lest they hit it. Athrun landed in front of it and drew his sabers. The Gells-Ghe lashed at him with its legs as he moved in to destroy it.

Suddenly, an explosion tore through a cliff face next to the bluff. The Core Splendor, followed by the Chest Flyer and the Leg Flyer flew out and began to assemble into the Impulse. Once completed, it headed for the cannon. But the base, clearly detecting its intention, began to retract the cannon back into the base while a number of Windams and Daggers standing guard on the bluff began to fire on Shinn.

"Blasted White Devil! You're not going to slaughter my people!" roared Mohinder, firing on the Impulse as it moved towards him.

"Mohinder! Fall back! That machine's too strong for you!" shouted Nero, trying to warn the Eurasian pilot as he sped towards the white machine. He wanted to intercept, but that dark blue ZAKU had cut him off after dealing with the last of its own assailants.

But it was too late. Shinn pulled out one of his knives and drove into the Windam's chest, straight into the cockpit… and Mohinder.

"Damn you!" roared Nero, firing at the Impulse. This was a mistake, as a shot from Shiho's Laurus hit the right wrist of his Windam, destroying it and the rifle.

And Shinn was already moving up towards the cannon and the lone Dagger standing guard next to it. Shinn threw his shield in front of him, blocking some shots from the Dagger while he drew his remaining knife. Shinn rammed the blade into the Dagger. He glanced at the cannon—the hatch was closing. With a roar, he took hold of the dagger and threw into onto the edge of the closing hatch. He fired his CIWS guns on it, several rounds piercing the battery and knocking it the rest of the way, falling threw the hatch seconds before it closed. The mobile suit crashed into the cannon and exploded, taking the cannon and triggering a chain reaction. Explosions tore through the cannon shaft and into the base reactor, destroying it and causing more explosions to tear through the base.

As Shinn was destroying the Lohengrin, Orion struggled against Suiren. She hadn't been kidding when she said she'd stop holding back. He was low on power, low on ammo, and somehow, he doubted she'd broken a sweat. She wasn't just some hotshot in an advanced mobile suit—she was a clear veteran, and as good as Orion was, he just couldn't keep up. She had it all—technology, experience, ability, every advantage he could think of, it was hers.

The Rose shot forward. Orion attempted to intercept with his beam sabers, but Suiren knocked both aside, then kicked the black Windam in the chest. Orion attempted to kick back, but she twisted through it, then spun, cutting off the Windam's left leg. The Rose flipped over, Orca cannons unfolding from its wings and firing, consuming both arms of Orion's Windam. The Rose appeared in front of him—_how can it move so fast?_ he wondered—a sword descending on his cockpit.

But Suiren halted, just short of delivering the fatal blow, and lowered her sword.

"Why?" he asked.

"_Because anymore death this day would be meaningless,_" she said. At that instant, a voice came over Orion's radio.

"_Damn! They've destroyed the Lohengrin Gate!_" cursed Nero. "_You win this round ZAFT, but next time, you won't be so lucky! Wolfpack Team! Withdraw!_"

"I see," said Orion. "Defeated. A shame… or perhaps not…" He looked at the Rose. "I hope we meet again, beautiful Suiren," he said, bowing at her before pulling his crippled Windam away.

The five remaining black Windams pulled back from the battle, activating their Mirage Colloid, disappearing. At the same time, Athrun finished off the Gells-Ghe, firing the Saviour's Super Fortis beam cannons into its spider-like body. With the loss of the cannon, the base, and the withdrawal of the Wolfpack Team, the surviving Earth Forces began to retreat. While ZAFT allowed the survivors to flee, those in Gulnahan itself were less than lucky. The rebels gave no quarter to those fleeing, killing many while capturing others.

A short while later, both the Impulse and the Saviour were standing outside Gulnahan. While there was still fighting in the energy plant, most of the town was now under the rebels' control. Many of the rebels were now celebrating their victory around the feet of the two mobile suits. Shinn had climbed out of the Impulse and was on the ground with the rebels, at the center of the celebration. Athrun on the other hand, had chosen just to watch the celebration from the cockpit, in case the _Minerva_ called them.

The battle had been won, the Lohengrin Gate destroyed, the line to Suez cut, and Gulnahan freed from Alliance control. Though if the majority of the townspeople had wanted that, Athrun wasn't too sure as there did not appear to be many of the citizens of Gulnahan involved in celebration with the rebels. But they could just still be hiding in their homes in case it was only a momentary defeat of the Alliance.

Suiren appeared, landing her Rose outside the party.

"_Athrun…_" her tone chilled him to the bone. "_Are you seeing this?_" A transmission was sent from the Rose to the Saviour. He brought it up, a new window appearing on one of his monitors.

The image showed the city center of Gulnahan, a group of captured Earth Forces soldiers and townspeople kneeling in a line as one of their captors executed them one at a time. That didn't surprise Athrun that much. He expected the rebels to execute any captured soldiers and those in the village that collaborated with the Alliance. He didn't like it, but he expected it. What he didn't expect was the flag one of the rebels was holding. A gold cobra coiling around three crossing swords on a green field. It was the flag of the Eurasian Liberation Army, one of the largest and most violent anti-Earth Alliance groups in the Middle East. Athrun remembered hearing about them and the atrocities they committed during the last war. To the ELA, the means didn't matter so long as Middle East was free of the Alliance and they controlled the region. They weren't people who were just fighting for their independence: they were a guerilla army of terrorists and fanatics that would do anything to achieve their goals, including terrorist attacks against civilians.

The man that had given them the data, Kassad was there, speaking to the camera.

"_Today, the Eurasian Liberation Army has freed the city of Gulnahan from the clutches of the fascist Earth Alliance,_" he said. "_From here, we shall launch our righteous crusade to liberate the rest of the lands that they have stolen from us! Never again shall they control what is rightfully ours!_"

"No…" whispered Athrun, realizing that the resistance group they had helped wasn't what they said they were. "This group… they're not a resistance group, they're a terrorist group!"

"_I know,_" said Suiren, disgusted at what they had inadvertently done. "_We were played. It wasn't the battle that was giving me that bad feeling, it was this._"

"_We must also thank you, soldiers of ZAFT, aiding us in crushing the backs of these Alliance bastards and their dogs. Because of you–_"

Athrun cut off the transmission, already sick of what he was hearing.

"_The Ruddle Team will stay behind and try to help the civilians and prevent the ELA from doing anything to them,_" explained Suiren. "_Talia's ordered us back to the ship._"

"Do the others know?"

"_No,_" came Saul's voice as the ZAKU Surge landed next to the Rose. "_We decided to tell them during the debriefing tonight. The mission itself was a success. They deserve to celebrate for a few hours._"

Athrun nodded. "I agree." He turned his attention to Shinn and the party below him. "Shinn!" he called out, using the Saviour's external speakers. "The Captain's calling us back."

* * *

A Cave

Several miles from Gulnahan

Later that night

The Wolfpack Team had escaped the battle with only a single casualty and, with the exception of Orion's, only minimal damage to their mobile suits. However, they would need to recharge their machines before they could make the trip to Suez, which Orion's machine was still plenty capable of. Fortunately, the Alliance had prepared in case the Lohengrin Gate was lost, placing a few hidden supply depots in the region for stranded mobile suit squads. By tomorrow morning, they would be ready to leave. And it would also allow Nero to contact his superior, the overall commanding officer of the Wolfpack Team.

"Major Ryker," he said, saluting the monitor. "I assume that you've already heard that Gulnahan has fallen to ZAFT and the ELA. We were going to withdraw for Suez once our machines are fully charged up."

"_Yes,_" she replied. "_I know that Gulnahan has been lost, but you will not be heading to Suez. Command has other plans for you than fighting in a hopeless battle._"

"Then Suez is lost?"

"_It will be when ZAFT strikes,_" she answered. "_But it will only be a minor setback in the greater scheme of things. We're preparing a major offensive against ZAFT forces, both on Earth and in space. The Wolfpack will be needed in future battles here on Earth. Especially if Phantom Pain continues to disappoint. Perhaps you'll even have another shot against the __**Minerva**__ and the White Devil. I assume you want payback, of course._"

"Yes, ma'am. We would like that."

"_Good. I'm sending you a series of coordinates. One of our new __**Hannibal**__-class land battleships is waiting there for you for the next forty-eight hours. Once you reach it, you'll receive additional orders. Until then._" Major Serena Ryker saluted and killed the line.

He knew all about the Major's public face, and to be honest, he didn't care. He left politics for the Brass and politicians. Nero was a soldier through and through. Tell him who and where his enemy was, and he'd fight. Politics was just a big headache.

"Hey Nero, we got a problem here!" Orion called out from the entrance of the cave the depot was hidden in.

"What is it?" he asked as he walked towards his second.

"This girl wandered into here. What do we do about her?" answered Orion as he reached the rest of his teammates.

The girl in question was a local, a young one at that. Definitely under sixteen by Nero's guess. She had bluish-green eyes and brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail. Her face held a look of fear and worry. "Please! Do any of you know where my brother is?" she pleaded, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "His name is Mohinder Almeta."

Nero knew who this girl was now. Though he never met her, he knew who she was. Coniel Almeta. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"My brother told me about several fallback positions you had in the mountains and that if something should happen to the base, I was to come here. So I took his truck as soon as those terrorists began to attack the town," she answered. "Please, do you know where he is?"

Nero let out a weary sigh. "I'm sorry… He's dead. The White Devil killed him."

Coniel began to frantically shake his head as tears started rolling down his cheeks. "No… no! You're lying! He's not dead! He can't be dead!" she screamed, beating her fists on Nero's chest.

Nero grabbed her arms, stopping her from hitting him. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I saw his death with my own eyes. He's gone."

Coniel completely broke down, crying for her dead brother.

* * *

The next morning

"Sir, the machines are fully charged up and ready to go."

Nero, standing at the cave entrance, looked away from the rising sun. "Thank you Leon." He turned to the rest of his team. "It's time to leave."

"What about her?" asked Orion, gesturing to the sleeping girl.

Coniel had cried herself to sleep late last night and was still asleep. "She's staying."

"No," Coniel suddenly called out, sitting up from the sleeping bag they had put her in after she fell asleep. "Take me with you."

"No. We can't," said Nero. "Go home."

Coniel shook her head. "I have nothing to go back to. My brother was the only one I had left and if the ELA finds out that my brother was soldier, they'll shoot me… if I'm lucky. Take me with you. I want to fight."

Nero could tell she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Plus, she was right about the ELA. They were brutal to those they perceived as enemies and the sister of an Earth Alliance soldier was one such person.

"Fine," he said. "We'll take you with us. But you'll be dropped off at a safer town. You're too young to fight. One day you'll be old enough, but not today."

* * *

Unknown location

"_Report._"

"Sir," replied the young man. He'd taken his machine out in the early hours of the morning under the guise of training and patrol, and proceeded to one of the comm. sites where he was to make his reports from via a direct laser link that couldn't be intercepted without knowing it was there. "I'm afraid there's likely nothing you aren't already aware of."

"_We must be sure._"

"Yes sir," he replied. "I overheard the Captain talking to Djibril. It seems that new unit, the Wolfpack Team, faced off with the _Minerva_. They're mission was a failure."

"_Yes, but they've shown promise,_" replied his superior. He nodded slightly.

"Something else," he said. "That mercenary has been assigned to look after one of the Extended. She also pilots a machine equipped with a DRAGOON System that can be used in an atmosphere with drastically reduced power consumption, and a weapon she calls a 'mega beam launcher'. It's probably the most powerful single weapon I've seen on any mobile suit."

"_I see._" His superior frowned. "_This 'Haruka Tsukino' is a dangerous unknown, it would seem. Well, it doesn't matter. If the time comes, you can deal with her and the rest of that unit easily._"

"Yes sir."

"_Good. You've done well, Leon. He'll be pleased. Continue with your mission._"

"Yes sir," said Leon as the man known to him only as 'Raphael' cut the communiqué. Leon sighed. He wondered how long it would be before the others in Phantom Pain began to question his motives. No matter what influence his superiors had over Djibril, he had little doubt that Treize and Haruka would kill him without a second's hesitation.

* * *

**Author's Notes: As you can see, I kept Akatsuki Leader13's idea of them aiding a terrorist group by accident. That idea, in my opinion, was simply far too good to pass up. Also, like in _SEED Destiny: A Retelling_, Orion flirts with Suiren somewhat, but here, she ignores it rather than questions his sanity (as I like to think of it), and tears him apart. Before anyone questions me on this, it made since: the Windams are good, but still technologically inferior to the Second Stage Gundams. Suiren is a Coordinator whereas Orion is a Natural. Suiren is a veteran whereas, while good, Orion isn't much more than a rookie. The only reason Athrun didn't tear Nero to pieces was because he was focused on trying to reach the Gells-Ghe.**

**We also learn some troubling information regarding Leon. Like with Haruka, it seems he has motives for working with Phantom Pain which he keeps hidden, motives that look quite sinister. What does this have to do with the Wolfpack Team? Why the hell does this "Raphael" think Leon can deal with all of Phantom Pain easily? What, is he stupid? Well, we'll see in the future.**

**Anyways, I look forward to the next few chapters. The next one will contain a bombshell for those who haven't read Akatsuki Leader13's version. For those who have, well, there will still be surprises, since I've decided to change up more than a few things.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	19. Phase 19: The Hidden Truth

**Forget anything I said about my previous chapters: this is, hand's down, the longest I've written for this story thus far. Actually, it's the longest chapter I've written. Period. Unfortunately, I can't claim all that credit for myself (shame, I'd have liked to say I'd written such a long chapter), as a fair bit of this is, again, edited stuff from Akatsuki Leader13.**

**Regardless, however: YAY FOR FINALLY BEING CAUGHT UP!**

**Like the corresponding chapter(s) of _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_, this is where I start to really throw out some significant curveballs, mine and Akatsuki Leader13's. I've added some of my own, made an alteration here or there, and combined the latest two chapters of _SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. In addition, I firmly introduce a large group of background OCs that have appeared sporadically since Break the World. Don't worry, they're not going to shift out of the background, this is just one of two points in the story where they play a role of any true significance to the story.**

**Anyways, with this now out, I can well and truly relax. For reasons I won't mention, I'm not gonna be able to work on either the next chapter or the one after that until I see Akatsuki Leader13's version of it. He'll know what my reasons are, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I can't inform the rest of you.**

**Ah... finally. The rush is over. Maybe now I can finally see some work done elsewhere without having to worry.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own all members of the Kyusai Team save for Heine Westenfluss, who is the property of Sunrise, Christopher Dante, who is the property of Akatsuki Leader13, and Harr Hathaway, who is the property of Digital Dimension.  
**

* * *

Phase Nineteen: The Hidden Truth

November 3rd, C.E. 73

* * *

ZAFT Diocuia Base

"So this is Diocuia. What a beautiful city," commented Arthur as he and Talia disembarked from the _Minerva_. "How long has it been since we've been to a place this nice? It seems like it's been forever."

Diocuia had been conquered by ZAFT during the last war and then returned after the conflict ended, its base converted into a new, larger civilian port. But now, Diocuia, along with several other nearby towns, had broken away from the Earth Alliance, asking for ZAFT protection. Chairman Durandal had accepted their request and the former Diocuia Base was now once again functioning as it was originally built for.

"Yes, it has been awhile since we've seen anything but bases, oceans and mountains," agreed Talia. "But after what happened in Gulnahan, we could all use a break."

It had been four days since the attack on the Lohengrin Gate, and morale had been at an all time low. Finding that they had helped a terrorist group had been a bit blow to all of them, especially the pilots. Of course, things in Gulnahan had gotten worse the of day the attack, ending with the Eurasian Liberation Army setting off bombs in the energy plant. The damage was severe and it could no longer generate power, blacking out much of the surrounding region and plunging it into chaos. Hopefully, some R&R would help them out and improve morale among the crew.

"Hello… what do we have here?" said Talia, stopping on the stairs, looking out at the gathering in the base yard.

It was a Lacus Clyne concert that was starting. There was a large crowd of ZAFT personnel that had gathered at the stage while a crowd of curious civilians had begun to gather outside the base. The band started to play, but there was no sign of Lacus herself.

"_Hello everyone! It's me, Lacus!_" Suddenly, a pink ZAKU appeared over the base, being held aloft by two other machines. While they were similar to ZAKUs, they were clearly different machines. And in the ZAKU's hands was Lacus Clyne. The ZAFT crowd cheered as Lacus began to sing.

_In this quiet night_

_I'm waiting for you_

_Forgetting the past_

_And dreaming of you_

The two mobile suits gently placed the ZAKU onto the stage and then moved away as Lacus continued her performance on the ZAKU's hands, which began to move as she danced, showing incredible grace and balance.

_Time passes by_

_And memories fade_

_But time can't erase_

_The love that we've made_

Nearby, the two GOUF Igniteds landed with some of the other mobile suits and powered down, their pilots climbing out of their machines. "A waste of a perfectly good ZAKU and our time," commented Dante as he and Heine watched a bit of the concert. "Ah well, the Chairman's landing. We better go pay our respects." He paused, before smiling slightly. "I think the Commander's back as well." Heine didn't question him.

Elsewhere, most of the _Minerva_'s crew, especially its younger crewmembers, had disembarked and were now mingling with the crowd.

"Damn… and to think, that's wasted on Athrun," said an envious Saul.

"I thought you had a girlfriend," replied Nicol.

"So? I can still look and dream. That girl may be a fake, but damn… she's hot."

"Naomi's going to flay you alive if she finds out you said that."

"You won't tell her. I know you."

"True. But that doesn't mean that Shiho won't."

Saul paled and looked behind him to see Shiho, smirking coldly.

Nearby, Athrun stood at the back of the crowd with Luna and her sister, Meyrin, watching the show. "Did you know she was going to be here?" asked Luna.

"Ah… well, no," answered Athrun, trying to sound like he cared for her.

"Well it's not like you have the luxury to keep in touch 24/7," replied Luna. "You're both busy people."

"Yeah… something like that."

At that moment, a person ran past them, bumping into Meyrin, knocking her into Athrun. On reaction, she grabbed onto Athrun.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her cheeks reddening as she held onto him. "Someone just bumped into me."

Luna scowled at her sister for such a lame and obvious attempt to get close to Athrun. But if it was a genuine accident or not didn't register to Athrun. "We're kind of in the way here. Let's move over here," he said, draping an arm around her and guiding her to a warehouse wall, accompanied by Luna's obviously annoyed expression.

Among the civilian crowds watching the concert was a young photojournalist. Miriallia Haw scanned the concert with her camera, taking pictures of 'Lacus', as well as Chairman Durandal, who was speaking with several ZAFT officers. Unfortunately, their backs were to her, preventing Miriallia from getting their faces. Nevertheless, she continued searching the ZAFT crowd, looking for anything of interest. That's when she saw them.

Nicol. Saul. Shiho.

It had been a long time since she'd seen the three of them. She'd only been in Orb for Nicol's first visit to the country—she was about during his next few visits, and hadn't kept in touch with any of them. She was one of Makoto's agents, and spent a lot of time traveling and collecting bits of intelligence from all over, giving her a good view of the overall world. A world that currently favored the Earth Alliance a lot more than ZAFT.

Nearby, Suiren stared up at the new mobile suits, recognizing the model and knowing who the pilots were. Good, she needed to talk to Dante some.

The GOUF Ignited was a machine that had been sent to her the day they received orders for Dante's transfer to command of the _Minerva_'s mobile suit team, assignment to the Specter, and promotion to FAITH. The mobile suits were largely modeled after the Specter, but for purposes of power-conservation, they dropped the power-intensive vernier boosters and the multi-phase cannon on the shoulder. Instead, they focused on close combat, complementing the default sword with heat rods, though these were smaller and weaker than the first heat rod wielded by the legendary Faith, designed to be contained within the GOUF's forearms, and the revolvers were replaced with quad beam guns mounted on the forearms. Replacing the verniers in providing atmospheric flight, the GOUF Ignited equipped an updated version of the backpack used by the high-maneuver ZAKUs of the Kessel Team.

Against the 'ZAKU-buster' Windams, these machines could make a lot of difference in the conflict. Suiren was pleased to see the prototypes finally put into service.

_Follow the stars_

_That lead into the quiet night…_

The crowd was cheering as Lacus finished her first song. Someone threw her a bouquet of flowers. "Oh thank you everyone! It just fills me with happiness to see all of you today! To all of you courageous ZAFT soldiers, you've worked for peace and I want to thank you for that, and thank you to the people of Diocuia! I pray that this war ends soon! So let's all stay united and work together until that day comes!"

Suddenly, Meer felt something strike her stomach. Someone screamed, but it wasn't a scream of a fan cheering her on, it was a scream of terror. More cries and screams filled the air. Meer looked down. Red liquid was staining her dress.

_What… have I been shot? It doesn't really hurt…_

But before she could do anything, she was hit twice more. This time, blue and green was added to the red on her dress.

"Yeah! Take that ZAFT whore!" shouted someone from the civilian crowd.

"That's for all those lost at Gulnahan and the Indian Ocean!" yelled another civilian.

"Down with Durandal and his butchers! Down with the White Devil and down with the Pink Whore!"

"How dare you!" shouted another one. "Lacus Clyne is not a whore!"

"Yeah! If you hate ZAFT, go crawling back to the Alliance!"

Suddenly, someone threw a rock at one of the anti-ZAFT people. "You bastard!" a man roared, diving at the rock thrower and hitting him.

Then all hell broke out among the civilians.

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize grinned as he lowered his modified rifle, looking down at the fighting from his rooftop vantage point. It annoyed him that he was using only paintball rounds rather than real ammo. But the Captain had told him not to kill Durandal's pink little whore, something about it being better to humiliate her and Durandal than killing them, at the moment anyway. Though, it was amusing to see those stupid Patchworkers running around like a freshly decapitated chicken as those traitors fought amongst themselves.

He quickly disassembled his rifle, putting it back into a suitcase, and heading towards the stairs. While his face was expressionless, internally, he was excited. The _Minerva_ was docked in the city. That white machine was so very close…

Soon, he would battle with that 'White Devil' again before he destroyed it once and for all.

* * *

Elsewhere

A block away from the base, a group of teens gathered around a pair of convertibles. They were the Extended pilots of Phantom Pain, minus their leader, his little 'sister', and Stella.

"Heh… look at them," said Sting. "It didn't take much to get them fighting."

"Yeah," said Auel, nodding his head. "A few shoots from Treize, some choice words for that pink bimbo and they're ready to kill each other."

"Well, what do you expect from those idiots. They abandoned the Alliance and crawled over to the Patchworkers," added Nanai, her voice filled with contempt, wearing tan pants and a blue sleeveless shirt.

Gyunei grunted. He wore blue jeans, a red t-shirt and a black, sleeveless vest. "Why do you care about these people? They're worms crawling around vermin. Why are we even bothering with this? We should just burn this place to the ground."

"We've got our orders," said Silber icily. His own outfit was solid black. "We can't complain either, after the our recent failures."

"Hey! We didn't lose to them!" Auel shot back.

"But we didn't win either," said Sting, agreeing with Silber. "And for us, that's the same as losing. We're Phantom Pain; losing is unacceptable."

"Anyone know where Maia went?" asked Nanai, looking for their youngest member. She also wore blue jeans and a dark green hoodie. "Neo will get angry if we leave her behind."

"She's over there," replied Auel, flicking a finger over his shoulder.

There she was, wearing a simple light blue dress and white sandals, playing with a purple ball. Nanai shook her head. "That figures," she muttered. "Whenever she isn't piloting or fighting, she's playing like a child."

"What do you expect? She's crazy!" said Gyunei.

"Perhaps, but she's still strong as hell." Nanai turned to the girl and call out. "Hey Maia! We're going!"

"Kay!" she called back, running towards the group, showing them what the ball was…

"Hey! Haro!" the robot chirped.

"Hey? What is that and where'd you get that?" asked Sting.

"Some ZAFT guys handing them out to people."

"A ZAFT guy?" exclaimed Nanai. "That's a Coordinator toy! Why did you take it?"

"Because I like it," answered Maia, not really paying attention to them. "Isn't he cute?"

"Haro!"

Sting rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You know Treize will probably smash that thing when he sees it, right?"

"Haro! Uh oh! Haro!"

"Hell, I may end up smashing that annoying thing before he finds out," he added.

Maia pulled the Haro close, shielding it from them. "He just needs a few tweaks, and then he'll be perfect."

"If you say so."

* * *

Later that day

The concert had been a mess, but thankfully, a number of ZAFT soldiers stepped in, attempting to hold back the potential riot until the local police arrived and managed to stop it without any loss of life. But still it had been a mess.

"Well, this has certainly been one hell of a way to kick off some R&R," commented Saul to his fellow pilots.

All of the _Minerva_'s pilots, save for Rey, were in the back of a limo, heading for the largest hotel in Diocuia to meet with Chairman Durandal.

"Well, at least we're getting R&R this time around," replied Nicol. "The closest thing we got to a day off on Earth in the last war was the time we spent in the _Archangel_'s brig and under house arrest in the Taiyonoha Estate."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Saul. Luna stared at them.

"The Taiyonoha Estate?" she asked. Saul chuckled.

"We got captured by the _Archangel_ after this hectic battle in the last war," he said. "Nearly lost a lot of good people on both sides that day, but somehow, everyone pulled through. After they fled to Orb following Operation Spitbreak, we were taken off their hands. The Taiyonohas took us into their house and locked us up in there until the attack on Orb. After showing us the Panama Massacre, Lady Serenity convinced us to fight with the _Archangel_ for peace, even though, at the time, it was thought that our attack on the ship had killed her da–"

"We're here," said Nicol, cutting Saul off before he let slip one of Makoto's most desperately protected secrets. Saul, realizing his near-mistake, shut up.

The limo pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel and they all climbed out of the vehicle. A member of the hotel staff was there waiting for them. Around the hotel, were a number of ZAFT mobile suits, some standing guard over the building the ZAFT Chairman was in, others parked, their pilots staying inside the hotel. Among two of the parked ones were those two new models they had seen briefly at the concert. But now they could study them in greater detail. The first one was painted dark orange and black on the chest and shield while its limbs and head were painted a lighter shade of orange. The other machine…

"Wow… now doesn't that remind you of someone," commented Saul as they walked to the main entrance. "Maybe that prick did survive after all."

The second machine's body and shield were black and dark blood red, its head, arms and legs were, like the other one, painted in a lighter red. However, on the shield and on the two front plates of its skirt armor, were black birds, ravens.

"I don't think it's him," replied Nicol. "A ZAKU Phantom painted in those colors saved my life during the opening battle of the war, remember? I doubt he would have done that."

Saul shrugged. "Yeah. You're right. That psycho wouldn't have saved you. Hell, he probably would have attacked you _and_ the Alliance guy that was attacking you."

"That's enough talk about my second," said Suiren. Everyone stared at her. "Those are the personal colors of my second-in-command and friend."

"Hello," said the hotel staff member, giving them a bow. "Chairman Durandal is waiting for you. If you'd all follow me, it's right this way."

The man led them into the hotel and to an elevator. After getting off on the fifth floor, he led them out to a patio on part of the hotel's roof. There, sitting at a large table, was Chairman Durandal, Captain Gladys and Rey. There was also an orange-haired ZAFT Redcoat wearing a FAITH badge, and a black-haired Whitecoat whose back was to them. The arriving pilots, with the notable exception of Suiren, snapped to attention as the Chairman rose from his seat to greet them.

"Ah, Athrun!" greeted Durandal as he approached the group. "It's good to see you again."

"You as well Chairman."

Durandal then turned to Suiren. "And Suiren, it's been far too long."

"So it would seem," said Suiren evenly. "Especially given what I hear about the… hmm… the Dante Team?"

To everyone's surprise, Durandal chuckled slightly. "I assure you, that's only a rumor," he said. "You were absent, he was in command, and he was a member of FAITH. But I promise you, you're men and women are all very loyal to you, and they all still consider themselves the Kyusai Team."

Suiren nodded. "Good," she said. "I worked hard on this team. I won't tolerate outside interference. Not even from you, Gil."

Everyone, but for those at the table (excepting the FAITH Redcoat), was gobsmacked by the underlying threat that seemed to be there. Durandal, however, just smiled with a slight nod.

"Of course," he said. "But… why aren't you wearing your badge?"

"Just because I was the first agent of FAITH doesn't mean I should be advertising that to the world," replied Suiren without a second of hesitation. There were several choked gasps, as all eyes, other than the seated Whitecoat, turned to stare at her.

"Ah, of course," said Durandal. "Well, I suppose that is your choice, but really, would it have been so much trouble to let your new comrades know?"

Suiren didn't reply. When Durandal had first seen to the formation of FAITH, she was the first person he approached to join the organization. Ultimately, she'd accepted, if for nothing more than the power to more easily control the assignments she'd receive and the people she'd take into her team.

"You're FAITH?" asked Saul, sounding almost incredulous.

"Yes," said Suiren. Durandal smiled, and turned to the first of the _Minerva_'s Greencoat pilots as Suiren stepped away, walking to the table and striking up a quiet conversation with the Whitecoat and Redcoat.

"And Tristan Palleon. How are you're parents?"

"They're fine sir," replied Tristan. It was evident from his tone that he was still trying to wrap his mind around the realization that Suiren was in FAITH. "Still angry that I joined the military, but otherwise fine."

The Chairman nodded, smiled, and turned his attention to Aleksi.

"Aleksi Shimizu," he said. "I understand you've proven yourself an adept leader amongst the _Minerva_'s pilots."

"Not really sir," said Aleksi softly—almost sounding shy, which surprised many. "I only did as I was taught too."

"Then you learned your lessons well," said Durandal, turning to Jessie. Over at the table, Suiren's hand suddenly clenched into a fist, and she closed her eyes, looking pained.

She'd just been delivered the news of Tsery's death in the opening battle of the war.

"And Jessie Vandermeer," said Durandal. "It seems the issues that prevented your graduation to ZAFT Red are not really the issues the instructors claimed to be."

Jessie grinned. "I guess not sir," he said. "I think maybe I just drove the instructors nuts." Durandal chuckled, turning his attention next to Nicol, Saul and Shiho.

"Saul Kessel, Shiho Hahnenfuss and Nicol Amalfi," he said. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you all. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for what you all did in the last war."

"Thanks sir," replied Nicol. "But we didn't really do anything that special."

"Nonsense. You helped end the last war and defended the PLANTs from the Alliance's nuclear missiles." Finally, Durandal turned to the two remaining pilots. "And last but certainly not least, Shinn Asuka and Lunamaria Hawke." Durandal stepped back from the group. "I've heard great things about all of you. You should be proud of yourselves. Please sit down."

"Sir," said Suiren as everyone was just starting to move, giving them pause. "I believe there are introductions in order, and issues to be dealt with." Durandal blinked, before sighing and nodding.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," he said, stepping aside.

"Heine, these are the pilots of the _Minerva_," said Suiren. "You, of course, know of Athrun Zala, Saul Kessel, Shiho Hahnenfuss and Nicol Amalfi. The others are my old teammate, Aleksi Shimizu, and several top rookies from the ZAFT Academy who were graduated to assignment on the _Minerva_: the pilot of the Impulse, Shinn Asuka. Lunamaria Hawke, our ZAKU Warrior pilot. And then the pilots of our GuAIZ Rs, Jessie and Tristan, who were not judged good enough for Redcoat status by their instructors." Heine nodded to each in turn. "Everyone, this is Heine Westenfluss. At the time of my departure and joining the _Minerva_, he was the newest member of my team."

Suiren sighed as the Whitecoat stood up.

"And this," she said, now sounding weary. "Is your would-be-commander. He was to be assigned as pilot of the Specter prior to its theft." The Whitecoat began to turn to face them. "I'd like you all to meet Christopher Dante."

Athrun, Saul, Nicol and Shiho froze, seeing the face of Suiren's second and instantly recognizing him.

"Hello Athrun, Saul, Nicol, Shiho," he greeted softly. "It's been awhile."

"You… I… I… but… but how… how are you still alive?" sputtered Athrun.

He didn't answer. To the surprise of Durandal, Talia, Heine, Aleksi and all of the _Minerva_'s rookie pilots, Athrun rushed forward, grabbing Dante by the collar and slamming him into the table.

"Answer me damn it!" he yelled. "How the hell are you still alive, Zane Scirocco?"

Zane chuckled. "Please Athrun," he said. "Is this any way to behave? You're making a scene."

"Answer me!" demanded Athrun, glaring down at his former teammate and fellow FAITH member.

"Let me go and I will answer you."

Knowing that a scene was about to occur, Suiren instructed everyone to stay out of it, knowing that the war veterans wouldn't even hear her, too caught up in the shocking information they'd just received.

Athrun let go of Zane and took a step back, letting him get up. Zane stood up and brushed himself off. "Thank–"

_WHAM!_

Zane fell backwards on the table. The young man sitting with him shot up, along with Rey and Talia, as Aleksi and the _Minerva_ rookies stepped forward, only to be held back by Durandal, shaking his head, indicating not to get involved.

"Heh, I deserved that," said Zane, standing back up and facing Athrun. "Come on, Crimson Knight, surely you've got more than that."

_WHAM!_

Zane stumbled back, leaning against the table. His lip was bleeding. "Enough with the love taps Athrun. Hit me already!"

_WHAM!_

Zane fell back on the table. "Better. Is that it?" he asked, looking up at Athrun, blood dripping down his nose and lip. Athrun was done slapping him around. He wanted answers. Zane stood up. "Now unless someone else want to strike me–"

_WHAM!_

In point of fact, someone did, as yet again, Zane collapsed onto the table. Athrun turned to the source of the blow. It was Shiho, and she looked nearly murderous. Saul and Nicol didn't look particularly pleased, but they weren't nearly as bad.

"Nicol, Saul and Shiho," commented Zane, rubbing his jaw as he stood up. "I wish this could've been a full reunion. We're missing too many of the people who should've been here with us. But living in the past is pointless. How have you all been?"

"How are you still alive?" asked Athrun. "And why the hell are you using his name?"

"You act like I've taken something precious from you. Let me ask this, how well did you know him? Do you know who his first crush was? Do you know who his friends were at Junius Seven? Did you even know when his birthday was?" Athrun didn't answer. In all honestly, he knew none of that. "I did. He was my oldest friend."

"That doesn't give you the right to make a mockery of his memory!" retorted Athrun angrily. "It's because of what you did to his machine that he had no chance of surviving that son of a bitch mentor of yours!"

"While I admit to being at fault for that, how have I made a mockery of his memory?" asked Zane. "By taking his name? Hardly a mockery of him."

Athrun was about ready to punch him again, but he managed to restrain himself. "Explain. Now!"

"Not here. We've made enough of a scene, and I'm sure the Chairman would like to get on with this," said Zane. Athrun's hand curled into a fist, but Suiren pulled him back.

"That's enough," she said. "I've allowed some leeway in this, but you've done more than enough damage to my second."

"Do you have any idea what this prick has done?" demanded Saul angrily. Suiren glared at him.

"_Everything_," she hissed. "Now I suggest you shut up and stow whatever grudges you still hold onto regarding my executive officer."

The Le Creuset Team veterans did not like it at all, but they listened. Everyone sat down at the table, many strange and confused glances being passed amongst those unaware of the details behind what just happened. Athrun, Saul, Nicol and Shiho all kept an eye trained on Zane at all times. Suiren remained standing, assuring that a fight wasn't about to break out.

"What you accomplished at the Lohengrin Gate was impressive," said Durandal in his normal tone of voice when he was certain the situation wasn't about to turn volatile. "But I am sorry that we were all deceived by those… terrorists. Rest assured that I have assigned several teams to conduct peacekeeping operations in the Gulnahan area for the time being. Hopefully, we'll be able to drive the ELA out and repair the Gulnahan energy plant."

"Thank you Chairman," said Athrun on behalf of everyone, still making sure to keep his eyes on Zane.

"And to think, for some of you, your first engagement was at Armory One," added the Chairman. "I like to think that you older pilots helped inspire and encouraged the younger pilots."

"I don't know about that," replied Saul. "They were already pretty good. They just needed some experience, and for some, discipline."

"Regardless, this great city was liberated in no small part because you managed to take out that enemy emplacement," said Durandal. "I'm proud of each and every one of you."

"Thank you Chairman," said Luna, in awe being praised by the leader of the PLANTs.

Suddenly, Suiren's fist slammed down on the table, startling everyone. A fierce glare was directed at Athrun, Saul, Nicol and Shiho.

"That's enough," she said coldly. "The tension your giving off is thick enough to cut with a knife. Don't you trust me or, failing that, don't you trust the Chairman?"

"Of course!" said Nicol. "But…"

"Then know that you can trust Zane, at least enough to let go of the past for a few minutes," said Suiren. The four all took her advice, taking a few calming breaths and forcing themselves to relax. "Good." She turned to Durandal. "I apologize for the interruption, Chairman."

"Not at all," said Durandal. "Onto other matters, though, the whole world is in a state of turmoil right now. I'm not sure how much of it you are aware of, though."

"Have there been any new developments in space?" asked Talia, interested how the war was going as a whole. "What about the Earth Forces on the Moon?"

"Nothing was changed with the Earth Forces," he answered. "There have been minor skirmishes, but nothing serious. There's been some strange activity out at L3, but that territory has been under the control of the Taiyonoha Fleet since the Alliance began construction of the Daedalus Lunar Base. And as far as the Earth is concerned, I'm in the dark here as well. So many variables." Durandal looked out at the city. "Like here, there are other areas that want to fight the Alliance and have asked for our help, while others that had supported us during the last war have joined the Alliance and wish to defeat us now. Of course, you saw what happened today; it's like that all over the planet. People are becoming more and more divided on the war."

Talia nodded. Things were becoming messy on Earth. "Has there been any progress towards a ceasefire or ending the war?"

"Unfortunately, no. The Alliance is unwilling to compromise on anything."

"Well, maybe you should step down and let Defense Committee Chairman Kessel take over," commented Nicol. Everyone turned to him, staring at him in surprise while Nicol calmly sipped his tea. "I've come to have a fair grasp of politics over the last few years. The Alliance has been claiming that you were a part of Break the World from the beginning and they haven't stopped. If you stepped down and ZAFT offers to work with the Earth Alliance completely to track down who was involved in Break the World, and the Alliance didn't go back to the negotiating table, the people of Earth would start to wonder why the hell they're still fighting when ZAFT is offering to work with them to root out those bastards. If they do come to the negotiating table, we still find a peaceful solution to this war."

"If I was a hundred percent sure that it would ended the fighting, I would step down," answered a weary Durandal. "But… after they admitted to the possibility of nuclear missiles 'as a last resort' and openly baited us with dummies aimed at the PLANTs, I fear that the Alliance is just waiting for us to lower our guard. Perhaps I shouldn't be saying this to a group of fine, upstanding soldiers like yourselves, but ending a war, choosing a path that doesn't involve fighting, is much harder than deciding to go to war."

"Yes, but–" started Shinn, but paused, unsure he should say it to the Chairman. "Sorry."

"No," said Durandal. "Go right ahead. If you have something on your mind, please, don't hesitate to share it with me. I want to hear what those who are fighting on the frontline have to say."

"I definitely think it's important to avoid fighting whenever we can, but if the enemy is threatening us, than we have no other choice but to defend ourselves. If we don't fight when there's an obvious need, then we won't be able to protect anything. Not even ourselves," he said, expressing his beliefs. "Innocent people, who want to have normal, peaceful lives, _should_ be protected."

"But there's a problem with that," replied Athrun. "Someone once asked me, if you kill someone, then a loved one of that person kills you for it, and a loved one of yours kill them for it, how will that we ever find peace? When I was first asked that question, I was unable to come up with an answer, and I'm still at a loss. That's one of the reasons I'm back here, back on the battlefield."

"The answer is simple," said Suiren, surprising everyone.

"Is it so simple as you believe?" asked Durandal, knowing well what Suiren believed.

"Yes, and that is why it's so hard," answered Suiren, before turning back to those seated. "The answer is choice. To break the cycle of vengeance and hatred, you have to choose to step beyond it. The White Angel of Freedom was legendary for his attempts to do so. I myself made a similar choice. During the war, the White Angel killed someone very dear to me. However, I felt that revenge would be meaningless. All it would be doing is inflicting my pain on others, and that is what the cycle of endless hatred is. As long as we are humans, there will be some who pursue it, and that is when we who choose to move beyond it must step in to stop them."

"Yes, that is a good way of putting things," said Durandal. "And it is indeed blindingly simple. But at the same time, it is also the essential problem. Why do we keep fighting if there is no end in sight, rather than taking the choice Suiren did? Why won't wars ever go away? Throughout history, people have cried out how much they hate war and the pain it brings." He turned from the balcony to Shinn. "What are your thoughts on this, Shinn?"

Shinn was momentarily caught off-guard, but he quickly replied. "I think that it's because throughout history, there have always been stupid, selfish people. Like Blue Cosmos and the Atlantic Federation, people who would push others to be like them." Again he paused, unsure of his answer. "Am I wrong?"

"No. It's quite true. I assure you, there are many people like that," replied Durandal. "They want what others have. They hate and fear and despise those who are different. People continue to fight each other for reasons like these. However, war has another side. A more hopeless and unforgivable side to it. More merciless." Everyone stared at the Chairman, unsure of what he was talking about. Durandal turned away from them, facing the two new mobile suits parked nearby. "For example, take those two machines over there, the ones belonging to Christopher—I'm sorry, Zane, and Heine here." The two FAITH agents nodded slightly. "The ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited. These particular machines were rolled out of a military factory a few days ago. Since we're in the middle of a war, new models like these are manufactured one after another. On a battlefield, missiles are fired, mobile suits blow up and countless things are destroyed. In the meantime, factories are continuously producing new machines and missiles. The battlefield is flooded from both sides. Demand is so high that the production lines actually have difficulty keeping up. Now think of what it costs to produce one single machine. If you think of it as a business, no other venture provides that much turn over while simultaneously pulling in enormous profits."

Suiren's eyes narrowed, and Talia didn't like where this was going. Her instincts told her that there was something wrong. But what that something was, she couldn't say.

"Chairman, should we be discussing this?" she asked.

Others were more obvious with their feelings.

"Sir, this is disturbing," said Shinn, his voice laced with discomfort.

Saul studied the Chairman for a moment. "You're referring to the Military-Industrial Complex, aren't you?" he asked.

Durandal glanced at Shinn, then at Saul. "You're quite right, both of you, he said. "It is the Military-Industrial Complex, and it can be quite disturbing. But it's a necessary part of conducting a war. It cannot be helped. However, it warps people. They learn to think differently if it involves a profit. This also cannot be helped."

"They think differently?" asked a confused Shinn. But for others, they already knew the answer.

"When a war ends, there's no longer a need for weapons. Profits dry up. But what if there was another war? Then profits would be guaranteed. Therefore, there are some people who desire war. They want it more than anything else."

"That's sick!" exclaimed Shinn.

"They're enemies. They're dangerous," continued Durandal. "Fight them. They attacked us. Never forgive. Fight them. Throughout human history, there have always been those who urge people to war, thinking of it as a business and a chance to manufacture more weapons. And all for their own profit. If we look in the shadows of this war, than I have no doubt that we'll find Logos is behind it. Since it was they who created Blue Cosmos."

Everyone had questioning looks for the leader of ZAFT. None of them had ever heard of Logos, much less knew it was connected to the infamous Blue Cosmos.

"Logos? What's Logos?" asked Nicol, wondering what everyone else was. "And I thought Blue Cosmos started out as an environmental activist group before becoming the anti-Coordinator group they are today."

"What I meant was, they were the ones that turned Blue Cosmos into the group we know today," explained Durandal. "As to what Logos is, they are the source of all our difficulties. As long as we're all dancing to their tune, the PLANTs and the Earth will never see an end to the fighting. If at all possible, I'm going to change all that." He turned to the city of Diocuia, watching the setting sun. "But this task before us is truly the most difficult one imaginable."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, contemplating what Durandal had said. Was there truly an organization that existed in the shadows, stoking the fires of war, turning people against each other for their own profit? And if Logos existed, how would one defeat such an organization?

* * *

A short while later

After that, Durandal ended the meeting. He had other matters that he needed to attend to. Fortunately, he offered a night in the hotel for the pilots, most of whom were eager to spend the night in accommodations better than what they had on the _Minerva_. However, both Rey and Suiren declined the offer, Rey choosing instead to stay aboard the ship, and Suiren heading off to see the rest of her team with Heine.

Leaving Zane hanging with four elite Coordinator pilots who were less than pleased to know that he was alive. He sighed.

"I'd rather we talk somewhere more private," he said. "Just Athrun and I. An interrogation by one of you will be enough."

"I suppose that's fair," said Athrun. "I'll be fine."

"Good. Follow me then," replied Zane, already leading him elsewhere.

After the two left, Aleksi and the rookies all turned to face the three veteran Redcoats.

"What, exactly, was that all about?" asked Aleksi calmly, voicing the question everyone wanted an answer to.

"Zane Scirocco was the protégé of Rau Le Creuset," answered Saul. "He was the most bloodthirsty, messed up person I ever had the displeasure of meeting. Even tried gunning down a civilian shuttle once. Would've succeeded, too, if Athrun hadn't grabbed his CGUE and pulled him out of the atmosphere to save his ass." Saul snorted. "Even that consolation for him being alive isn't any good. A stray shot from Yzak, the pilot of the Duel, accidentally caught the shuttle."

"Excuse me," said Nicol. "I'm gonna go rest. Tell Athrun to let me know what he found out from Scirocco."

"Got it," said Shiho as Nicol left. Saul sighed, turning back to those unaware of the scope of the situation.

"I can't even begin to name the atrocities he helped Le Creuset commit," said Saul. "For us personally, though, the worst of it was Second Jachin. Even though he lost the match, he crippled the Raven. Because of that, the Raven was later destroyed when the _Archangel_, _Dominion_ and Freedom came under attack by Le Creuset. The pilot was Christopher Dante." Saul's hand curled into a fist. "I can't believe that bastard would do that. As bad as I knew he was, I never thought he'd sink this low."

"I see," said Aleksi. "Well… if Commander Kyusai trusts him, then I trust him as well."

"Same here," said Luna. Jessie nodded, and Tristan shrugged.

"I don't have the experience you guys do with him," he said. "I'll stay out of this one."

"Yeah, I really don't want to get involved in this mess you seem to have going," said Shinn, turning and walking away. "Just keep it to yourselves, and I don't care what you do about it."

* * *

Elsewhere

"Commander Kyusai, ma'am!" cried the pilots, all jumping to their feet and snapping to attention. Suiren chuckled lightly as she returned the salute.

"At ease," she said, smiling. "Really now. It's only been a few weeks. I've been absent longer than that and you've never reacted like this."

"It's all those damn rumors," said Mathew Dodge. "Idiots keep calling us the 'Dante Team'."

Suiren chuckled lightly as a cerulean-eyed young woman with light red hair ran up to her.

"Please tell us you're coming back, Commander Kyusai," she said. Suiren shook her head.

"Really now, Shiori," she said lightly as Shiori Grace stared at her, waiting for an answer. "I told you to call me by name. And to answer your question, no I'll be sticking with the _Minerva_. Chris has done a fine job with the team."

"Heh. I think they might mutiny if we're called the Dante Team even one more time," commented Auron Trinity. Suiren shook her head, a little exasperated.

"Really, you're all getting way to worked up over this," she said as a new pilot approached. "Hmm? And who are you?"

"Harr Hathaway, ma'am," he said, saluting her. "My team got destroyed by those stolen machines during the battle up in space. I was assigned to this unit."

Suiren frowned, looking Harr over with a critical eye. He shifted nervously, and Suiren shook her head.

"I see," she said. "You've got the potential, but… hmm, no."

"No?" questioned Harr.

"No," said Suiren firmly. "I hope you haven't gotten too comfortable—I won't lie, though, by saying that I'll be sorry seeing you go."

"Ma'am? What are you…?"

"I look for certain qualities in all pilots that are to be assigned to my team," said Suiren. "And make no mistake that this team is still mine. I'll leave the details to Chris, but I'm going to be reassigning you elsewhere."

"Oh," said Harr, sounding disappointed. But Suiren wouldn't be swayed.

"Told you this would happen, Rookie," said Murase Aker, dropping a comforting hand on Harr's shoulder. "Commander Kyusai can work with just about anyone, but when it comes to _her_ people, you just don't make the cut. Don't worry though. Almost nobody does."

"You actually come closer than most," said Suiren. "It took me the better part of three months just to find people of your qualifications for my team at Jachin Due. Only one of them survived. I spent a good two years tracking down everyone that I pulled into this team. Speaking of which, how is Sakura doing?"

"Captain Noriega is doing fine," said Christina Halevy, smiling lightly. "Though I don't think she's happy with people trying to mess around with the ships in your absence. Seems they want to replace them with the next _Minerva_-class they manage to roll out of the factory."

"As if," said Mai Sierra, shaking her head, orange-brown hair flying about. "Not even a chance at getting down here on Earth will pull Captain Noriega away from the _Winter Eagle_ unless you've personally given the new ship your blessings, Commander."

The rest of the pilots—Ishimura Seiei, Hugh Mason, Max Dylandy, Lance Almark, Shizuru Vashti, Yuna and Yuki Trinity, and Chihiro Aeon—all laughed at the comment, knowing just how much truth lay in her words.

* * *

Meanwhile

Athrun did not trust Zane Scirocco. He was well aware of just how dangerous the protégé of Rau Le Creuset was. As such, he was ready for anything as Zane led him to the men's washroom, slapping an Out of Order sign he'd picked up on the door and leading Athrun inside. Zane walked over to a sink, turning the faucet as Athrun stood behind him.

"I'm sure that you're aware of my final battle with Chris at Jachin Due," said Zane as he began cleaning himself off. "Despite having a new and superior mobile suit, he defeated me. I was at his mercy, and yet, he spared me. I screamed, ranted, threatened him, but he just left me there, floating in space. While I can't say the defeat isn't something I wanted, surviving that battle was definitely not in my plans."

"What are you saying?" demanded Athrun, eyes narrowed.

"What nobody realized was that I'd been finding myself again," said Zane. "My battles with Chris… I couldn't help but remember better times. After I got over my fit about him fighting for the Naturals, I got to thinking about it, more and more and more. It was when Nicol 'died' that I first came to realize that I did, indeed, want something more than absolute destruction. Maybe what I was really looking for all along was the icy cold embrace of death." Zane sighed.

Athrun took everything Zane was saying with a grain of salt. It was possible that he was telling the truth, but just as likely that he was lying, especially given who this was.

"Facing Chris, I was looking for death," he said. "But I also wanted to push him to his limits. As ready as I was to die, I _needed_ to finish things between us. I felt set in my path. That for me, there were no second chances. During the battle with Chris, this… _awareness_, sprung up for me. When I was rescued, my rescuer suggested using my newfound awareness to help the world." Zane laughed. "I didn't see any hope for that. I asked him to take me to the only person that could help me. But… all I found was his tombstone. I screamed at him, cursing him for getting himself killed, for sparing me time and again, when if he'd just finished me off, he might not have died in that battle."

Zane then unzipped his coat, presumably to clean his uniform. "After that, I just wandered the Earth, not really staying in any one place for more than a few days. As odd as it may sound to you, I did what I could to help people, not that I really felt like I could do much. You might ask why, and I honestly don't know since I don't really feel like I can do much of anything with my life." He seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. Zane cleared his throat.

"Anyways," he continued. "Eventually, I received a message, asking me to… to come home. I arrived in Aprilius One, hiding myself with the first name that came to mind. Christopher Dante. My call came from Suiren. She explained to me that she was rebuilding her team. She asked me to be her second. She gave me a home. She gave me her friendship. She gave me… everything that I have now. If nothing else, then for her, I now have to do everything within my power as her chosen executive officer. She spoke with Chairman Durandal, and they created a new identity for me. Zane Scirocco died at Jachin Due."

"So did Christopher Dante," retorted Athrun.

Zane glanced over his shoulder at him. "Yes," he said. "You're right about that. But what is a name, really? Does a name define a person? No. A name is merely another title, meaningless when you get right down to it. You should know this. As I understand it, you yourself went under another name not too long again."

"So why his?"

Zane turned the facet off and turned to him, zipping up his coat. "I took it as a reminder. A reminder of what I had lost, of what I done, and what I had gained. Whether you believe it or not, I am not the same person I once was."

"And on Aprilius One?" asked Athrun. Zane looked at him curiously. "The ZAFT Graveyard. That was you I saw, wasn't it?"

Zane sighed. "Yes," he answered. "That was me."

"So are you going to explain that?" demanded Athrun. "Le Creuset's _daughter_?"

"I swore to her that I would not reveal anything," said Zane. "She was perhaps the only friend I had during the final days of the war. She's the one to whom I entrusted my CGUE. She still has it, too. Let's me see my old friend from time to time. When I returned to the PLANTs, she'd had it painted with a raven on one shoulder and Junius Seven on the other. That's part of what inspired me to use the ravens, in honor of Chris."

"You're symbol now, is that it?" asked Athrun.

"You could say that."

"And Suiren really knows about everything you've done? Including all you did to help Le Creuset?"

Zane snorted. "She could write a novel out of what she knows about my actions during the war," he said. "With an accuracy rating of at least ninety-eight percent. Yes, she knows _everything_. The only vague area is events immediately after the war, before she asked me to join her team."

Zane turned to leave. "Athrun," he said. "I'm going to give you a warning. I'm only a part of the legacy Rau left behind. He left his imprint on the world, and there are those who will seek to finish the job. There are others who will seek an alternate version of it. And there are those who will use this imprint for their own purposes. That's just how humans are. It's one lesson I haven't forgotten. I've simply added the reminder that life is worth it." With that, Zane started to leave.

"Wait!" said Athrun. "I'm not finished."

"Well I am," said Zane. "I'm not going to sit here and play twenty questions with you. I've told you the essentials, and whether you believe me or not, it won't change anything I said. If you have something important, something that _really_ needs to be answered by me, you can contact me through Suiren. Now that we've reestablished contact with our Commander, the Kyusai Team will not let that connection go." Zane walked away, leaving Athrun to his thoughts.

Was what he said really true? It could be, but Athrun didn't trust what was being said. Damn him.

* * *

Later

"So, the prick didn't give you anything, huh?" said Saul after Athrun finished telling him and Shiho everything Zane had told him.

"Apparently not," said Athrun. "While I don't doubt what he said regarding his recruitment by Suiren, everything else…"

"Yeah," said Shiho softly. "I wonder how _they_ would take this."

Athrun snorted. "Oh, that's easy," he said. "Kira and Makoto would smack him around a little, then throw him to Flay."

The other two pilots both winced in sympathy. Not even Zane deserved _that_.

"Athrun!" a voice called out suddenly, drawing the attention of the three veteran pilots.

It was Lacus Clyne—or rather, Meer Campbell—wearing the same revealing dress as before, though it was obviously a spare as the one from the concert was stained and ruined. Before anyone could say anything, she was on Athrun, hugging him tightly while everyone else watched, with Luna glaring at the pink-haired singer from where she and the others had been asked to wait while Athrun told Saul and Shiho what he'd learned.

"I'm so happy to see you again."

"Ah… Lacus… I…"

"Guess what! The Chairman just told me that he's buying dinner for us at the best restaurant in Diocuia!" said Meer, excitedly and cheerfully. It rubbed Shiho the wrong way, as her eyes narrowed almost dangerously. "But he wants to speak with you in private first."

"I… er…" Athrun looked back at his two friends, almost pleading for some excuse to get out of this dinner.

But they were both unsympathetic. He could see it: they were throwing him to the wolves. Oh, the twins were gonna _kill_ him. He wondered if he should see about swapping places with Zane if the latter got thrown over to Flay.

Meer grabbed onto Athrun's arm, half-guiding, half-dragging the FAITH pilot to where Durandal was.

"Damn," muttered Saul. "If it weren't for those two, I'd probably be envious of Athrun."

"He knows we're throwing him to the wolves," commented Shiho. "It's almost a shame he was so panicked he didn't realize that Nicol would've been the perfect excuse to escape."

"Yeah," agreed Saul. "Well, since Athrun can't, let's go tell our friend what we learned."

* * *

Elsewhere

Meer had taken Athrun to an empty courtyard in the hotel where the Chairman was waiting. Undoubtedly, the Chairman wanted to talk about the _Archangel_. Though Athrun wondered why he didn't ask for Nicol and the others as well. They still had some loose ties to the ship. Of course, if he didn't know anything, it was doubtful that they did.

Meer sat down on a bench, her red Haro bouncing around next to her. "It's about the _Archangel_," said the Chairman, confirming what Athrun suspected. "I'm sure you've heard the news."

Athrun nodded. "Yes sir."

"I've been wondering where that ship went to after it left Orb. Would you, by any chance, have information on its whereabouts?" he asked.

"No sir," answered Athrun. "It's been on my mind ever since I heard about it, but I don't know anything about where they went either. To tell the truth, I was thinking of asking you if you had any new about the ship."

"I see…" said Durandal, a brief look of disappointment on his face. "I asked because if the _Archangel_ and the Freedom left Orb, than possibly the real Lacus Clyne is with them."

Unseen by both of them, Meer frowned at Durandal's words, knowing that if Lacus came back, she would have to stop being her.

"Yes sir. I don't think there's any doubt about that," replied Athrun. "Kira wouldn't… ah… the ship wouldn't leave her. Lacus is definitely on board the _Archange_l."

"Given the crisis, I had hoped that she would have returned to her home in the PLANTs," commented Durandal. "That's why I've been searching for her. Do you suppose that she's gotten tired of us, the way we keep doing things over and over again?"

Durandal's words caught Athrun off-guard. Lacus wouldn't do that. She cared about everyone, from those in the PLANTs to those on Earth. She would never abandon them.

"Well, sorry to bother you," continued the Chairman, shaking his head as though he felt his words were foolish. "But if you do learn anything about where the _Archangel_ is, please, I'd like you to tell me."

"Of course."

Durandal bowed his head. "Thank you Athrun. Until we meet again. Goodbye." He turned to Meer. "And good bye to you too, Lacus."

"Goodbye Chairman Durandal," Meer called back to the Chairman as he started to walk away.

"Ah Chairman!" said Athrun, stopping Durandal.

"Yes?"

"If you hear anything about the _Archangel_, would you please tell me?""

"Yes, of course."

* * *

The following morning

Athrun yawned as he slowly sat up from his bed. His arm brushed up against something on the bed next to him. There was a large lump underneath the blankets next to him. Athrun pulled the blankets off the lump, revealing Meer, sleeping and wearing a pink see-through nighty over her underwear. Athrun yelped in surprise as he tried to move away from the girl but fell off the bed, hitting the ground with a loud thud. This woke up Meer. Unfortunately, fate seemed to hate Athrun as at that very moment, Lunamaria knocked at his door.

"Athrun. Are you up?" she called. "I was going to head down to the dining hall and was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"Ah… just a minute!" he called back, frantically looking for his pants.

Meer, annoyed at Luna for disturbing them, and potentially trying to get close to _her_ Athrun, (okay, technically he was Lacus's, but until the real Lacus returned, _she_ was Lacus) climbed out of bed and opened the door, revealing to Luna her scantily-clad self and Athrun, who had at that moment, gotten his pants only halfway up. Luna was utterly speechless as her cheeks began to redden.

"Oh thank you, but please, feel free to go on ahead without us. Athrun and I will be heading down to the dining hall shortly," said Meer to the girl in fake cheerfulness.

Before Luna could say anything, Meer slammed the door in her face and walked back into the rest of the room.

Needless to say, this whole situation had given Athrun a big headache. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"Well I was just talking to that girl," replied Meer innocently.

"Forget that girl! I'm talking about this!" Athrun paused, mentally berating himself for yelling as hotel rooms had notoriously thin walls. "Why are you in my room?"

"I told the front desk that I was supposed to visit you but when I arrived, you had already fallen asleep," explained Meer.

"I don't really care about the how, I want to know _why_."

"Why?" she questioned, confused. "Isn't it normal for a couple that's engaged and hasn't seen each other for a long time to do this?"

"But Lacus… Lacus would never do this!"

"She wouldn't? Why not?" she asked, clearly confused.

Athrun couldn't believe this girl. For someone who claimed to be Lacus's biggest fan, she knew nothing about Lacus herself. She was just a naïve airhead. It was mean, but it was true. This girl had no inkling of the real Lacus Clyne and what she was like. It was like a fangirl playing dress up. Athrun just sighed and shook his head. Part of him really wished that his father had publicly cancelled their engagement after Lacus helped Kira steal the Freedom. It would have made things so much easier for him.

But there wasn't much he could do except bear it and pray that she would leave soon for some concert or public appearance.

A short while later, after they were both fully dressed, the two headed down to the dining hall. Meer had insisted that they travel hand in hand, as they were 'engaged' and was regaling Athrun with stories from her time traveling across the PLANTs and performing for the people. Athrun was barely listening, he was just nodding his head periodically and saying things like 'Yes' and 'I imagine' to give the appearance that he was listening to her completely.

"Oh, there's the Dante Team," commented Meer. Athrun looked where she was just as Zane's voice called out from that direction.

"_Kyusai_ Team!" he said, sounding exasperated. "How many times do I have to tell you that? I swear, they hear my name attached to us one more time, they're gonna kill me!"

The rest of the team laughed as Athrun looked them over. Suiren was sitting with them, and there was a very clear air of camaraderie amongst them. In particular, he noted the two women sitting at Suiren's sides. They appeared to be among the youngest of the group, about Shinn's age if he were to guess. One of them had short cut orange-brown hair and violet eyes, the other had long, slightly curly light red, almost pink hair and cerulean eyes. Both also had almost annoyingly clear busts, and wore Redcoat uniforms.

In fact, looking them over, there were only three Greencoats in the entire group: the youngest of them, a girl he guessed was about fifteen with brown hair tied into a ponytail and brown eyes, an older man, about twenty-seven if Athrun were to guess, with short cut black hair and sharp green eyes, and a young man who really looked out of place with the rest of them somehow, like an outsider. The oldest of the group was a black-haired man with a distinctive scar running through his right eye, which seemed to be eternally closed. Athrun guessed him to be no older than thirty, despite his rugged appearance.

The number of Redcoats Suiren had assembled for her team… that was pretty impressive.

Taking a bit of a lead away from Meer, Athrun walked over to the table where the _Minerva_ pilots all sat. Luna and Meyrin both looked displeased to see Meer, though Meyrin hid it rather well, while Luna seemed to be trying to ignore them.

"Suiren told you guys anymore about her team?" asked Athrun as he and Meer sat down, the Lacus-double looking displeased to be sitting with others.

"Oh names and such," said Saul. He nodded to the table. "The girls sitting on either side of her are Mai Sierra and Shiori Grace. The Greencoats are Hugh Mason, Chihiro Aeon and Harr Hathaway. It seems Hathaway was added after that battle around the PLANTs, and Suiren's not too happy about it. Apparently, she's having him transferred out."

"That seems a little harsh," commented Athrun.

"Commander Kyusai has always been like that," said Aleksi, leaning forward slightly as Athrun and Meer picked out what to have for breakfast. "She's harsh in her recruitment, but very caring towards those who 'make the cut'. She turned down some of the best pilots ZAFT had at the end of the last war in favor of more than a few rookie pilots, including myself."

"She made a good choice," said Nicol. "You do a very good job out there."

"Thanks," said Aleksi, accepting the complement in good grace.

"I've also been told that Heine Westenfluss is being transferred to the _Minerva_," commented Saul.

"Yeah," said Shiho. "It seems _he'll_ be left in charge of that team." Nobody could mistake who she was talking about.

At the table—or rather, tables pushed together—occupied by the Kyusai Team, several members of the team slapped Heine on the back when they heard the news.

"You lucky little son of a gun," said Max. "Getting transferred back under the Commander while the rest of us are stuck with this guy." He gestured towards Zane.

"Hey, I think I've done a decent enough job," objected Zane jokingly. The group all laughed lightly.

"I missed this," said Suiren, taking a sip of her tea. "We haven't had a real chance to do this since we headed out to test the Rose."

"Yeah, we should savor this," said Mathew.

"Mmm… so, Chris, Heine, how are those GOUFs?" asked Suiren.

"Quite the machine," said Heine. Zane nodded.

"Its combines speed, agility and power," he said. "In the hands of an ace pilot, it'll hold itself up even against machines like the Freedom… though the Angel himself is an entirely different story."

The team chuckled. With the possible exception of Hathaway, they all had nothing but the highest respect for the Angels.

"Yes, I recall your story about how he crippled your mobile suit during Spitbreak," said Suiren. "We should all thank whatever goddess he follows that he's a pacifist."

* * *

The _Archangel_

As a true, completely self-aware, evolving artificial intelligence, Faith wielded a considerable amount of power within any system she could connect too. There were no systems she couldn't get into once she found them, and very few that could stay hidden from her.

That said, Faith had her limits too. These limits were built into her evolutionary matrix, assuring that, no matter how much she developed, she would always have these limits.

These were the limits that made her 'human'—or at least, as human as an AI could get.

Among the self-imposed limitations, however, was a lockdown on the information that passed through the computer systems she occupied. This was a check not dissimilar to the anti-virus and anti-spam systems used in conventional e-mail. Unless something contained critical data that she'd need to process quickly, it was locked, the contents hidden from her. She could remove this limit, of course, but it was a matter of respecting the privacy of others.

As such, Faith had no idea what was contained in the report from the Terminal she had just delivered to Makoto to read. Faith stared at her 'mother', wondering what was up as Makoto stared at the report, unmoving, eyes rushing back and forth as she took in everything over and over and over again.

Among the _Archangel_'s upgrades was all the tech it would need to properly support Faith's presence in the systems. It was one that she was extremely grateful for, especially as it became obvious that it would be needed now.

"Faith…" whispered Makoto. "Get everyone, and tell them to report to the briefing room immediately. They need to hear this."

* * *

_Archangel_ Briefing Room

Several minutes later

"What did you call all of us here for?" demanded Cagalli as Makoto stepped into the room.

The occupants consisted of all the 'leaders' and pilots aboard the _Archangel_: Kira, Lacus, Flay, Murrue, Andy, John, Victor, Shizuka, Louisa, Shani, Clotho, Tolle, Liz and Natarle.

Makoto sighed. "I got a rather… interesting report today," she said.

"Interesting? How so?" asked Cagalli. Makoto looked mildly annoyed.

"Cagalli, we've largely kept you out of Terminal's activities because of your position," said the redhead. "But my Intelligence Division is pretty much always working, and I've got eyes and ears just about everywhere. If this war had taken another month to get going, I'd have been to tell you how many times President Copeland picked his nose during Alliance Leadership Summits. As it is, I can tell you how many times members of the PLANT Supreme Council pick their noses during meetings, but that's not what we're here about."

"One of my top agents contacted me about three weeks ago with a report on Durandal's Lacus-double," she continued. "I've just received another report from him, and it contains a _lot_ of important information."

"Like what?" asked Liz, leaning forward.

"Like the identity of our Lacus-double," answered Makoto. Everyone perked up, instantly more interested. "She's a fan named Meer Campbell, though she doesn't seem to know the first thing about what Lacus is really like. I won't go into it here, the rest of the information on her is something I'll keep between Kira, Lacus and myself." Kira's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the implications.

"What else?" asked Natarle.

"Athrun's returned to ZAFT," said Makoto. There were gasps of shock, and Cagalli's entire body locked down.

"Are you serious?" whispered Flay. "But why would he…?"

"Don't ask me," said Makoto with a shrug and a shake of her head. "He's been made a member of FAITH and given one of their new Gundams, the Saviour." An image suddenly popped up on the display projector, showing them a red machine they guessed to be the Saviour. "On top of that, he's been assigned to the _Minerva_, along with Saul, Nicol and Shiho."

"He's on the _Minerva_?" asked Cagalli. Makoto nodded.

"Yes," she said. "But that's not even the end of it. They had an encounter with a new Earth Forces mobile suit, a machine unlike anything they've ever seen." A new image replaced that of the Saviour, displaying a new machine not quite like anything any of them had ever seen before. "And worse, this machine equips a DRAGOON System and a weapon surpassing the Conviction's beam bazooka. It destroyed a _Vosgulov_-class submarine submerged more than two hundred feet below the surface with a single shot."

"What? But that's impossible!" said Victor.

"Is it nuclear-powered?" questioned Andy. Makoto shook her head.

"We don't think so, which just worries me even more," she said. The displayed image suddenly switched to the city of Diocuia. "Now for the last and most troubling information." Makoto sighed, shaking her head. "Zane Scirocco is alive." This didn't surprise anyone—they all knew that Chris had spared his nemesis during that final battle. "And he's the second-in-command of the Kyusai Team… under the name 'Christopher Dante'."

_This_, however, pushed a number of buttons that were better left unpushed. As the room seethed, Makoto and Lacus shared a look that spoke volumes for how much they pitied Zane if the occupants of this room were to get hold of him.

"He's done what?" whispered Flay, voice colder than ice.

"He's chosen to take on Chris's name, supposedly in honor of him," said Makoto. "We can skip over the finer details of that, though. We've got a bigger problem. I think we may now know Durandal's motives, or at least some of them."

The others looked surprised.

"What did you find out?" asked Natarle quickly.

"Logos," said Makoto. "From what my agent gathered, it seems to be an organization of military-industrialists who have exerted influence over Blue Cosmos. Their goal, it seems, is to manipulate world events to create wars, allowing them to make money off of supplying the warring sides."

"Are you serious?" whispered Murrue. "But that would mean…"

"It might explain why Orb is considered such a threat," said Makoto. "Orb's military supplies have come almost solely from Morgenroete. Even with Morgenroete's withdrawal, most of their military base is still self-contained, likely beyond the grip of this 'Logos'. My agent also believes that ZAFT's suppliers, which are based in the PLANTs, may be beyond the reach of Logos as well, which would make its destruction logical. From there, it wouldn't be very difficult to manipulate the various power blocs here on Earth into fighting a never-ending conflict. But…"

"That still doesn't explain everything," said Kira. "Like that Lacus-double, Meer."

"Exactly," said Makoto. "At a guess… Logos is only part of all this, and Durandal himself did more to create this conflict than Logos did. From there, the question becomes apparently simple: why?"

Unfortunately, they all knew that if Makoto, as head of Terminal Intelligence, didn't know the answer, the chances of anyone else knowing were slim to none.

* * *

Outside Diocuia

Later that day

Shinn raced along the coast roads outside Diocuia on a motorcycle he rented. He wanted to clear his mind after all of the Chairman's words yesterday. The idea that there were people out there that profited from war and actually desired it sickened him.

Shinn stopped his motorcycle on a cliff overlooking the sea. But if the Chairman was true to his words, Durandal would put a stop to that.

"Hahahahehehe!" he heard a girl laugh. He glanced towards the source of the laugh, surprised.

There was blonde-haired girl, dancing and laughing on a nearby cliff. Shinn found her vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. After a moment, he gave up on trying to remember her. Besides, it was unlikely that he knew her. After all, this was his first time at Diocuia. Shinn turned back to the sea.

"Ah!" he heard the girl scream.

Shinn's head shot back to where the girl was. She was gone. "Did she just…"

Ignoring the danger, Shinn sprinted across a narrow ledge between the two cliffs. Upon reaching the spot where the girl was, he leaned over the edge. In the waters below, the girl was flailing around.

"What? You're kidding me! She fell!" It was then that Shinn realized that the girl was drowning. "She doesn't know how to swim!"

Kicking off his shoes and his sweater, Shinn leapt off the cliff, diving into the sea. Once he hit the water, Shinn swam towards the girl as fast as he could. He reached out for the flailing girl, only to get hit in the face by an arm. The girl was struggling violently, hitting Shinn every time he tried to help her. He ignored it as he kept on seeking to help her. The girl's nails cut across his face as Shinn's hands wrapped around her waist. She thrashed against him, forcing Shinn backwards, but he held on, pulling her on top of him. The girl slowed down and stopped, whether from exhaustion or realizing that she wasn't sinking anymore, Shinn didn't know or care.

"It's alright. I got you," said Shinn, swimming to the shore with her.

After a minute of swimming, Shinn dragged the girl into an alcove, where the water was shallow. Unfortunately, they were trapped, as the only way to leave required them to swim. So much for his day off.

"Are you trying to die you twit!" he shouted, annoyed at the whole situation. "You were right on the edge! And you don't know how to swim! Playing around like a little…"

The girl suddenly started freaking out. "I-I-I… no… I don't… wanna die…" she uttered, trying to get away from him by walking right out into the sea. "No!"

"Hey! Stop!" Shinn yelled, trying to stop her.

Shinn grabbed onto her, only to get an elbow to the face, knocking him back. "I don't wanna die!" she screamed as he grabbed her again. "I'm so scared…"

"Calm down!" he said as she continued to fight against him. "No one's going to hurt you!"

"I'm gonna get shot! I don't want to die!"

Realization dawned on Shinn. _This girl… Could she be…_

"I'm so afraid… I'm so afraid of dying…" the scared girl continued to utter.

Shinn did the only thing he could think of. He pulled the girl into a hug. "Yeah. I know. You'll be fine. You're not going to die," he said, trying to comfort her as he held her against him. "Don't worry. I swear I'll protect you. I'm so sorry for upsetting you. But you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll protect you."

"Protect me…" whispered the girl. "Neo… Haruka…"

Shinn broke the embrace, deciding not to ask her about the two names she'd whispered, and started leading her to a cave in the alcove where they could get out of the water and dry off. "Yes. There's no need to worry, I'll keep you safe. You're not going to die, I promise you."

"Protect…"

A moment later, Shinn helped her out of the water and set her on a rock. That's when he noticed the cut on her ankle. "Your ankle, you must have cut it on the rock. Does it hurt?" The girl was still in a daze and didn't answer. "Here, let me fix it."

Shinn pulled out a wet handkerchief from his pocket, using it first to clean the wound before drying it out and wrapping it around her ankle. "There you go."

* * *

Later

Treize was not happy. Captain Roanoke had told them to take the day off and they had gone off, though he ordered some of the others to watch over their two potential problems, Stella and Maia. "You lost her," he said coldly.

Sting paled. "Well, she was playing around and I decided to let her–"

"Idiot!" yelled Treize, slapping him. "You know what she's like. That's why I told you to keep an eye on her. Now she's missing and we're going to have to find her. Take Auel and search where you left her. I'll call the others so they can help sort out your mess. Pray we find her, or I'll be taking it out on your _hide_ before handing you over to Haruka."

Sting gulped. Everyone knew how protective Haruka had become of Stella. Most likely, she'd deal with Sting—brutally—before leaving the unit, something Treize and Neo most definitely did not want to happen. He nodded, and ran off with Auel.

* * *

The cave

Shinn had activated his emergency beacon after tending to the girl's ankle. Now they just had to wait for help to come. After activating the beacon, he took her inside the cave and started a fire from some driftwood that had washed up in the cave. Now they were sitting back to back, Shinn in just his pants, the girl only in her underwear, their clothes nearby, drying out.

"Are you from the nearby city? What's your name?" asked Shinn, cautious of her freaking out again. "Do you understand?"

"My name is… Stella. City… I don't know," answered the girl quietly.

"Well there must be somebody who'd miss you. Your father? Your mother?"

"I'm with Neo and Haruka… and the others. Mother… father… I don't know."

Her words confirmed Shinn's suspicions. The girl was a war orphan. One who had experienced great pain and trauma at a young age and had never fully recovered. "I see… something terrible happened to you too."

Stella glanced over her shoulder, a confused look in her eyes. "Terrible?"

"Sorry! You're completely safe now!" said a panicking Shinn, afraid that he had set her off again. "Don't worry. I'm here and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'll protect you."

"You'll protect me? I won't…?"

"No. You'll be fine," replied Shinn reassuringly. "My name is Shinn. Shinn Asuka."

"Shinn…" whispered Stella as though testing his name out.

Shinn smiled. "Yes… Shinn."

Stella stood up and went to her clothes. A moment later, her hand reached out past Shinn's shoulder. "Here," she said.

"For me…" Shinn turned to her, only to get a view of her exposed chest. "Gah!" he shrieked, closing his eyes and turning away, blushing in embarrassment. After a moment, he opened his eyes again, focusing entirely on her hand and the item in it. It was a piece of a pink seashell. "This is for me?" he asked, picking it up with a smile. "Thanks Stella."

* * *

Later

"An emergency signal while you're on leave," Athrun called out as the boat approached the alcove. "You just can't take a normal day off like everyone else, can you?"

Shinn, now fully clothed, stepped out of the cave and into the blinding light of the boat's searchlight. "Athrun? Is that you?"

"Yeah. How did you get out here?"

"It's kind of a long story. But I wasn't shipwrecked. Something happened." Shinn stepped back into the cave and helped Stella out of the cave while a ZAFT soldier approached in an inflatable boat. After they were all on board the larger boat, Shinn finished explaining what happened. "This girl here fell of the cliff. I dove in to save her and brought her to shore, but we were stranded."

"Is she from Diocuia?" asked Athrun.

"Well… she hasn't given me a clear answer," he said, wrapping Stella in a blanket.

"What?"

"I think she lost her parents in the war. She probably survived something traumatic."

Athrun nodded, understanding. "I see… what's her name?"

"Stella."

"And her home?"

"She hasn't said yet."

"Then we'll take her back to the base and see what we can dig up," replied Athrun.

"_Stella! Stella!_"

"_Hey Stella!_"

Stella suddenly shot up upon hearing the shouts. "Sting! Auel!"

* * *

Several minutes later

After reaching a nearby dock where a ZAFT jeep waited, the three of them sat down in the jeep, and Athrun directed the drive back to where Stella's two friends were waiting with their car. "Sting! Auel!" cheered Stella, rushing to the two of them.

"Silly thing. What happened to you?" asked Sting as Stella hugged him.

"She fell into the sea," answered Shinn, approaching the trio. "Luckily, I was there to jump in and rescue her."

"Is that so? I'm sorry for any trouble that she caused," apologized Sting. "But thank you for helping her."

Shinn smiled. "Don't mention it."

Athrun looked at the trio. Seeing them together, sparked a memory. He remembered seeing four people in the Armory One Spaceport that he had found odd. They looked like three of the four he saw there. Could they be the same people? No. They couldn't be. The odds were just too slim.

"Come on Shinn, we have to go," he called out.

"Alright. I'm coming," said Shinn, starting to walk back.

"Shinn," said Stella, stopping the teen. "Are you going?"

"Sorry, but I have to," he answered. "But it will be okay, now that you're back with your friends."

"Shinn…"

"Don't worry Stella. I'm sure we'll see each other again," said Shinn, stepping into the jeep and sitting down. Athrun nodded to the driver, who started up the vehicle. "Bye Stella!" Shinn called out as they left, waving his hand. "I promise I'll visit you some time!"

"Bye Shinn!" the girl called back as they turned a corner.

* * *

Nearby

Treize stood atop his motorcycle, watching the ZAFT jeep leave his fellow Extended.

"Hmm… it appears that Stella has had a run in with a ZAFT soldier," he commented. Haruka's opinion be damned. "The doctors will have to make sure that nothing unnecessary remains in that frail mind of hers."

_RING! RING! RING!_

Treize pulled out the cell phone he had been given and answered it. "Yes?"

"_Treize._" It was Captain Roanoke. "_Have you found Stella?_"

"Yes sir. It appears that she spent some time with a ZAFT soldier. I recommend that the doctors erase her memories of today to be on the safe side."

"_I see… very well then. I'll pick you all up tomorrow morning and take you back to the __**John Paul Jones**__. We're going to be moving out for our next mission._"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, how's that for you? One surprise after another, even for people who have read _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. The Kyusai Team is finally introduced in full, with more than just last names attached to them. Makoto reveals some interesting information on just how well she's done her job as head of Terminal's Intelligence Division. And she's obviously got a very well placed mole somewhere out there.**

**And Kira killed someone important to Suiren in the last war? Well, as good as Kira is, it's definitely a good thing Suiren decided not to pursue vengeance. All things considered, she might've given him more trouble than it was all worth, and this way, she just might become an ally. Her words certainly suggest she shares many of the beliefs of our "real protagonists".**

**On a sidenote, I think it's amusing how Suiren more or less unwittingly calls Lacus a goddess.**

**As far as the Zane/Chris thing (notably, Suiren continues to refer to him by his alias), that was something planned right from the beginning by Akatsuki Leader13, and its something I felt needed to stick, and that I actually ended up putting a little extra emphasis on. A few more things about Zane from the last war have been revealed, but there are still some mysteries sitting around here and there. Overall, though, it's nice to see Zane as a good guy... right?**

**Although Suiren is given the opportunity to return to her own team, she decides to stick with the _Minerva_. Well, as a member of FAITH-also something I'd planned from the start, though she isn't in Akatsuki Leader13's version (she's my character, I can do what I want)-she has the right. But one also then needs to question what sort of connections she had that caused Durandal to approach her to be the first member of FAITH.**

**Alright, that's enough exposition. I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and the recent slew of updates. Unless Akatsuki Leader13's muse goes into overdrive again, I'll probably be taking things at a moderate pace from here on, though now with the chance of things being "turned around" as Akatsuki Leader13 once put it, with him taking stuff from me (I should be so lucky...).**

**Everyone, please leave a review! And, since it seems to really work (it got me 18, once): I'm begging you!**

**Ja ne!**


	20. Phase 20: Lament of the Angels

**Well, here we are. The next chapter of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity_. Honestly, I hadn't planned for this to come out so soon, but the first section sort of just wrote itself, and then when Akatsuki Leader13 updated, I decided to go ahead.**

**Most of the bits with Orb are just minor edits from Akatsuki Leader13's version of it. However, most of the leftovers are heavily edited, and I also added in several entirely new scenes.**

**Interestingly, although it was not my original intent, this chapter focuses heavily on Athrun and my three primary female OCs (Makoto, Suiren and Haruka). We get a bit of a glimpse into each of them here, so I hope you all enjoy this.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Maybe next chapter I'll finally write a full disclaimer again...  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty: Lament of the Angels

November 4th, C.E. 73

* * *

_Archangel_

Makoto stared out at the ocean from the _Archangel_'s rear observation deck, watching the animals out there swim about. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

The redhead often came here to reflect. It was something she had in common with Kira, and it was the reason she was here now.

She had been born, like Kira, Canard, Chris and her cousins, Misuumi and Minako, in the GARM R&D facilities on the L4 colony Mendel. They'd all been the subjects of the Divinity Projects.

Divinity… it was, as more than a few had said, strangely appropriate. If one reflected on Coordinators as the body, the Newtype phenomenon as the mind, and the mysterious SEED as the soul, then the goals of the Divinity Projects to unlock the secrets on those three became a quest to create individuals with, as Rau Le Creuset once described it, the Body, the Mind and the Soul of Gods.

For Makoto, personally, as the Child of the Soul, it had had a strange effect. She could sense the presence of the SEED in others. Oh, all people had the SEED, certainly, but only a small handful of individuals had even latent potential with the SEED, and even fewer had awakened it. She could sense those who had awakened it, and for a brief time, she could sense those who had the potential, potential that would almost certainly never be tapped.

Flay had been one instance of this potential. Unusually, though, she'd actually tapped into it following Alexander's birth, though in spite of awakening the SEED (a tidbit Kira and Makoto kept to themselves), she had yet to actually activate it. Alexander himself also possessed the SEED.

Unusually, both Cagalli's and Athrun's SEEDs had fallen dormant over the last two years. Makoto suspected it was a matter of conviction, Cagalli becoming increasingly uncertain of herself under the pressures of the Seirans and Athrun losing himself in his search for an answer to a question for which the only answer was blindingly simple and unbelievably hard to grasp.

Of course, the SEED wasn't the end of the story, not by a long shot. For the first sixteen years of life, Makoto was raised under the name 'Arata', by her aunt and uncle, Minako's parents, with the deception that Minako was actually Serenity's child—in other words, officially, the two had swapped places. However, her adoptive parents and her biological parents raised her jointly. Then, Naomi and Ichida had left for Heliopolis, shortly after a party in Orb that was likely the most embarrassing night in Makoto's life. It was the same party that she met Lacus Clyne.

The same party that she kissed her best friend, her first love, Louisa, at for the first time.

Two years later, Louisa had left to attend the wedding of a relative. As it turned out, another guest at the wedding was actually Allyson Westerlynd, a surviving researcher from the Divinity Projects, specifically one of Ulen's people. A Blue Cosmos strike took out Allyson and almost everyone else. Louisa and one or two other people were the only survivors. After recovering, Louisa, in an apparent fit of rage, somehow tracked down the man who'd led the bombing, a military officer of Blue Cosmos named Michaels, who she attempted to kill. Even after being subdued, she struggled, screaming at him for murdering her family.

She was taken _there_. To that facility where Blue Cosmos 'developed' their so-called 'Biological CPUs'. She was subjected to the greatest, cruelest experiments, brainwashing her, programming her, driving her completely insane and enhancing her body and mind all the way up to level 6—the highest they had at the time. Louisa's abilities were comparable to Canard's, at least, possibly even comparable to Makoto's own.

During the Battle of Orb, after Makoto destroyed the Relentless to protect Liz and then rescued the Justice and Guardian from the Twilight, the two had clashed for the first time. Upon returning, Louisa immediately gunned for Makoto. And again, during the escape into space via Kaguya. At Mendel, they battled twice more, and Makoto finally achieved victory over her best friend, the two never truly realizing whom they were fighting.

Then came the Second Battle of Jachin Due. As Makoto clashed with Erik Saharin, Louisa interfered in the battle. In a moment when it seemed Erik was about to finish Makoto off, Louisa cried out for Makoto.

That was when Makoto realized who she'd been fighting. It drove her over the edge, triggering the activation of the Cosmic SEED, the ultimate byproduct of Divinity. With it, she'd restored not only Louisa, but Shani and Clotho as well, allowing the three to finally turn against Blue Cosmos.

After the battle, there had been some measure of awkwardness when people finally moved past their joy for those who lived and their mourning for those who were lost. By this point, Makoto had already become lovers with Liz, and as much as she believed in free love, she wasn't certain how either of them would react.

To her surprise, Louisa had been rather enthusiastic, and once Liz got over her own discomfort, the three fell into a triad relationship.

A lot of people had established strong relations after that, though only a few were of the romantic nature. Kira and Lacus started really dating, Shizuka started going out with Victor, and Cagalli and Athrun really began getting into their own relationship. After a year, it seemed as though everything was going to be alright.

Only it wasn't. Pressure from the Seirans, Athrun's uncertainty, things just started to pile up more and more and more. Kira and Makoto had both realized it was only a matter of time before another war began. There was just too much strange activity going on for it to be otherwise.

And then Durandal, who'd worked under David during the Divinity Projects, became the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council.

And now, this.

"Something on your mind?" came a voice suddenly. Makoto glanced back at Kira and shook her head, hair flying everywhere.

"Everything," she admitted. "I can't help but wonder, why does it always seem to lead back to Divinity, directly or indirectly? Even the Extended Project of Blue Cosmos is really just an offshoot of Divinity. How long must the Shadow of Divinity anchor the Spirit of the World?"

"If we had the answer, we could do something about it," said Kira just as softly. Makoto shook her head.

"So, what's your opinion of Zane?" she asked. Kira shrugged.

"I never met him, and the closest I ever came to fighting Zane was when I pulverized his CGUE at Alaska," said Kira. "I wouldn't say I'm the best judge. There was a time when he was probably closer to Chris than anyone but Liz and Flay, so really, we don't have much right to punish him for using Chris's name."

"It doesn't mean we won't," said Makoto. Kira chuckled.

"Smack him around a little, then leave him to those two?" he asked.

Makoto giggled, turning to Kira with an inquisitive look. "Kira, I had no idea you could be so cruel!" she said jokingly. "And here I thought you'd be merciful enough to throw him to some real sharks, not the crusaders of unholy fury."

Kira chuckled. "Oh, I don't think they'll kill him," he said.

"Who said anything about killing? That would be the least of his worries," said Makoto. "Personally, I myself would be worried about what would happen to Morgenroete. Those two would stage a hostile takeover and develop technology for the express purpose of torturing Zane until hell freezes over."

Kira winced. "And they'd certainly try it, too," he muttered.

"Don't act like _you're_ any better," said Makoto. "Athrun?"

"Okay, I admit, I feel like doing the same to him," said Kira. "He damn well _knows_ he doesn't need to follow such a façade. Cagalli and I have been in negotiations over who gets to do what to him when we finally get ahold of him."

"Have you figured out someone to take over as the pilot of the Knight of Orb?" asked Makoto. "Tolle, Liz and the rest of them are in the Sentinels, Louisa, Shani and Clotho will have the Templars, Flay will be with us in the Angels, and the rest will have a very _big_ surprise waiting for them when we reveal the Tengu Project."

The two chuckled lightly at this. Only Lacus, Faith and the Sanctuary workers knew about the Tengu Project.

"I think Andy could handle it," said Kira mildly.

"You know Andy wants us to get the Gaia for him if the opportunity should arise," replied Makoto, referring to Andy's reaction when she'd shown everyone the data she'd been able to acquire on the ZAFT Gundams. "He loves that thing."

"He is rather fond of machines of the BuCUE line," agreed Kira. "Well… we'll just have to figure something else out."

"You could just… hmmm… _not_ murder him?"

"At your request, I'll negotiate with Cagalli to leave him capable enough to pilot the Knight," replied Kira. "That said, nothing you say will sway me regarding _that_ girl."

"Lacus won't forgive you if you hurt her."

"And that's why I'm not out dealing with this issue as we speak."

"I see," said Makoto evenly. She was silent for a moment before sighing. "How long has it been?"

"Too long," said Kira softly. The two glanced at each other before quickly turning to look out the window again.

And _this_ was the personal problem the two were facing. They both knew and acknowledged it, but didn't have any good solution. Lacus, Liz and Louisa all knew and acknowledged it as well, but had done nothing to help.

A lot of it probably came down to the isolation. The two of them knew that, had Kira not fallen for Lacus, then it would be Makoto who Kira was dating. The two would be lovers… no; they'd probably have been engaged by this point. Despite the sibling-like relationship they'd established, at least some of those feelings still lingered in both of them, and their respective lovers were well aware of it, and had never done anything to help either of them.

Normally, those feelings weren't any sort of concern for them. But isolated as they were, it could be hard to escape from, and the only way of confronting those feelings they had was simply out of the question.

"I _really_ wish they'd act at least a little jealous," said Makoto. "It would make all of this so much easier to control."

"Maybe we should see about trying to head out sometime soon," said Kira. "It might not be a bad idea to head up and keep a direct eye on the Terminal or the Sanctuary."

"I'd agree with you, but everyone knows that if anyone were to go up there, it would have to be Lacus," said Makoto, shaking her head. She closed her eyes, deciding to change the subject. "Kira… have you seen anything?"

"No."

"I thought so," whispered Makoto, opening her eyes. "The future's become shrouded once more. Whatever it is the SEEDs wanted to show us, they've done it, and now, they're leaving us on our own. Divinity isn't our ally, this time. It's our enemy, all the way."

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

The next day

Neo walked down the halls of the ship, his thoughts on what was quickly becoming their second greatest asset… as well as the greatest threat from within.

Haruka had been informed of Stella's apparent encounter with a ZAFT soldier, and the plans to erase the events from Diocuia from her mind. She had not been pleased, but had acceded to Neo's authority. Still, she was one of the most formidable pilots under his command, in a machine surpassing anything else in their arsenal… and more significantly, she was _not_ one of the Extended.

Haruka's usefulness to them was second only to Treize's. She'd given a specific warning—and it was also in her contract—that no one was to touch her machine. In fact, she'd gone so far with protecting its secrets that any attempt to learn them would result in the machine self-destructing, an explosion that would at the very least obliterate the _John Paul Jones_, and likely irreparably damage all of the machines in the hangar with the Astarte. Nobody else understood how it worked, how it could function as it did, how it could be so incredibly powerful. Only that it was, and it wasn't worth the risk of trying to figure out any of the 'hows' behind it. The best way to harness the Astarte's unbelievable might was through its pilot.

Unfortunately, this gave Haruka quite a bit of power over the group. She was now capable of blocking both Miguel and Gyunei if she so chose, and if she were to turn against them, only Treize would be capable of stopping her, and despite understanding his abilities, Treize had expressed concern that the overall combination—Haruka's piloting skills, those special 'gifts', and her machine—just might be capable of overcoming him. Perhaps feeling a little more cautious, Treize had ordered some modifications made to the Specter, ones which everyone else was to be left in the dark about.

Then there was the information from Djibril. An Orb Expeditionary Fleet was on its way to reinforce the Earth Forces presence in the region and retake the Black Sea, regain the lifeline of Suez, and reclaim Gibraltar. Neo's mind was already calculating how best to exploit the Orb fleet now on its way.

"No! Don't! You can't take it from me!" screamed Stella's voice, catching Neo's attention. He turned to the Second Generation Maintenance Room, checking to see what the commotion was about. There was Stella, desperately clutching a handkerchief to her chest. "Get back!"

The two doctors backed away from Stella's pods while a confused Sting and Auel watched on. "Alright, alright, we're not going to take from you," said one of the doctors, trying to calm her down.

"What's going on here?" asked Neo as he entered the room.

Stella immediately stopped. "Neo!" she said, hoping he had come to help her.

"Ah… well we wanted to check on her leg injury before putting her under, but when we tried to remove the handkerchief from her, she became hysterical," explained the doctor.

"So that's the problem. I'm sorry Stella," said Neo, approaching Stella. Once he reached her pod, he started patting her on the head, reassuring the blonde Extended. "Put your mind at ease. No one's going to take it from you."

"Do you really mean it?" asked Stella, afraid it was a trick.

"Yes. Why would anyone want to take away something so precious to you?"

Stella smiled and nodded her head. "Alright, it's time for bed," said Neo. "For all of you."

The three Second Generation Extended laid down in their pods, closing their eyes as the pod doors lowered into place. Gas poured in putting them to sleep as the doctors watched on their consoles.

"I get the feeling I've crossed a line, that I've become a wicked man," mused Neo, walking behind the control console. "Taking important things away is what we do best."

"It always amazes me how well you handle them," said the first doctor.

"These memories of ours… do they really make us happy? Or are we better off without them troubling us? I sometimes wonder about that myself," admitted Neo as he watched the sleeping teens. "For her to become that disturbed, she must have experienced something quite significant."

"You're right about that," replied the doctor, studying the readings they were getting from her. "She came back with a strong impression of something. Well whatever it is, it will soon be gone."

"I think the three of them are better off without their memories," commented the second doctor. "They're fighting machines. Their only job is to defeat their assigned enemies. Any unnecessary feelings would only get in the way. Memories would reduce their efficiency."

"Yes I know. Anything these three kids are tossed, anything they feel, won't do them any good," said Neo as he turned to leave.

"Sympathy for them will only make things harder," replied the second doctor.

"It's all because I let them go into town," mused Neo. "There's a lot going on there. I want you to pay special attention to their maintenance."

The doctors nodded, their hands dancing across the console. "Right," said one.

Neo took one last glance at Stella before he left. "That girl fears dying more than anything else, so if she wants to keep on living, than she has no choice but to keep on destroying our enemies."

As he walked away down the corridor, Neo failed to notice Haruka step out of a side corridor. She'd heard everything. Her blue eyes shined with a dangerous, cold ice, and had she not been concealing herself, Neo would've vomited from the force of negative energy she was sending his way.

_Not yet_, she thought to herself. _The time isn't now. I still don't have everything I need. Until I can find them, she'll have to remain in the hands of these monsters._

* * *

Elsewhere

"There, all done," said Maia, putting down her tools and lifting up the purple Haro. Not only had she reprogrammed it, she had also painted a white skull on its face. "So much better now."

"It's still a stupid toy," replied Gyunei, looking up from his handheld video game system.

"Bite me jackass!" chirped the Haro.

Gyunei instantly shot up to his feet, his video game forgotten. "What?! What did you call me?!"

"Ugly jackass!"

The male Extended tore the Haro from Maia's grasp. "Say that again! I dare you!" he shouted at it.

"You're yelling at a toy," commented Silber, not even bothering to look up from the book he was reading.

"This thing started it!" Gyunei shot back.

"It's a _toy_," said Rache mockingly.

"Hey! Go to hell!" chirped the Haro at Rache as Maia pulled it out of Gyunei's hands.

"See! Isn't he great now? So much better than before," said Maia as she affectionately rubbed her cheek against the small robot.

"Yeah! I rock! You all suck!" cheered the machine, flapping its ear-like flaps.

* * *

Crewquarters

Treize turned off the water, stepping out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He took a moment to glance down at his body, staring at the vast collection of scars that lined his body. Surgical scars, scars from bullet wounds, knife wounds, burns and various other old wounds. Even a tenth of his body had been replaced with parts taken from others, to replace badly damaged parts of his body from various live combat training exercises. Parts culled from other, failed EX-C units.

So great was the cost of their creation that those who died or failed to meet the standards weren't disposed of. Rather, their bodies were frozen; to be harvested for transplants to more successful units that had sustained severe damage during exercises.

All of them carried parts of those failures. So brutal was their creation that none escaped physical scarring and the loss of chunks of their bodies. But in the end, the brutal regiment had created a superior breed of soldier: himself.

The others, while formidable warriors, particularly Rache and Silber, were failures compared to him. He was the greatest Extended ever created. None could surpass him nor had he ever been defeated, save that one battle over the PLANTs against a warrior he would take the utmost pleasure in tearing apart. The pilots of the _Minerva_ had only succeeded in delaying the inevitable. Even together, they had failed to destroy him, only succeeding at delaying him long enough for the others to lose. But that would change in the next battle. He could feel it. There would be blood. Lots of it.

He couldn't wait…

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Heine Westenfluss… originally a member of the Hawkins Team, who were the main battlefield test pilots during the Bloody Valentine War, as well as one of test pilots for several experimental mobile suits, including the YFX-600R GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type," said Saul, reading the file. "And a veteran of Jachin Due as well. After the war, you remained with the Hawkins Team, testing new ZAFT mobile suits including the ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior until a month and a half before the incident at Armory One, when the Hawkins Team was dissolved and you were transferred to the Kyusai Team. You were involved with the operation to break up Junius Seven, the defense of the PLANTs and Operation Reclaimer. And now you've been assigned to the _Minerva_, as a fourth FAITH agent and a member of an MS team that, officially, is under my command."

"That about sums it up," replied Heine.

Saul set down his file and stared at him for a moment.

"I need you to understand something," he said. "I knew Zane at his absolute worst. It seems he really has changed for the better, but until he dies to protect this world, I don't think he'll ever have my trust in that."

"He knows," said Heine. "He told me you'd say that."

Saul sighed. "That said," he continued. "I've come to trust Suiren, so I'm willing to forget your association with Zane. But there's something I want to make clear. You have the authority to act as you feel best suits the situation, but unless you feel it is absolutely necessary, you are not to use your FAITH authority to countermand my orders, and most definitely not to countermand Suiren's."

"I wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary," assured Heine.

"Good," said Saul. "Because our chain of command is already messed up enough as it is. Two commanders seemed like a bit of a stretch from the beginning. Then, they thrown in a FAITH agent and promote the captain to FAITH. Now, we've got another FAITH agent, and on top of that, it turns out one of those initial commanders was part of FAITH all along."

Heine chuckled. "Well, to be honest, I didn't know about that either until that dinner," he said. "I mean, I suppose others in the Kyusai Team might've known, but other than Zane, I can't say for certain. Zane was only given the invitation to FAITH shortly before the theft, when we were sent the specs for the GOUF Ignited, along with the news that, if Zane accepted the promotion, he'd be assigned to the Specter and command of the _Minerva_'s MS team. I was promoted just after our raid on Suez a few days ago."

"Hmm…"

* * *

Lounge

"Let's see… I'll raise," said Jessie, throwing more chips into the pile.

Nicol glanced at the pot, then at his hand, then again at the pot. "This is too rich for me. Fold," he said, putting his cards down. "So we're heading out again."

Suiren nodded, studying her cards.

"Yes," she replied evenly. "The Earth Forces are eager to take back the areas that have left the Alliance for ZAFT, so there's little doubt that we'll be seeing some action soon." She threw some of her own chips into the pile. "I'll see your raise and add another ten. And, of course, they know we're here. So they're going to throw the best they have at us."

"True," said Shiho, adding some of her own chips to the growing pot. "The question is, who? Those guys we fought in the Indian Ocean, those black Windams from Gulnahan, or someone entirely new?"

"The thieves," answered Suiren, twirling a chip in her hand. "They can't afford to be revealing every group they have unless necessary, and they can't risk the implications of their allies seeing them employing Mirage Colloid tech."

"Allies?" questioned Tristan.

"According to what I've been able to find out… an expeditionary fleet has been sent out to support the Earth Forces here," said Suiren. "An _Orb_ expeditionary fleet."

Nicol let out a low whistle. "That's not good," he said as Aleksi threw in some chips.

Tristan threw down his cards. "I'm out," he said. "But either way, we're in for some tough fighting."

"When is that any different from any other battle we've had?" asked Aleksi.

"True," said Suiren. "This ship always seems to get stuck with the big battles. In fact, every engagement that this ship hasn't been a part of, barring the opening battle, have been, for the most part, minor skirmishes. Very unusual, don't you think?"

"Yeah. In the last war, there were all kinds of major engagements that none of us ever saw," added Nicol, thinking back to the war. "Yet here we are, right in the middle of all the big fights so far."

"Well, there haven't been many major battles so far," offered Tristan. "It's not that hard to believe the we could end up fighting in all of them."

"Actually, that's something that bothers me," said Shiho. "This is a war, yet neither side seems all that interested in fighting the war. There's been next to nothing happening in space, despite the fact that it should be the primary battleground here. In fact, we should be on the ropes in this war. The Earth Forces have us badly outnumbered. The only reason they didn't wipe the floor with us in the beginning of the last war was the superiority of mobile suits over their mobile armors. But now, they have mobile suits. You guys weren't at the opening battle. We won because they withdrew. They still badly outnumbered us and could have beaten us then and there. And we only won back Carpentaria and Gibraltar because their forces were weakened from taking the bases and they had ended up destroying the bulk of the bases' defenses when they took them. Even then, it was a hard bloody fight."

"Yeah… come to think of it, even taking away what they lost in Break the World, the Earth Forces should have been able to just overwhelm us in that first battle. So why didn't they?" said Aleksi, thinking over how this war had progressed so far. "It's almost like the Alliance is… well, playing with us."

"No," said Suiren, frowning. "This isn't a war. It's a political game of cat and mouse. Someone's using this as a method to eliminate their enemies. And I don't like that thought, because the way things are going, the only one who could actually have anything to gain from that is Gil."

"You don't mean to say the Chairman really is somehow responsible?" questioned Jessie, eyes wide. Suiren shook her head.

"That's not what I'm saying," she said. "The implications, based on what we know, say that he's the only one who can benefit from the way this war is going. Yet, if that's the case, why is the Alliance playing his game?"

"Maybe it's like the Chairman said and this 'Logos' is trying to milk this for as much money as possible," suggested Tristan.

"If that's the case, our defensive stance is playing right into it," commented Jessie, dropping some final chips into the pot.

Suiren shook her head again. "Somehow, I doubt that," she said, matching Jessie's bet and raising. "As long as this war continues, Logos faces a threat, however minor, of losing their primary source of income if ZAFT is victorious. They'd likely benefit more from destroying the PLANTs and the Taiyonoha quickly, eliminating any corporate war rivals, and then turn the nations of Earth against one another. Even without going to that grand scale, it wouldn't be difficult to incite civil unrest and make plenty of money from that. Therefore, if Logos exists and is controlling the Alliance from behind the scenes, I would think that they would have a greater reason for what they're doing than just money."

"True," said Tristan as Shiho folded. "But a civil war, even several, wouldn't generate the same amount as a major war like this. My family owns IDB, and we've been the primary designers and manufacturers of ZAFT's military hardware since the end of the last war. I'd be lying if I said that the company's profits haven't been soaring since the start of this one."

"Makes you wonder just what this war is being fought over," commented Aleksi, folding as well. "Jessie, it's your turn."

"I'll raise another twenty," said Jessie, smirking as he stared at his only remaining opponent for the grand prize sitting in the middle.

"Simple," said Suiren, matching Jessie's raise. "Whoever's in charge isn't after money. That's just a bonus. I call."

"Lucky sevens," said Jessie, laying down his hand. Four of a kind sevens with an ace high. "So what do you think they're after, Commander?"

"The grandest prize of all," answered Suiren.

"And that would be…?" questioned Tristan as Suiren laid out her cards. Several people gasped in surprise: the Ten, Jack Queen, King and Ace of Hearts. A royal flush.

"What Blue Cosmos views as the perfect hand," said Suiren. "The chance to, without fear of the consequences, completely obliterate the PLANTs."

* * *

Later That Night

"We still don't know if they're going to take Gibraltar or come our way," said Talia, explaining the situation to the top officers of the _Minerva_. "But the timing suggests that they'll try to take back what they lost. I'm sure they'll want to reopen their land route to Suez. Headquarters feels the same way; looks like we're heading into battle again. Well, ours is not to question why."

Saul rubbed his chin, contemplating the intelligence they had received. "Do we have any idea on the forces at Suez and what they'll bring up against us, aside from their incoming reinforcements?" he asked.

"I took part in a raid against Suez not too long ago," replied Heine. "It's definitely a major Earth Forces base. Lots of ships and tons of mobile suits. Fortunately, they obviously can't send all of those forces at us. But we can expect a large, well-armed force."

"And that isn't all were facing. We've identified _that_ ship, the one we faced in the Indian Ocean," added Talia grimly.

"The one carrying the machines they stole from us?" asked Arthur, a little fearful of the answer.

Talia nodded. "That's right. And you can bet that they'll show up." She sighed.

"Are they talking about the stolen Armory One mobile suits and those other machines that fly with them?" Heine quietly asked Athrun, a little unsure about who they were talking about.

"Yes," answered Athrun. "They're more formidable than everything else we've faced so far."

"My biggest concern are the Specter and that unknown," commented Suiren. "I've never fought any machine so versatile before. Unlike the Impulse, it's equipped for all types of combat by default. It'll be equally at home in just about any environment, even underwater. A DRAGOON System… and that cannon…"

"In any case, this ship is moving out," said Talia, turning the subject away from that dangerous machine. "We'll head for the first line of defense in the Dardanelles and guard the entrance to the Sea of Marmara. We'll leave at 0600 hours tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am," replied Arthur, Athrun and Saul.

"No objections?" Talia asked them, though her gaze was focused on Heine.

"No ma'am. Of course not," replied Heine, shaking his head.

"I'll get the ship ready immediately, ma'am," said Arthur.

"Good. Gentlemen," said Talia, dismissing them. Athrun, Saul and Heine started leaving the bridge when Talia called out, "Oh, and Athrun?"

Athrun stopped and turned back. "Yes?"

"It seems that those reinforcements the Earth Forces are expecting are from the Orb military." Athrun gasped, his face locked in a look of shock. "I know this is hard to imagine, but right now that nation is one of them," continued Talia.

Athrun just couldn't believe it. "Orb is an enemy? They can't be!"

"All ZAFT forces in the region have been given orders to stop the Orb forces from invading the Black Sea," said Talia. "There's no way to avoid it. A battle is inevitable at this point. Right now, they're a part of the Earth Forces. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am," replied Athrun. But he couldn't shake the dread in his voice.

* * *

Later

Athrun stared out at the ocean from the outer deck of the _Minerva_. It was a new moon tonight, the city lights were far off, and the stars shone brightly out here as a result, reflecting clearly off the water that was only disturbed by the infrequent gusts of wind.

"You know, you don't have to fight them," came a voice suddenly. Athrun glanced behind him to see Suiren walking towards him. "You are FAITH, after all." Athrun looked back to the ocean.

"This is all so…" he started.

"Orb should've been my homeland," said Suiren suddenly, catching Athrun off-guard as she leaned against the railing next to him. "Had my parents not been murdered, they would have raised me in Orb." She looked up to the sky. "I was born up there, amidst the stars mankind so longed to touch. But space is a cold place to be. Even the PLANTs aren't as ideal a place to raise a child as the Land of Peace is… or rather, was."

"Orb shouldn't be involved in this," said Athrun softly. "If Cagalli were there, I know that she'd…"

"You and Lady Cagalli have both been uncertain of yourselves," interrupted the blonde. "Had she been herself, you'd probably be right. But was she really herself? Lady Cagalli is an Athha, after all, and I paid more than a few visits to Orb over the years. If she was making her own decisions, Orb would still be neutral. But at the moment, for whatever reason, she's not." Athrun was silent. "Why do you think that is, 'Alex'?"

Athrun's head snapped over to look at Suiren sharply at the use of his alias. However, he contemplated the question as he turned back to the ocean.

She was right. Why hadn't Cagalli been making her own decisions? When he thought about it, Athrun knew that almost every decision Cagalli had made had been influenced by the Seirans, or made as an accession to the pressure placed on her by the Atlantic Federation. Why?

"Athrun…" Suiren's voice was soft, softer than he'd ever heard it before. "You need to stop looking for complicated answers to simple questions. If you don't know the answer, think about the simpler ones first, then move on to the more complex ones."

"What do you mean?" asked Athrun.

"Think about it."

Athrun did. Cagalli carried the weight of Orb on her shoulders. As he understood it, she hadn't received much in terms of political training from her father. The other noble houses weren't in positions to aid her, either. The Taiyonoha were consumed in bringing Morgenroete, a centerpiece of Orb's power, back together. The Sahaku were watching over Ame-no-Mihashira and bringing refugees back home. And the Yagami were so obscure, and had so little power that most other countries only knew of their existence, forgetting even their names.

Finally, it clicked for Athrun.

"She didn't know how to lead," he said. "She didn't know how to bear the weight of a nation, and others took advantage of it when she had no allies to protect her, and no strength to spare to fight against it?"

"That sounds likely," agreed Suiren. "And what about yourself? Where is the legendary Crimson Knight of Justice, one of the greatest heroes our world has ever known?"

Athrun was silent, thinking it over. Athrun was smart, and he'd always looked for a complex solution, both to simple and complex puzzles. That was the failing of his intelligence. He'd forgotten those basics, and now, analyzing things in that way, he came to a conclusion.

"I lost the Crimson Knight to Cagalli's pressures and my own guilt," he said.

"The sins of the father are not those of the son," whispered Suiren.

"But it's hard to let go," said Athrun humorlessly. "I can't help but feel like I could've stopped it somehow. Like it's my fault."

"It's not really that hard," said Suiren. "I know what you're going through. I was there myself, once. You just need to forget about living in the past, asking yourself about what-ifs that you can't hope to answer, and then look to the future." Suiren reached her hands to the sky, then clenched them, as though grasping the stars. "And move forward, as the Saviour of ZAFT."

Athrun stared at her in wonder.

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

The following morning

Stella slowly opened her eyes as the pod lid opened. She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms. That's when she noticed the thing in her hand. It was a handkerchief with some small bloodstains on it.

"What's this?" she wondered aloud. In the end, she shrugged and set it down on the pod, leaving it as she left to get dressed.

When the room was empty, a figure dressed in a black Earth Forces uniform without rank insignia walked in, picking up the handkerchief. The figure delicately rolled it up, then slipped it into a pocket of their uniform before leaving.

* * *

Later

Haruka's body moved through a fluid dance as she practiced the secret art passed down from one generation to the next, said to originate from the ancient Shinto Kami Hachiman, the Divine Protector of Japan.

It was, of course, a load of horsecrap. If the Kami did exist, they'd been mortals. Perhaps intelligent, even advanced, and certainly powerful and influential mortals, but mortals nevertheless.

Thus, when Haruka practiced her dance, she sometimes wondered about the origins of Shinsei Tsurugi. Was there really some great warrior and martial artist named Hachiman who created this martial arts style? If so, why hadn't it become more widespread? How old was it really?

This was not the only question. The truest practitioners of this art were those of the Taiyonoha Bloodline. Here, it was indeed possible to track their ancestors back to the time of BCE. But were they truly the descendants of a Sun Goddess, as the legends claimed? If Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami was real, how had she come to be associated with the sun? Did she truly have brothers who were associated with the moon, and with storms?

These were only some of the things Haruka mused over as she practiced. However, her musings were cut short as she sensed _that_ sickening presence.

She could work with Treize. At times, she thought she could even like him. That is, until she once again felt and remembered that sickeningly dark and evil presence that seemed to envelope his entire being.

If she were to compare the major figures she knew to be in this war to the Shinto Kami, Gilbert Durandal would be the arrogant creator, Izanagi, while Djibril would be the vain destroyer, Izanami. Kira Yamato would be the divine protector, Hachiman, while Lacus Clyne would be the bringer of dawn, Ame-no-Uzume.

Haruka herself, she supposed, would be most comparable to the storm god, Susanoo-no-Mikoto. This would make her ZAFT counterpart Susanoo's brother, the moon god Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. And that would make Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha the last and most powerful of the siblings, Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami.

But Treize… oh, he was different. He was different in a way that even Durandal and Djibril could not claim to be.

Treize Zabiarov would be Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Although considered a minor kami, Mikaboshi was an ancient entity, a god of stars and all evil. This was a perfect analogy for Treize, who had inherited the dark hatred of generations past, although he himself was actually a relatively obscure individual.

Haruka wondered what her real chances for escape were if he ever discovered that she was a Coordinator. Actually, she supposed they were pretty good, considering she knew things about him that he probably didn't, and even without that, Haruka had planned numerous escapes already.

But one piece of all of them would be a disaster if she didn't have the solution prepared ahead of time.

As Haruka continued her dance, she realized that Treize wasn't the only one watching her. No—Neo, Leon and all of the Extended were watching her. Some were analyzing her as an individual, some were assessing her abilities, and one or two were admiring her.

The only one she was certain of was Stella's admiration for her dance, but she suspected that Mariemeia might be admiring her as well.

Oh, right, that annoying, foul-mouthed mutant Haro was there as well, though it was wise enough to shut up, as Haruka wouldn't have tolerated some mutant robot criticizing her performance, and she knew that Maia was the only one who wouldn't back her up if she decided to punt it halfway to Orb.

And speaking of Orb…

"How long before the expeditionary fleet arrives?" she asked, not pausing in her katas for even a second.

"It's a long way to be moving so many ships," replied Neo. "Probably around a week."

"I see," murmured Haruka. "And after that, we'll be going after that ship again?"

"Of course."

"Mmm… does anyone mind leaving that silver, two-shield Gundam to me?" she asked, stepping things up a little.

"You mean that bitch with the cannons?" said Gyunei. "Of course I mind! She's mine!"

"I would've thought you'd gun for Goldilocks," said Haruka. "She _did_ humiliate you in that last battle, didn't she?"

"Why you…!"

"That's enough Gyunei," said Neo. The EX-C backed down. "Why are you so interested in that machine?"

"It's not the machine," replied Haruka. "It's the pilot. She and I are of the same ilk: warriors, born to battle for a cause of our own choosing. We are like polar opposites, mirror images destined to endlessly collide until one of us stands triumphant over the other. Or until circumstances bring these warriors together as a single, unstoppable entity." Suddenly, Haruka spun about, lashing out with a kick that connected with the railing, ending her dance. Behind her, the section of railing she'd kicked had broken off, and fell into the sea. "But then, what could bring about such circumstances? No… this dance will end in death, and I assure you, it won't be mine."

* * *

Orb Carrier, _Takemikazuchi_

November 13th, C.E. 73

"Greetings Lord Yuna Roma Seiran," said Neo, saluting the Supreme Commander of the Orb Expeditionary Fleet. "I am Captain Neo Roanoke of the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group. This is Captain Eric Matthews of the _John Paul Jones_ and my subordinate, Lieutenant Commander Treize Zabiarov."

The Orb officers returned the salute. "Greetings to you as well, Captain Roanoke," replied Yuna, reaching out and shaking Neo's hand. He then gestured behind him at Todaka. "This is my Second-in-Command, Colonel Todaka."

Todaka nodded his head. "Sir."

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, shall we discuss our battle plans?"

* * *

The _Minerva_

"What?! An Orb fleet?!" exclaimed Shinn, dropping his fork.

"Yeah. I heard an Orb fleet is reinforcing them," replied Luna.

Shinn was at a loss. How could Orb actually send out a fleet to fight alongside the Alliance?! The same people that burned Orb in the last war. The same people that… "How could that country…?"

"Yeah, I know. It really is pretty unbelievable. And all the way out here. But they're part of the Earth Forces now so we shouldn't be that surprised," commented Luna casually, as though it was no big deal.

* * *

Elsewhere

Athrun stood on one of the _Minerva_'s decks, watching as the ship pulled out of the Diocuia Base harbor, heading to the Dardanelles Strait, his mind reflecting on the battle that was to come. They were heading for a confrontation with Orb forces. People he considered his comrades… Orb, Athrun felt, was his homeland. And now, he would fight against his fellow countrymen, because he believed that Durandal was in the right here.

"So you were in Orb all that time after the great war. I've heard from others that it's a wonderful nation," said Heine, stepping onto the deck and snapping Athrun from his thoughts.

"Yes. It certainly is," he replied, turning to Heine.

Heine approached the railing. "This place is beautiful too, in its own way," he commented, looking out at the passing landscape.

"Yes, it is."

"You'd rather not fight," commented Heine. "I mean against Orb."

"That's true."

"Alright then, who would you prefer to fight?"

Athrun shrugged. "Given no other choice but to pick someone? I'd probably prefer to fight the Atlantic Federation," he said honestly. "I know not everyone is to blame, but that was the dominant country behind Junius Seven. Even still, I'd rather not fight at all."

"And here I thought you'd be caught off-guard," said Heine, smirking lightly as he turned to Athrun. "Honestly, though? I feel the same. That sums it up, eh? Stop worrying, though. You have to concentrate. We're soldiers, and we're in the middle of a war. If you forget, then you'll die."

Athrun nodded. "I know," he said. "But to be honest, I see Orb as my home. So this is hard, even if I do understand it."

"Then be the Knight," said Heine. "Fight as your comrade, the Great White Angel, fought. Shoot to save, rather than to kill, unless you are left with no other choice. Orb has great technology, and good people. They don't deserve death, and I doubt they have many veterans capable of forcing a pilot of your caliber to shoot to kill."

"I'm not one of the Angels," said Athrun.

"But you _are_ one of the Knights," countered Heine. "And in my book, that's about as close to an Angel as anyone can get without joining their ranks."

"But I wonder…" said Athrun absentmindedly, his thoughts on Flay and Chris. Heine looked at him, confused, but Athrun didn't clarify.

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

En Route to the Dardanelles

"I see… the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara," said Yuna, studying the map. "If it were up to me, I'd wait for them here and attack when they arrive." Yuna pointed at the end of the strait. "We should confront that ship as it comes out of the strait. I think that's our best bet," he explained, stating the most obvious strategy they could take against the _Minerva_. "ZAFT has the Minerva and I understand your concerns with that ship, but that's the beauty of my plan. If that one ship is the core of their defense, then if we destroy it, their entire line will collapse."

"I see you're not the Supreme Commander of Orb for nothing. Very encouraging," complemented Neo, playing to Yuna and his ego, who graciously lapped the praise like a hungry dog. To everyone else, it was as clear as day that Roanoke was merely pandering to him. "We'll give Orb the honor of leading the attack. You can lure the enemy to either the left or the right, and we'll join the attack from that side."

"My thoughts exactly," replied Yuna excitedly. "It's a beautiful plan."

Todaka suppressed the urge to shake his head and groan in frustration. Yuna had no idea of real tactics. He was throwing them at the enemy, hoping that they would crush them with sheer numbers. While it should work in theory against a single ship, Todaka doubted it would against the _Minerva_. Not after what he had seen just outside Orb waters. Although they'd had the aid of the Taiyonoha to do it, the _Minerva_ had driven an Earth Forces fleet back then, and they were just as capable of doing it again. The Taiyonoha might not be able to provide aid to them, but their pilots were more experienced now, and the ship had gained even more mobile suits since then, while among Orb's forces, the number of combat veterans was painfully low. And with the placement of their forces, the Orb fleet would take the brunt of the casualties if… _when_ things went wrong.

Unfortunately, all of this was lost on Yuna. He only saw it as a chance to prove Orb's worth to the leaders of the Earth Alliance. But Todaka knew his duty. He would serve Orb to his dying breath, even under the orders of such an incompetent flop like Yuna. He only hoped that he wouldn't be sharing that last breath with all of the young men and women under his command.

"I believe that we will be confronting the enemy as soon as we reach the strait. We're counting on you," said Neo.

"Just leave everything to us," replied Yuna eagerly. "You'll see how great the Orb military really is."

* * *

The _Minerva_

A Few Hours Later

"Distance to the Dardanelles: 3000," reported Bart.

They were nearing the defensive position they had been assigned. They already received recon reports that a combined EA/Orb fleet was advancing towards Diocuia and this was the only way for them to reach it.

"Bring the ship to Condition Red. Lower the bridge," ordered Talia. "Prepare for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat."

* * *

Pilot's Locker Room

Shinn and Athrun were the last to suit up; everyone else had already left for their mobile suits. After zipping up his suit, Shinn slammed his locker door shut and headed for the elevator to the hanger, Athrun close behind him.

"Hey Shinn, what's bothering you?" Athrun called out.

"Nothing's bothering me, alright!" replied Shinn angrily as they stepped into the elevator. "I realize we're fighting Orb, but I'll think of them as the Earth Forces."

Athrun shook his head as the elevator doors closed.

"You know…" he said. "Cagalli was close. If she'd been there, with a little more time… somehow, I doubt something like this would have happened had she still been around." At least, that's how Athrun felt. By this point, Athrun was certain Cagalli could've at least prevented the military aid.

Then again, maybe he was wrong about that.

"What are you talking about?! That idiot!" exclaimed Shinn.

"I know there's still a lot she needs to learn, but you can't deny that her feelings are completely sincere."

"That doesn't help anybody one bit!" Shinn practically shouted at him, his disgust for Cagalli and the Athhas evident once again. "You can't run at nation on feelings alone. The Athhas are all like that."

"The truth of the matter is, you really loved Orb, didn't you Shinn?" Shinn froze at Athrun's words, stunned at what he claimed. "That's why you're so angry at it, right?" A scowl spread across Shinn's face. "With today's Orb and with the Orb that couldn't save your family on Onogoro Island."

"You're wrong! That isn't it!" exclaimed Shinn.

At that instant, the elevator door opened and Shinn stormed out, heading for the Core Splendor, and ending the conversation right there.

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

"Right. Let's get started," said Yuna from his command chair. "Commencing Operation Dardanus Dawn."

Todaka and several of the other nearby officers turned and glanced at Yuna in confusion.

Yuna blinked. "What? You mean you don't know? The son of Zeus and Electra. It's where the name of this strait came from. Greek Mythology. Cool name for an operation, eh?" he said, grinning smugly.

Todaka shook his head. Regardless, it was time to start the Operation. "Begin launching the mobile suit teams," he ordered.

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

"Orb's pretty gung-ho," commented Captain Matthews, watching the Orb Astrays and Murasames take off. "Considering how far they had to travel to get here."

"They're energetic because they still have something they desperately want to protect," replied Neo. "Such people have great strength. Let us pray they emerge victorious. It would be a great relief if we could take out that ship today."

* * *

The _Minerva_'s Hanger

"_Heat signatures confirmed at one o'clock. Count: twenty mobile suits. They're Orb Murasames and Astrays,_" reported Bart.

"I see…" said Saul, sitting in the cockpit of the ZAKU Surge. "Alright then. Athrun, Shinn, Suiren, Luna, Rey and… Heine, you'll launch and engage the incoming forces. The rest of us will remain on standby until they deploy the rest of their forces against us."

"_Right,_" replied Athrun as the Saviour and the GOUF Ignited were loaded onto the _Minerva_'s catapults. "_Athrun Zala, Saviour, taking off!_"

"_Heine Westenfluss, GOUF Ignited, launching!_"

The catapults activated, launching the two mobile suits.

"_Shinn Asuka, Core Spendor, launching._"

From the central catapult, the Core Splendor fighter launched, followed by the Chest and Leg Flyers and the Force Silhouette. Once all four were launched, they combined together into the Force Impulse.

"Everyone, be careful out there," said Suiren as the Rose Gundam was loaded onto the catapult vacated by the Saviour. "Orb may be lacking in combat veterans, especially with the loss of the Taiyonoha Fleet where most of the veterans had been placed, but they've got a solid pilot training program and the Murasame is a suit equal to our High-Maneuver ZAKUs. This won't be easy."

"_Right._"

"And don't forget it," said Suiren. "Suiren Kyusai, Rose Gundam, launching!"

The catapult activated, throwing her forward, and the ZAKU Warrior and ZAKU Phantom were loaded, their Wizard packs lowering to mount on their backs.

"_Rey Za Burrel, Blaze ZAKU Phantom, launching!_"

"_Lunamaria Hawke, Gunner ZAKU Warrior, taking off!_"

The two ZAKU took off as their Guuls were launched from the central catapult.

Directly ahead of the _Minerva_ and its six mobile suits was the advancing Orb Murasames and Shrike-equipped Astrays as the _Kuraokami_ and _Aegis_-class warships opened fire, their AA guns and missiles shooting into the air.

"Well now, this is going to be interesting," said Heine. "Don't rush ahead into things. Let them come to us."

Three of the fighter mode Murasames surged ahead of the pack, firing on the ZAFT pilots. All of them scattered, save for Heine, who merely sidestepped their shots as he drew his Tempest sword. They were almost on top of him when Heine finally struck, firing his left Draupnir beam gun at the lead Murasame, destroying it. Then he spun as the two remaining machines flew past him, slicing through the right Murasame as he spun. Once he had completely spun around, he stopped and threw his heat rod, wrapping it around the remaining machine's wing. Electricity surged up the cable, causing the Murasame exploded.

"Whoa…" said Shinn, more than impressed by how Heine had just taken out three Murasames.

"That's what happens when you rush in without a plan," said Heine, pulling back his heat rod. "Look sharp. We got more coming for us."

Orb mobile suits fired as they closed in. Murasames raced around the battlefield while their slower Astray counterparts kept their distance as they fired their beam rifles. Shinn dodged a number of beams that were targeted at him, firing back with his rifle, taking out a pair of Astrays.

Nearby, a pair of Murasames chased after the Saviour, which was in its mobile armor mode. Suddenly, Athrun pulled up sharply, catching the less experienced pilots off guard. He dropped down behind them and fired, clipping their wings, sending them falling into the sea.

Below them, the Orb battleships advanced on the _Minerva_, firing their cannons and missiles. The ZAFT warship fired back with its Tristan and Isolde cannons and missile launchers as it flew over the sea.

A trio of Murasames swooped down on the warship, firing their beams and missiles at it. The _Minerva_'s CIWS guns fired, but the Orb machines managed to evade them.

However, they didn't evade Suiren.

Snapping all of the Rose's cannons into firing position, Suiren snapped off a precision barrage that obliterated the wings and thrusters of all three Murasame without damaging the cockpits or powerplants, a move taken directly from her machine's ancestor.

Above, a Murasame transformed, firing on the Saviour. Athrun pulled up his shield, blocking the shot and shooting the rifle from its hands. Elsewhere, Shinn roared as he drew his beam saber and sliced through a Murasame's waist.

Another Murasame lunged at Heine with its beam saber. Heine ducked under the swing and rammed his shield into its chest, knocking it back. Before the Orb pilot could recover, Heine fired at the machine, destroying it.

Rey and Luna fired together a cluster of Astrays that were too close together, taking out three and crippling a fourth.

"These guys don't seem so tough," said Luna, evading the shots of one of the survivors.

"_Don't get overconfident, Lunamaria,_" warned Rey. "_There's a lot more still out there._"

"_They're all rookies so far, and with a poor commander to boot,_" added Suiren.

"_Agreed,_" said Athrun. "_The Seirans must've put someone loyal to them in charge. Couldn't be a very intelligent guy, if he was loyal enough to them to qualify._"

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Yuna angrily as more Orb mobile suits were taken down. "Why haven't you beaten them back yet?! They've only launched six mobile suits!" No one answered him, angering him further. "Send all the mobile suits after them!"

"But sir!" started Todaka. "We can't send them all out. That would–"

"Silence!" shouted Yuna. "Send them all out! That's a direct order! We'll surround them and overwhelm them!"

Todaka grit his teeth, but he couldn't argue with his superior. "Launch all mobile suits," he ordered.

* * *

Elsewhere

Heine blocked an Astray's beam saber with his shield and stabbed it with his sword, impaling it through the chest. After it exploded, he glanced back, seeing more Orb mobile suits approaching. A lot more.

"Oh crap," he muttered. He was good, they all were, but even these rookies were better than some of the Earth Forces pilots he'd faced up to this point. "Saul, they're deploying more mobile suits. I think the rest of you better launch now."

"_Alright. We'll launch to back you up now,_" replied Saul.

"_Hold on,_" said Meyrin. "_The captain wants to wait on the launch. Doing so now could be dangerous._"

"Why?" asked Suiren. Her question was answered as, below them, the _Minerva_'s bow opened and its positron cannon slid into position, charging up to fire. Her eyes widened in horror. No… it couldn't be… Talia was bluffing, right? Right?!

"_We're preparing the fire the Tannhauser at the enemy fleet,_" answered Meyrin. "_Once it's been fired, we'll launch the remaining mobile suits._"

No… she wasn't.

Suiren spun around, turning to face the _Minerva_, one hand reaching to grab her rifle just in case.

But before she could say anything, a beam descended from the sky and pierced the cannon, causing it to explode in a big fireball.

Everyone froze, scanning the skies for the one who destroyed the cannon. That's when it appeared…

It descended with incredible speed, wings spread wide, a legend come to life once again.

The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam. The White Angel of Freedom had returned to the battlefield.

"The Freedom?" gasped Athrun. "Kira!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: All-in-all, this is probably my favorite chapter so far. Maybe it's just the way we've looked into my major OCs? Well, whatever it is, you don't need to emulate me.**

**This chapter features a lot of foreshadowing throughout, starting with the opening scene and not really stopping until Athrun's talk with Heine. I won't address specifics in that area, but there are some other things to discuss.**

**First, Kira and Makoto. Yes, although they've put everything behind them, they haven't been able to shake that "what-if". It's not a "world-changing" thing, but rather, a personal question. And they even know the answer, which probably just makes it more awkward, and perhaps a little harder to fight. More notably, their significant others don't seem to mind at all. This battle, therefore, should come as a significant relief to them. And just a reminder: no, I'm not moving this away from Kira x Lacus. Call it something to add a bit more dynamics to the story.  
**

**Second, we see that Haruka is _very_ protective of Stella. So she's plotting something regarding Stella. But what are these elements she's looking for?**

**Third, the poker game. Half of the pilots discuss the war thus far. I think Akatsuki Leader13 was bringing up the matter of how nothing significant happened in the war unless the _Minerva_ was there (with two exceptions, at the beginning and end). That was something that really bugged me as well, so I definitely wanted to keep that scene. Since there are several absences and a few additions, I had to change the dialogue around somewhat. It seems Suiren believes Blue Cosmos is in control, rather than Logos (wonder what she'll have to say when its revealed the leader of both is Djibril. Eh, she probably won't change her stance), and is just waiting for the situation to be right for them to wipe out the PLANTs without turning everything against them in the event they muck it up (given their track record, this seems likely).**

**Fourth, Suiren has a brief discussion with Athrun, expressing some of her views regarding the Orb situation and encouraging him to truly become the Crimson Knight once again, rather than some ace in a red mobile suit flying off the _Minerva_. And it seems to clear some stuff up for Athrun as well, so we'll see if that's done any good.  
**

**Fifth, we get Haruka's views on the war through her analogies of major figures with Shinto Kami. Although she doesn't give a complete comparison, it's nonetheless interesting how she views everything. And she also seems determined to bring down Suiren, so I think the leader of the Kyusai Team is in some kind of serious trouble.**

**Finally, Suiren seems rather displeased with the positron cannon. Hmm, I wonder where that will lead?**

**Anyways, enough of that for now. Next time, both Akatsuki Leader13 and myself will have chaotic battles for you. Mine will probably be more chaotic, what with the additional characters to factor in, but regardless, I'm sure everyone will love both versions. There's a lot of battles we've been waiting to see coming up, and I certainly hope it will be nothing short of glorious.**

**As always, please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	21. Phase 21: The Shadows of War

**Wow... I mean... just... wow.**

**This is a first. I've _never_ updated _ahead_ of Akatsuki Leader13. This feels really weird. And a few things about it worry me, but hopefully, it won't be a problem.**

**On a subject completely unrelated to this update: yay! I finally got my braces removed! Not so "yay!": I'd rather spend an eternity with braces than deal with these retainers for another minute, but I don't have a choice in the matter.**

**Also, there's a new poll on my profile. Actually, it's my very first poll revisited, asking people to vote on which of my stories is their favorite. Please check it out! Moving on...  
**

**This chapter has filled me with a long-forgotten giddiness. It feels like way back when I was posting the final chapters of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dauntless_. This chapter opens with a flashback, but other than that, it's action-packed, "start to finish". There's just so much in this chapter... I can't even really comment on it up here, I'd spoil it.**

**Therefore, I will simply move on with things.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. The portions of this chapter focusing on Kira and Treize are the work of Akatsuki Leader13 and are his intellectual property. Now get to reading!  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-One: The Shadows of War

November 13th, C.E. 73

* * *

The Dardanelles Straight

Smoke spewed from the bow of the _Minerva_, the remains of the Tannhauser still burning as the ZAFT battleship descended towards the ocean.

"Tannhauser destroyed! FCS is down, ma'am!" announced Chen.

"Put out those fires and get the FCS up and running!" ordered Talia. "Damage control crews, standby!"

As the _Minerva_ descended, the ZAFT pilots could only stare in horror at what was happening, while the Earth Forces and Orb fleets all paused, staring in surprise, as caught off-guard as the ZAFT forces by what had just happened.

"Water landing! All hands brace for surface impact!" announced Talia.

The _Minerva_ crashed into the water, the entire battleship shaking worse than normal because of the damage. In the hangar, Tristan yelped as his GuAIZ R shook free of its cradle, nearly falling on top of several mechanics, though fortunately, he managed to right his machine before anything happened.

In the Impulse, Shinn grit his teeth. He couldn't believe this!

Rey and Lunamaria stared at the Freedom in confusion. What was he doing here? And for Luna… why had he done that?

"Kira…" whispered Athrun, staring at the winged mobile suit floating there as a massive warship broke from the water and floated up behind it.

The _Archangel_.

"But I don't get it," said Heine. "Why would they intervene in this battle?"

"_I would think that obvious,_" said Suiren. "_Did you forget whose aboard that ship?_"

The _Archangel_'s starboard catapult suddenly opened, and from that catapult shot the familiar form of the legendary Strike Gundam, equipped with the Aile Striker. But as its Phase Shift Armor activated, the colors adopted were not the white and blue of the Strike, but rather, the pink and red of its descendant, the Strike Rouge. As it flew forward, stopping just past the Freedom, the insignia of the Lion of Orb became visible on its left shoulder.

"_I am the Orb Union's Chief Representative, Cagalli Yula Athha,_" came a voice suddenly. The combatants almost unanimously gasped in shock, only a select few unsurprised.

"Cagalli!" gasped Athrun.

"_Attention Orb Forces: cease fighting at once!_" ordered Cagalli. "_Disengage!_"

The battle fell into a momentary lull. Cagalli's thoughts strayed to the conversation from just a few days ago, when they'd first learned of the Orb Expeditionary Fleet headed to aid the Earth Forces.

* * *

_The __**Archangel**_

_Seven days ago_

_Cagalli stood on the bridge of the __**Archangel**__, staring at Makoto in shock._

"_Orb… has sent forces to Suez? You're kidding!" she said. "What's gotten into Unato? What are the ministers thinking?!"_

"_But it's not like they had a choice," Andy pointed out. "Joining the Alliance meant this kind of thing was bound to happen."_

"_Yeah, but… you were party to this originally, weren't you?" said Kira softly._

"_Kira!" said Lacus, tone scolding._

"_Hmph, don't kid yourself," said Kira, sparing Lacus only a brief glance before turning back to his sister. Cagalli needed this. "You knew this was gonna happen."_

"_No but… I didn't think…" stuttered Cagalli._

"_Don't be so hard on her," said Murrue, glancing at Kira. "Remember, we were the ones who kidnapped her, taking her out of the whole game. If she were still in Orb, then that fleet might never have set sail."_

_Cagalli looked at Murrue, her expression unreadable._

"_No," said Kira, shaking his head. "I believe it would have played out the same way." Everyone looked at Kira curiously. "Considered Cagalli's state of mind back then, I don't think she could've stopped it."_

"_But we're talking about now," said Lacus, walking over to Kira. "She's not the same." Cagalli looked up at Lacus. "Her eyes are much clearer now. I'm sure Cagalli sees things differently. Things that were once hidden are out in the open."_

"_Lacus…" whispered Cagalli. Everyone fell silent for a moment._

"_You know…" said Makoto after a moment. "I've been doing some thinking." She glanced at Kira, who nodded slightly as everyone turned to look at her. "How will ZAFT respond to this? Who will they send to meet this fleet?"_

"_You don't mean…" gasped Cagalli._

"_Yes," said Makoto. "Durandal will use the __**Minerva**__."_

"_But why?" asked John. "That doesn't make any sense. Those people were in Orb not too long ago, two of their pilots are from Orb, and the Alliance is sure to be gunning for it. Why send it to meet such a decidedly dangerous force?"_

"_For all those reasons you just named," replied Kira, taking over for Makoto. "Think about how the war has played out, up until this point. The opening battle of the war and the retaking of Gibraltar are the only major battles in which the __**Minerva**__ did not participate. According to our intelligence, the __**Minerva**__'s battles have either ended in victory or a draw. It's a better track record than __**Archangel**__ had. Of the truly significant battles this ship was involved in, which of those did not end in some kind of disaster for its side? Heliopolis, Artemis, the Advance Fleet, the 8__th__ Fleet, even Alaska and Orb. The only significant victory for the __**Archangel**__ in that time was the Battle of Talbadiya against the Waltfeld Team. Yet, at first glance, what does the __**Minerva**__ remind you of? Evidence 01, or this ship?"_

"_That's easy," said Natarle. "When I first laid eyes on the __**Minerva**__, I couldn't help but think of the __**Archangel**__."_

"_And even the capabilities are remarkably similar," said John, nodding slightly. "The question is, why?"_

"_The __**Archangel**__, the Freedom, and Lacus," said Makoto. "These three are among the most powerful symbols of our time. If you're looking to gain the world, for whatever reason, you need symbols of this level of power."_

"_So what you're saying is that you think Durandal is trying to emulate all three?" asked Natarle. "That would explain the double, and the __**Minerva**__'s similarities to the __**Archangel**__, but what about the Freedom?"_

"_Get a pilot that seems to be better and more righteous than Kira," said Cagalli, realization crashing down on her like a ton of bricks._

"_Athrun?" questioned Flay. "Or maybe that kid, Shinn Asuka?"_

"_My money would be on Mr. Anger Issues," said John. "Even his machine is similar to the Strike."_

"_Cagalli," said Makoto. "Knowing this, what will you do?"_

_Cagalli was quiet for a moment, thinking everything over. Suddenly, her hand clenched into a fist._

"_Kira!" she said. "I need your help."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Cagalli…?" questioned Kira._

"_Go ahead and blame it on naïve sentiments," said Cagalli. "But… if possible, I want to stop this battle from happening. Orb… my homeland… must not participate in this war." Cagalli paused to take a breath. "No… not just Orb. The reality is, no nation should be fighting. Nobody should fight! We can't let the world go on fighting war after war!" She looked around at the bridge crew and the pilots before settling her gaze on Kira. "That's why I need your help, Kira. The world can still turn away. We can leave this misguided path. Even Orb."_

_Kira and Lacus glanced at each other and, sharing a smile, gave a slight nod._

"_Good," said Makoto, straightening up. "Cagalli… I don't think you can succeed with this battle. Most likely, they're led by someone loyal to the Seirans. But you have the resolve, so I'll support you all the way. As a friend of the Athha House, I offer the assistance of all forces of the Taiyonoha Fleet aboard this vessel."_

"_Makoto…" said Cagalli, staring up at the taller redhead. She nodded. "Thank you."_

_End flashback_

* * *

"Its true that, for certain reasons, I am presently away from the homeland," said Cagalli. "However, that does not change the fact that I, Cagalli Yula Athha, still hold the position of Chief Representative of the Orb Union. I hereby order you: the Orb forces must follow the nation's ideals, cease fighting, and withdraw their forces immediately!"

Aboard the _Takemikazuchi_, Yuna's face twisted slightly in rage. How dare she try to pull this stunt! It had taken years of planning and tragedy for the Seirans to set Orb on the right path, and now, right in front of Captain Roanoke and that dangerous subordinate of his, she was trying to tear it all down?!

"_Yuna Roma Seiran,_" came Roanoke's voice over the radio suddenly. "_How do you explain this?_"

Nervously, Yuna picked up the phone on his armrest, putting it up to his ear. "Y-yes," he said. "Well, you see, it's a little…"

"_Who is that person?_" said Roanoke impatiently. "_Is she really you're countries representative? If so, then why did she wait until this moment to appear out of nowhere with that ship? And then order your forces to withdraw?!_"

By this point, Yuna was sweating in fear.

"_If I don't get a satisfactory answer from you __**immediately**__,_" continued Roanoke. "_Things could get very sticky for you __**and**__ your nation, do I make myself clear?_"

"Y-yes," stuttered Yuna. "Well it's just… um… what I'm trying to say is…" Yuna's teeth grit. "She's just…" His thoughts turned back to the wedding, when the Freedom kidnapped Cagalli and tore her out of his grasp. "She's crazy! I don't know who she is!"

The officers of the _Takemikazuchi_ all turned to Yuna, looking at him like he was insane… and their expressions concealed more than a little anger, as well.

Aboard the _John Paul Jones_, Neo smirked, and glanced at the monitors as an order he'd silently given while that idiot Yuna was sweating—he could tell _that_ even over the phone—was carried out, and the eyes of the Specter, Gaia, Chaos, Abyss, Blu Duel, Verde Buster, Viola Surge, Rosso Aegis, Divina Guardian, Strike Noir, Valiant and Astarte flashed to life.

Aboard the _Takemikazuchi_, the officers began voicing objections.

"Lord Yuna, what are you talking about?!" said Todaka.

"That's the Strike Rouge sir!" added Amagi. "And take a look at the crest! That's Lady Cagalli's!"

"Look! Just because it's her mobile suit and her crest doesn't mean that it's her!" said Yuna, though it was rather obvious that he was just making excuses. "We just… we just don't know!"

"But sir, that's _her_ voice!" objected Amagi.

"It's… it's… someone… impersonating her!" exclaimed Yuna.

"What?!" said Amagi, sounding incredulous at best… and some thought he might've even sounded nearly mutinous.

"I can't tell!" shouted Yuna. "I know her best! After all, I am her husband!"

"Lord Yuna!" said Todaka.

"And… and if it is Cagalli… then she's been brainwashed!" roared Yuna, sounding increasingly crazy. "My… my real Cagalli is _sane_! She would never do something this stupid and make a fool out of me!"

"Lord Yuna!"

"What are you doing? Hurry up and attack, fools!" said Yuna. The officers froze in surprise. "I want you to shoot that accursed ship down! Prepare to attack!"

"How can you give that order?" asked Todaka.

"If we don't, the Earth Forces will attack us! And our country!" said Yuna. He slammed a fist into his chair. "It was for the sake of Orb that I brought us out here! It's too late for us to turn around and say 'sorry, we quit'."

Todaka stared at Yuna for a moment before sighing. He was a soldier, first and foremost. They had their orders.

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Captain, maybe we…" started Arthur.

"Would you settle down for a moment?" said Talia, cutting Arthur off. "Our ship is at a serious disadvantage at the moment." Talia sighed. "What's going on? I can barely make any sense of all this. Can't see Orb actually withdrawing their forces now…"

Down in the hangar, the Greencoat pilots were equally confused.

"_Commander Kessel, should we launch?_" asked Jessie. Saul shook his head.

"No," he answered. "Launching now could aggravate the situation, which is already bad enough. We'll wait and see what happens, and launch if we need too."

"_Yes sir._"

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

"Aim missiles," said Todaka. "At the unknown mobile suit."

"Captain Todaka!" said Amagi.

"Don't trust their deception!" said Todaka, turning to face him. "Attack the rebels!"

"Open fire!" shouted Yuna. Todaka turned back to face the screen, displaying the Strike Rouge, the Freedom, and the _Archangel_ in the background.

_I'm counting on you Freedom_, he thought to himself.

"Fire!"

Instantly, a barrage of missiles launched from the _Takemikazuchi_, each and every one of them heading for the Strike Rouge. Almost everyone was stunned motionless in shock. They actually fired on the Strike Rouge?

_Almost_ everyone.

Kira didn't hesitate for even half a second, the Freedom rushing in front of the Strike Rouge. The targeting computer came up, locking onto each and every one of the dozens of missiles launched, and Kira snapped the Freedom into full burst mode, firing everything he had repeatedly, obliterating the entire wave in seconds, to the shock of all who had not personally seen what the White Angel was capable of.

"_Orb fleet, what are you doing?!_" came Cagalli's voice. "_I said…_"

"It's pointless Cagalli," said Makoto. "Whoever's in command is completely loyal to the Seirans, and more than likely, the Atlantic Federation won't have any problems leveling threats against Orb at this point. I was afraid of this, but I was hoping…"

As Makoto spoke, the hangar decks of the _John Paul Jones_ and the other Earth Forces vessels opened.

"Haruka Tsukino here," said Haruka as she stepped out of the hangar of the _John Paul Jones_. "Astarte, taking off!"

"Treize Zabiarov, sortieing," called Treize as the Specter leaped off the hangar deck of the _John Paul Jones_.

And they weren't the only ones. The rest of the Earth Forces fleet opened up their decks, allowing their mobile suits free. Sting took the air, following Treize and Haruka alongside Maia, Rache, Silber, Nanai, Miguel, Gyunei and numerous Windams. Auel leapt into the air, transforming the Abyss to mobile armor mode as he landed in the water, and the Gaia leapt to the top deck of the _John Paul Jones_.

"Good," said Neo, standing up. "There was a little confusion with that strange interlude, but it looks like its worked out to our advantage. Now that it's wounded, this is the perfect chance to take out the _Minerva_."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Arthur, intercept!" ordered Talia.

"Yes ma'am."

Talia looked over her shoulder at Meyrin. "Meyrin, have them launch," she said. "Launch all the mobile suits!"

"Yes ma'am!"

While the Abyss began an assault from the ocean and the Blu Duel led the other Phantom Pain machines and Windams towards the _Minerva_, the Specter turned towards the Strike Rouge.

"Hmph," said Treize. "What kind of fool are you? Do you really think you can just stop a battle with words?! Get off the battlefield, weakling, before I gut you!" Treize roared, racing for the Strike Rouge and the Freedom, taking aim at Cagalli with his multi-phase beam cannon.

"Cagalli, get back!" Kira called out to his sister as he moved between her and the Specter, firing his beam rifle, throwing Treize's aim off as he fired, missing them entirely.

"The Freedom… I've battled you dozens of times in simulations," said Treize eagerly, dodging Kira's shots as he drew his revolvers. "Let's see if you're better than the simulations!"

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

"W-what are you doing?!" demanded Yuna. "Hurry up and give the order to attack them! All our mobile suits, now!"

"Ah, but, sir…" started Todaka.

"We have to sink the _Minerva_," interrupted Yuna. "Our reputation's at stake here. We're part of the Earth Forces now." As he spoke, the _Minerva_'s mobile suits struggled under the strain of the Alliance horde. That was when a thought occurred to Yuna. "And while you're at it… sink the _Archangel_ too."

"You're kidding?!" gasped Todaka. That was ridiculous!

"You can trace the current problems in our nation all the way back to that ship!" said Yuna. "It's been a thorn in our side forever. So get rid of it too. We have to show that guy in the mask that we're competent. Or things are going to get pretty tense for us."

* * *

The _Archangel_

"This feeling…" whispered Makoto as the Sincerity sat on the catapult, waiting in case they needed her to launch. "No way… why are there so many…?" Makoto shook it off. They didn't have anymore time! "Shizuka, I'm launching!"

"_What? But Makoto, we…_"

"We've already prepared for this possibility," said Makoto, sighing in relief as the catapult opened; Faith, maybe? "You don't get it, do you? The area is practically swimming in berserkers."

"_What?_"

"Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, Sincerity, let's go!" called Makoto, punching the controls and catapulting her mobile suit into the sky.

The opposite catapult opened, Louisa preparing to do the same in the Twilight.

* * *

Elsewhere

The Haretsu Suru descended on the Rose, which only just managed to bring its Tempest beam swords up to block at the last instant. Suiren grit her teeth as Haruka smirked and began to push back, using gravity to help the Astarte overwhelm the Rose.

Suddenly, Haruka lifted her sword, dodging away as the Rose's railguns snapped into position and fired where the Astarte had been a second ago.

"This dance will end in my victory," said Haruka. "This, I promise you."

"_Not a chance in hell!_" said Suiren, snapping her Orca and Signum railguns into position and firing. Haruka intercepted with the Haretsu Suru and fired back with one of her Renpatsujū, forcing Suiren to dance away.

The Rose and Astarte charged, Haretsu Suru mega sword once again meeting Tempest twin swords, the two struggling for dominance. As the two pushed against one another, though, a powerful presence flashed across their sixth sense.

A very _familiar_, presence.

The two Gundams broke apart as a barrage of beams shot through the air where they'd just been, and they both turned to the source. Floating there, Murakumo sword rifle raised, was the Sincerity Gundam, blue eyes glowing as the Twilight approached from behind.

Nearby, the Orb pilots received orders to continue the attack, along with an announcement that the pilot of the Strike Rouge was not Cagalli, but an impersonator. Whether or not they believed it, though, they chose to follow orders, and joined the Windams swarming the _Minerva_.

Heine grit his teeth. The situation was a lot worse than he'd expected it to be. He'd hoped to try being merciful—Orb was the country his Commander had wanted to call home, after all—but there were a lot more of them than he'd thought there would be. He quickly drew his Tempest beam sword, unfolding the solid blade and activating the beam before blazing towards a trio of Murasames gunning for the _Minerva_.

The pilots saw him, and shifted to mobile suit mode, firing their rifles, but they were both rookies and Naturals, which gave them no chance against a veteran Coordinator like Heine. He dodged their shots easily, though perhaps not as easily had they been Earth Forces, and reached the first Murasame, cutting it in two. He immediately shot up, cutting another Murasame in half with his sword, spinning around almost immediately to gun down the last one with his Draupnir.

"Damn it!" shouted Saul, firing his beam revolvers at a pair of Murasames. He didn't even realize there were tears in his eyes as he destroyed the two machines. "I can't believe we have to fight like this!"

"_Yeah, you're right,_" said Nicol, charging forward with his Falx G9, slicing apart a Windam before spinning it back, cutting off the right arm of a Windam before firing his Hydra on the head. "_This is strange… when I first became the 'Grim Reaper', it was to defend Orb. And now…_"

"_Damn the Seirans!_" shouted Shiho, firing her Laurus and Memoria on a cluster of mobile suits.

Athrun, with the Saviour in mobile armor mode, buzzed the Earth Forces flagship, trying to get a good angle to fire at it, but he was constantly hounded by the Gaia. He glanced around, assessing the situation as he pulled away.

Shinn was fighting the Chaos in the air while evading fire from the Abyss below. Aleksi had taken Rey and Luna on her wings, and the three were now battling the Divina Guardian, Rosso Aegis and Strike Noir. Athrun saw the Valiant lunge for Nicol's ZAKU, while the Blu Duel closed in on Shiho's ZAKU, and the Viola Surge race after Saul's ZAKU. Meanwhile, Tristan and Jessie double-teamed the Verde Buster, but they seemed to be losing. And Suiren must've had that particularly dangerous unknown.

So where was the Specter?

Athrun did a quick scan to locate the Specter, and his eyes widened in shock when he found it.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Specter banked right, firing at the Freedom. Kira pulled his shield over the Freedom's chest as he shot back and banked to his right. But neither managed to hit the other. The two pilots stopped for a moment, eyeing their opponent, each waiting for the other to make the next move.

Treize struck first, throwing his shield at his opponent. Kira slapped it away with his own shield, but the second he did, the Specter slammed into him. The Freedom was thrown back, but Kira quickly caught himself and fired his rifle, forcing Treize back. Kira didn't let up, snapping into full burst mode, bringing all of the Freedom's firepower to bear against the Extended. Treize cursed as he fought to dodge the beams and high-velocity rounds. A single round from one of the Xiphias railguns grazed the Specter's left ankle, but other than that, Kira failed to hit him.

"Damn…" said Treize, breathing heavier than normal. "You're pretty good. Just like I expected. The–" Suddenly, he fired his revolvers. But his aim was off and the beams flew past the Freedom.

But they both knew that Kira wasn't the target, Cagalli on the other hand, who was watching the battle, didn't until the twin explosions appeared behind the Freedom. Debris from a pair of Murasames that had tried to sneak up on Kira fell to the waters below. Kira scowled, angered at the loss of life. He knew that had he tried to protect them, it would have left him open to an attack from the Specter or the two Murasames themselves.

"_What… why did you do that?!_" demanded Cagalli, furious at the deaths of two Orb pilots at the hands of their so-called ally. "_They were your allies!_"

Treize let out a chuckle. "Allies? Hahaha! Orb is nothing but a parasite that clings to the strong out of fear," he replied, twirling his revolvers. "No one will give a damn if I exterminate a few parasites who foolishly tried to interfere with the battles of the strong."

"_You bastard!_" screamed Cagalli, firing at the Specter.

But Treize dodged and sidestepped every shot she threw at him before he fired back a single shot, piercing her rifle. "Just another parasite, cowering in the shadow of someone strong," he said, still twirling the revolver he didn't fire. "But don't worry; your pathetic existence is at an end."

Treize suddenly stopped twirling his gun and fired both at Cagalli… but only squeezed off a few shoots before Kira moved in front of the Strike Rouge, shielding her while at the same time, a red mobile armor slammed into the Specter.

As the Specter was thrown back, the Saviour transformed back into a mobile suit and Athrun fired on the dark Gundam. But Treize was faster, killing his thrusters, causing the Specter to plummet down, avoiding the beams. Athrun turned to Kira and Cagalli.

"Are you alright, Cagalli?" he asked.

"_Athrun?_"

"Yeah, it's–"

"_You again!_" roared Treize, firing at the Saviour as he soared back up to them. "_What is with you and interrupting other people's fights?!_"

"Athrun, protect Cagalli," ordered Kira, lunging at the rising Specter as he drew his beam saber.

Treize jumped back, narrowly evading Kira's saber. Kira pressed the attack, swinging his saber at the Specter in one blindingly fast strike after the other, forcing Treize to focus on dodging the blade. He and his machine were fast, but it only allowed Treize to stay just ahead of Kira's attacks. Suddenly, Kira changed tactics, swinging his left leg into the Specter's body. Treize staggered back, but drew his own sword as Kira lunged at him, blocking his saber.

"I'm not going down that easily!" said Treize.

* * *

Meanwhile

As the Specter and Freedom clashed, the Saviour turned to face the Strike Rouge.

"What are you doing here Cagalli?" asked Athrun.

"_I'd like to ask you the same thing!_" she replied. "_Why did you return to ZAFT? How can you trust Durandal, with that Meer Campbell girl? And why the HELL ARE YOU LETTING HER HANG ALL OVER YOU?!!_"

Athrun winced. Oh, that was _so_ not good. If Cagalli knew, Kira definitely knew as well. He wondered how much of him each would be getting to tear to shreds.

Come to think of it, he should've known they'd find out. As Athrun recalled, though he'd been largely kept in the dark on account of his work with Cagalli, Makoto was the head of Terminal Intelligence, and she was nothing if not thorough. There wasn't a chance in hell of her not finding out and letting those two know about Meer.

But that brought up the question: how had she found out Meer's actual identity? Athrun knew that even the bulk of the Supreme Council was likely in the dark on that one.

"_Answer me Athrun!_" demanded Cagalli.

"Because she needs to be credible!" said Athrun. "She's the only thing keeping the people of the PLANTs from losing their cool the way people here on Earth are!"

"_And why do you think that is?_" said Cagalli. "_That girl's disgusting, and so is the way Durandal's using her to exploit Lacus!_"

"If he knew where Lacus was, that wouldn't be necessary!" argued Athrun.

"_He damn well–_"

Whatever Cagalli had been about to say was lost, though, as a barrage of missiles and beams flew at the two, forcing them to break apart. They turned to the source to see the Divina Guardian flying at them, weapons blazing. Athrun's eyes narrowed; it had managed to get away from Aleksi and her team? That was a first.

Athrun fired on the Divina Guardian, but Nanai skillfully evaded the shot. She wasn't Sting—she wasn't some pathetic second generation Extended. No matter that she wasn't on the level of Treize, Silber or even Rache, she was still a third generation Extended! She wouldn't be lumped in with someone as pathetic as Sting!

The Divina Guardian returned fire, forcing Athrun to shift to mobile armor mode to dodge, the beginning of a vicious dogfight that drew Athrun far away from the Strike Rouge.

* * *

Elsewhere

The Sincerity, Twilight, Rose and Astarte all floated passively in the air, the only calm amidst a terrible storm. Makoto's eyes shifted between the two—a spiraling, multi-colored ruby and emerald jewel seed tainted only by a heavy conscious; a sapphire jewel seed glowing with a benevolent light—who were these two, truly?

Suddenly, the four mobile suits struck. By silent consent, the Twilight's beam staff crashed with the Rose's beam swords, and the Sincerity's sword rifle locked with the Astarte's mega sword.

"I've always wanted to finish that battle from two years ago," said Suiren.

"_Well, now's your chance!_" replied Louisa as the two pushed off and the Skorpion cannons flipped up, firing on the Rose.

"The odds are more even!" said Suiren, dodging the beams and returning fire with her Orca cannons. "Think you can win?!"

"_I know I can!_" said Louisa, dodging both blasts and shooting back with her missiles, Suiren responded by firing her CIWS. The two charged back in, continuing once again a dance long overdue to see its end.

"_Hehehehehe…_" chuckled 'Haruka' as she and Makoto pushed off of one another. "_I admit, I didn't expect to see you here. It's been a long time, hasn't it, 'Michiru'?_"

"Hotaru Aino," said Makoto softly.

"_That's right, so you do remember me,_" replied Hotaru.

Oh, Makoto remembered alright. This was the woman who'd kept her identity a secret from Erik. The woman who contacted ZAFT to come pick Erik—and Makoto—up from her home following the destruction of their mobile suits. This was the woman who kept the black box of the Dauntless safe, who opened the window of opportunity that allowed Makoto to claim the Faith, the woman who sheltered Makoto, Erik and Athrun as they waited for the Battle of Orb.

This was the woman to whom Makoto owed virtually everything.

"I never would've pegged you as someone who would fight for the Earth Forces!" said Makoto, shifting the Murakumo to rifle mode and firing on the Astarte.

"_They pay well,_" answered Hotaru, dodging Makoto's shots and charging in with the Haretsu Suru. The Murakumo instantly snapped back to sword mode and intercepted the mega sword.

"You and I both know that you never cared about money!" spat Makoto. "You've got some kind of hidden agenda. What is it?"

"_Ah ah ah,_" chided Hotaru, lashing out with a kick that Makoto intercepted with her shield, pushing the two away from each other. "_We're enemies now. I can't tell you that._"

"Then what about Divinity?!" demanded Makoto, charging back in. She swung the Murakumo repeatedly, Hotaru barely intercepting with the Haretsu Suru each time. "I know what that's all about now! You knew even back then about that, didn't you? Tell me what you know! What's your connection to Sera Takara?!"

"_That's a secret,_" said Hotaru, firing her thrusters and pulling back. The Daini fell into position, firing a blast at the Sincerity, Makoto easily evading with her mobile suit's unprecedented grace. "_But for old times sake, I guess I can give you a hint: the answer is eternally before your eyes; you only miss it because you do not question the past._"

"What?" muttered Makoto.

"_Go, Takusan!_" cried Hotaru.

* * *

Elsewhere

Shinn dodged a shot from the Chaos's beam rifle, only to then be forced to pull up to avoid a barrage from the Abyss below, as the blue mobile armor also fired off a barrage of torpedoes at the _Minerva_.

The Earth Forces were playing it smart—they were mixing in some very tough opponents with their horde of Windams, and it was giving them an extreme edge, as each of the _Minerva_'s pilots became preoccupied with one of those more advanced machines.

_Focus_, Shinn thought to himself. _Focus, damn it!_

After dodging several missiles, Shinn took aim at the Chaos with his rifle. However, rather than obey his instinct to fire and hope he hit something, Shinn carefully aimed the rifle, allowing another attack to be sent his way.

But he didn't take the shot. Not until… _there_!

The Impulse's beam rifle lit up, the single shot skewering the Chaos's right arm.

"What the?!" gasped Sting as his machine's right arm detonated. "ARGH!" Sting shifted to mobile armor mode and deployed his weapon pods, attempted to attack the Impulse from three sides.

_Think_, Shinn told himself, fighting down panic. He'd never been able to handle these weapons very well. But…

_Remember how Rey moved against that mobile armor_, thought Shinn. _Remember how Commander Kyusai fought them over Junius Seven._

Shinn dodged the missiles from one pod, his shield already raised to intercept the beam cannon shot from the second pod. The Chaos, he knew, was coming up behind him, likely with its beam claws ready to slice him to pieces.

But he had to get that pod!

The Impulse's rifle fired again, an instant before Shinn cut the thrusters to his machine, allowing it to fall from the sky for a few seconds, just barely evading the Chaos's claws as the first of the remote weapon pods detonated.

A little closer to the _Minerva_, Aleksi, with Rey and Lunamaria directly at her sides, rather than slightly behind or ahead as usual, closed in on the Strike Noir and Rosso Aegis.

"Take this!" roared Gyunei, firing the Rosso Aegis's Scylla II, curving the beam to destroy the GuAIZ and clip the ZAKU Warrior while Maia fired her beam rifles on the ZAKU Phantom.

But to their surprise, the three ZAFT pilots activated the thrusters on their machines and leapt into the air, pushing their Guuls down as the beams sliced harmlessly through the air they no longer occupied. Luna's Orthros cannon lit up the sky, forcing Maia away, while Rey blasted off a barrage of Firebee missiles at both enemies. They dodged these attacks, but as the two ZAKUs landed back on their Guuls, another shot from Luna forced Gyunei to pull up to evade.

The final Guul crashed into the Rosso Aegis, firing off its missiles point blank, knocking the mobile armor off balance. Gyunei shifted to mobile suit mode to regain his balance as Luna and Rey tag-teamed the Strike Noir, only for something large and heavy to suddenly land on top of the Rosso Aegis.

Its mono-eye flashing, the GuAIZ fired its beam rifle point blank into the upper torso of the Rosso Aegis.

Not far away, Nicol battled the Valiant once again. His opponent was tough, but Nicol knew he could take him on. The Valiant charged in, anti-ship sword held in hand, forcing Nicol to dodge back.

"This is my range!" said Nicol, flipping back, lashing out with a kick that connected with the Valiant's torso. As the two tumbled apart, Nicol took hold of his folding beam scythes, unfolding and combining them, spinning about to cut the Valiant in two.

Leon unfolded his shield, just barely managing to block the double beam scythe. The Reaper was a truly formidable pilot, but Leon knew he could take him.

"You may have won our last contest, but you won't win this one!" said Leon, unfolding the manipulator claws in the Valiant's wrists, using them to cut away the heads of the double scythe before Nicol could react.

"Well, doesn't that seem familiar?" whispered Nicol, firing his Hydra on the manipulator claws, destroying them as he redrew his Falx G9.

As the scythe descended, Leon brought his anti-ship sword up to block once again. But this time, Nicol fired his Hydra gatlings on the sword, hitting in the sides and pushing back as it exploded in the Valiant's hands.

Saul fired his revolvers, grazing the Viola Surge's left ankle with one shot. The pilot was shooting his machine about at high speed, making a clear shot virtually impossible, but Saul was fine with that. The sheer velocity threw off his opponent's aim, and Saul was quite capable of evading it easily under those circumstances. Not only that, but Saul personally knew how much power thrusters of that type consumed. It wouldn't be long before the Viola Surge was drained of power.

Not far from there, Shiho was beginning to get _extremely_ infuriated by the Blu Duel. This pilot wasn't just mocking Yzak's machine—he was mocking Yzak's fighting style! Wild, aggressive, impulsive, yet controlled and careful enough to avoid damage. It was a dangerous combination, one that few pilots could handle.

But Shiho was one of them.

As Silber's beam saber descended, Shiho raised her rifle to take the blow, sparing the ZAKU Duel Arms, and meanwhile, grabbed her left Laurus, firing it almost point-blank into the Blu Duel's torso. Unfortunately, she missed the powerplant, but the blow was still a crippling one as the mockery, the insult, fell from the sky. Shiho would've finished it off, too, if she hadn't come under fire from a group of Windams.

"Damn it!" cursed Jessie as he and Tristan were forced to pull back towards the _Minerva_. The pilot of the Verde Buster was simply unreal! Although they'd managed to take on him, the Blu Duel _and_ the Specter up in space under Aleksi's leadership, here, they just couldn't keep up, unable to emulate Aleksi's ability to judge the best formations and tactics to face their opponents, and unable to match the incredible abilities of this pilot. "Is that guy even a Natural?! He can't be, not with abilities like those!"

"_I think you might be right,_" said Tristan, dodging one shot only to have another crash into his shield, shattering it and nearly knocking him off his Guul. "_Damn! Reflexes, accuracy, judgment, speed… how can a Natural do all that?!_"

Neither Tristan, nor Jessie, had anything against Naturals. But even still, they just couldn't fathom how a Natural could possibly fight like the Verde Buster did.

"Pests! You're just a pair of puny GuAIZs! Go down already!" roared Rache, combining his rifles and firing on the two GuAIZ Rs, forcing them to fall further back towards the _Minerva_, which was surrounded by a storm of CIWS fire as the crew desperately tried to hold off the attacking mobile suits.

Meanwhile, the Saviour danced with the Divina Guardian, each pilot trying to bring their machine onto their opponent's tail. But neither could gain the advantage, Athrun's skills countered by Nanai's abilities and vice versa.

"This is going nowhere," said Athrun, suddenly shifting to mobile suit mode and firing on the Divina Guardian. Nanai dodged the blast, shifting her machine to mobile suit mode as well and firing on the Saviour. But before Athrun could bring his shield to bear, another machine descended between the two, deflecting the blast with its own shield, catching both pilots off-guard.

Then, the newcomer raised its own twin rifle, and fired back on the Divina Guardian, forcing Nanai to dodge away. Shield and rifle were lowered to reveal the silver white and midnight blue custom M3 Guardian of Elizabeth Dante.

"_You…_" growled Liz. "_How dare you mock my machine like that!_"

The M3 Guardian shifted to mobile armor mode and charged at the Divina Guardian. Nanai growled, shifting to mobile armor mode herself, both pilots letting out battle cries as they fired their full arsenal.

Athrun glanced around, trying to figure out what was going on. That's when he saw them.

The Strike Raven, Heavy-Arms Athena, Forbidden and Raider were flying around the _Archangel_, defending it from the attacks of Orb mobile suits, trying their best to disable rather than destroy, and unfortunately not doing as good a job at it as everyone would like. The black and gold M3 Guardian of Andrew Waltfeld was defending the Strike Rouge. Standing atop the _Archangel_, the Talos II and Farsight III took sniper shots at distant targets, disabling Orb machines and destroying Earth Forces Windams.

Meanwhile, Heine was the fortunate pilot who wasn't being hounded by an Extended machine. He lashed out with the GOUF's heat rod, coiling the weapon around the rifle of a Windam. The electric burst destroyed the rifle, but the pilot himself would be unharmed.

But down on one of the small, rocky 'islands' that lined the straight, the Gaia in mobile armor mode, which had left the _John Paul Jones_, saw this happen, and turned its beam cannons on the GOUF Ignited. Heine smirked as he dodged several blasts.

"Oh yeah?!" he said, flying down towards the Gaia. He swung the heat rod once, smacking the Gaia in the back with his Slayer Whip. The electric shock momentarily stunned the Gaia and its pilot, allowing Heine the chance to lash out again, knocking the Gaia back, though this time, the pilot recovered just in time to avoid landing on the Gaia's back by shifting to mobile suit mode.

Stella raised her rifle, aiming it at the GOUF, which had landed on the ground, but the Slayer Whip suddenly coiled around it. Stella gasped in surprise.

"_This is no ZAKU pal!_" came the voice of the pilot. "_No ZAKU!_"

The Slayer Whip released its electric shock, overloading the Gaia's rifle. Stella released it and raised her shield as a defense against the explosion.

"Bastard!" cried Stella, drawing a beam saber and charging forward. She slashed left, but the GOUF ducked under the blade. But as it stood back up, Stella swung her saber back to the right, and Heine only just barely intercepted with his shield, the GOUF knocked back. "I won't lose here!"

Stella thought of the two people most important to her. Neo. Haruka. They both needed her to win. They needed her to help them defeat these enemies. Their enemies were strong—strong enough that they would need her help in this battle.

"I won't lose!" cried Stella, a red-tinted amethyst jewel seed racing through her mind and shattering in a nova of light.

Heine righted his GOUF, preparing to strike back at the Gaia, but he found the black Gundam already leaping at him in mobile armor mode, Griffon 2 beam blades deployed. Heine raised his shield to deflect the blade, but before it even connected, the Gaia shifted to mobile suit mode, bunkering down low, and lashed out with an upwards kick, connecting with the GOUF and sending it flying back into the air. Stella spun the Gaia back to its feet, hunkering down and firing her beam cannons, again without shifting modes, blasting the GOUF's backpack. She then rushed forward, swinging her saber, and Heine just barely managed to twist away from a fatal blow, losing his right arm at the elbow for his troubles.

"Damn, what's with this guy?" questioned Heine. The Gaia was completely different from before.

He didn't get the chance to question though, as the Gaia menacingly descended on him. But before the two could square off again, the Gaia suddenly leapt back, bringing itself clear of the blasts of the Saviour's cannons as Athrun shifted to mobile suit mode and landed on the ground, beam saber drawn.

"_Heine, are you okay?_" asked Athrun.

"Barely," admitted Heine.

"_Get back to the __**Minerva**__,_" said Athrun. "_I'll deal with this guy._"

"Okay…" said Heine. "Athrun, be careful."

"_I will._"

In the skies, near the _Archangel_, a Murasame charged at Cagalli, firing its rifle wildly. Cagalli aimed at it, trying to make herself squeeze the trigger, but… but…

She was Orb's Chief Representative! How could she possibly fire on one of her own people?!

At that instant, several beams rained down on the Murasame, obliterating it. Cagalli glanced to the side as Andy's custom M3 descended next to her.

"_If you can't fire, then get out of here Cagalli!_" he said. "_What'll happen to Orb if you get shot down?_"

As he spoke, an Astray Shrike opened fire on the Strike Rouge, Andy moving between them and blocking with his shield before returning fire with his beam rifle.

Cagalli felt tears form in her eyes as her thoughts drifted to her father's words to the people of Orb only a few years ago.

"_We vow not to attack another nation, not to allow another nation to attack us, and not to intervene in the conflicts of other nations. We of Orb have been able to maintain these ideals in an era of sweeping changes, because we believe it is the most basic and important component of the framework we humans call a nation."_

Andy shifted his M3 to mobile armor mode and fired a barrage of missiles at a group of advancing mobile suits.

"_Stop attacking us! I'm not Kira! I'm not good enough to avoid killing you!_" said Andy.

"_Like-minded individuals gathered together in the spirit of peace and harmony. As we face the present situation, I still believe this to be true. The Earth Forces are threatening to attack us unless we join their camp; however, in light of our beliefs, we cannot comply with their demands."_

Flay fired her rifle on an Earth Forces Windam, piercing it straight through the powerplant. She spun around, raising her shield to block the shot of an Orb Murasame, then snapped the shield into firing position, blasting off a pair of projectiles that crippled the machine, while the Raven Striker fired on an Astray Shrike, destroying it.

Shani fired his Hresvelgr, trying his best to avoid hitting the cockpits or powerplants, but even with the precise control he had, it was nearly impossible with the time he had, and only one of the three Orb pilots he'd taken out was spared death.

Tolle stood atop the Raider, letting loose with all of his machine's incredible firepower. He focused on the Earth Forces Windams, but too many of his opponents were Orb machines, and he felt his heart tearing just a little more with each Murasame and Astray that fell to the ocean.

"_For to accept that would be to accept the invasion of the most essential principles of Orb… no, the most important principles of humanity itself. The Earth Forces vow that they will attack us if we do not tow the line and fall in with them; however, we cannot submit to their ultimatum! For if we agree to join them, then the day would eventually come when we as a country would be asked to fight against other countries; other nations, whose only crime is that they are the enemies of the Earth Forces."_

Unlike the machines from the _Archangel_, most of the ZAFT pilots shot down their enemies indiscriminately. Shinn, in particular, ruthlessly gunned down any Orb mobile suit that came into his sight.

Not far away, the Twilight and Rose continued their clash. Both had lost their railguns and beam cannons already, reducing the battle to a contest of melee might. The Rose charged in, its swords clashing against the blades of the Twilight's beam staff, only for Suiren to suddenly release those swords, flipping and spinning as she drew a beam saber, swinging it up at the Twilight.

Louisa deflected with the body of the beam staff, carefully angling the blow to cause the saber to pass right through the center of the staff. She flipped over the two halves, cut perfectly to allow them to operate as long beam sabers, while Suiren reacquired her swords, which clashed with Louisa's sabers.

"_We will not allow another nation to attack us! This is integral to Orb's ideals, and we will defend them right to the end! But my fellow citizens, unfortunately, the threat is at our very doorstep."_

"Damn it!" shouted Cagalli, tears in her eyes and voice as she slammed a fist against the cockpit of the Strike Rouge. If only she hadn't been so weak, and now, with the situation as it was, she couldn't stop it until she could make the Seirans accede control of Orb, something they wouldn't do unless they could be somehow tricked into doing so!

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize's Tempest sword came down on the Freedom, but Kira pulled up his shield, blocking the strike. Kira pushed him back as he swung his saber, narrowly missing the Specter's left arm before following up with a kick.

"Argh!" screamed Treize as he tumbled back for a moment before righting himself. "You… you're just as good… no… you're better than the simulations. Good. It will make my victory all the greater!"

In the back of Treize's mind, a black seed shattered. Kira froze, recoiling from the dark aura now radiating from the Specter. Suddenly, the machine began to immolate with black fire. Kira let a gasp in disbelief.

"What the…" whispered Kira, blinking a few times, trying to see if his eyes were deceiving him.

When he opened his eyes again, the fire was gone, leaving no trace on the Specter. Even then, Kira was still unsettled by what he had seen and by what he still felt, an aura of pure rage and bloodlust. He'd known some SEEDs couldn't be sensed without his SEED or theirs being active, but he'd never felt something like this before, and he doubted Makoto had either.

Treize roared, rushing Kira once more, his sword held above his head. Kira raised his shield, blocking the downward swing of the sword. But Treize didn't stop, pulling his sword up and then slamming it down again repeatedly. The furious rain of sword swings was pushing even the Freedom back. Kira knew he had to break his momentum before his shield gave way. He spun the Freedom, attempting to kick the Specter again, but this time Treize was faster and countered with his own kick, locking their legs together as they tried to overpower the other. Treize smirked, drawing his left revolver.

"Shit!" Kira swore, rushing to pull away from the Specter.

Kira broke the leg lock and dove down, a beam narrowly missing his head. Treize started to laugh.

"Come on!" he shouted in delight. "Show me everything you have! Throw everything you have at me and see how it amounts to nothing!"

It had been quite awhile since Kira had fought at this level. Not since his battle with Rau Le Creuset at Jachin Due had he been this challenged by someone. And just like Le Creuset, this pilot radiated his own, albeit different, aura of malevolence, reinforced by that dark seed.

"Alright then," replied Kira quietly as an amethyst jewel seed raced through his mind before it burst. "I'm not going easy on you anymore!"

Kira struck back, swinging his sabers down on the Specter's shoulders. Treize pulled up his sword, blocking the sabers before they could hit him, but as that happened, Kira drove his knee into the Specter, driving it back.

Treize laughed as he moved his sword in front of him. "Good… this is going to be one hell of a fight!"

With that, the two struck.

* * *

Meanwhile

But the clash of the Specter and Freedom wasn't the only notable battle going on.

As six of the Astarte's Takusan launched and opened fire while charging the Sincerity, Makoto shifted the Murakumo to standby and grabbed both of the Sincerity's beam daggers from its waist.

She threw both of them, each cutting through a Takusan, and snatched up her beam sabers, the blades of frozen flame flashing to life as the Sincerity spun through the air, beams and the Takusan themselves, cutting the four remaining to pieces.

"_You let your guard down!_" called Hotaru, launching her final two Takusan at the back of the Sincerity. No mobile suit, not even the Freedom, should've been able to avoid them.

But the Sincerity's new systems allowed it to do things even the Freedom couldn't, as Makoto coiled her Gundam's body and twisted through the Takusan, bringing them into the sights of her machine cannons, both of which unfolded and fired, shredding the last of the Astarte's remote weapons before Makoto spun about to face Hotaru.

"Why are you with the Earth Forces?" she asked again. "What possible reason could you have to fight for them?"

"_Well, you've done well,_" said Hotaru. "_Alright, I'll tell you: for the same reason you once fought for the Earth Forces._"

"What?"

At that instant, the Daini and Hitotsu both unfolded, Hotaru locking them together to form the Astarte's ultimate weapon: the fearsome Hakai Suru, and all of its unimaginable firepower was aimed at the Sincerity.

The two were frozen like that for a moment.

"Do you really think you can hit me with that?" asked Makoto calmly. Hotaru shrugged.

"_Maybe, maybe not,_" said Hotaru, shifting slightly. "_Only one way to find out._"

"Agreed!" said Makoto as the Sincerity rushed forward, much faster than it should've been able to move. The heat rod wrapped around the Daini, while the beam saber cut through the Hitotsu. An electric shock burst from the heat rod, and the explosion shook the entirety of the Astarte.

"_That speed, situational awareness, those movements, and all that power,_" said Hotaru. "_It's not just the Deuterion Drive. The Sincerity's loaded down with all kinds of new systems, isn't it?_"

"Deuterion Drive?" questioned Makoto. Her eyes widened. "So that's it! Your machine is powered by a Deuterion Drive!"

"_Bingo,_" said Hotaru, firing both Renpatsujū at the Sincerity. Makoto easily dodged or intercepted with her shield.

"How the hell did you get your hands on that kind of tech?!" demanded Makoto, charging forward, the Murakumo snapping back into position after she replaced both beam sabers. Hotaru intercepted with the Haretsu Suru.

"_Now that's a secret I'll be keeping to myself,_" said Hotaru. The Haretsu Suru was suddenly lifted from the Murakumo, then slammed down with incredible force, knocking the Sincerity back. "_Now, why don't we stop holding back? We both know that this dance has only just begun, 'Michiru'!_"

"I guess your right," said Makoto, righting the Sincerity. She closed her eyes. "You're a practitioner as well. How? How do the two of you know so much about Shinsei Tsurugi? These arts can't simply be copied. So how…?

"_Yet another question to which you already know the answer,_" remarked Hotaru cheerfully. "_Really now, 'Lady Setsuna', must you keep asking these questions?_"

Makoto opened her eyes, shining with determination. She'd get those answers.

"_Yes, that's it!_" said Hotaru. A sapphire jewel seed suddenly raced through her mind and shattered in a nova of blue light.

At the same instant, an emerald jewel seed raced through Makoto's mind, shattering in a nova of green light instead.

The two charged back in, Murakumo and Haretsu Suru meeting with enough force to shatter both swords and send a thunderous crash sounding throughout the Straight of Dardanelles.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Somehow, impossibly, the situation was starting to look up for them. Despite how everything started out, the _Archangel_ and its machines had offered some covering fire—Talia suspected that, absurd as the notion was, they were actually trying to stop the battle—and now, Aleksi and her team had defeated not only the Rosso Aegis, but the Strike Noir as well. The Viola Surge had run its battery dry and was forced to retreat, and Shiho had crippled the Blu Duel.

Saul was now tangling with the Verde Buster, while Heine took charge of Jessie and Tristan atop the _Minerva_, all three of their machines severely damaged and only able to offer assistance as short-range turrets, but it was still helping. Nicol was still facing the Valiant, Shinn was drawing the attention of the Chaos and Abyss, and while Suiren had become preoccupied with the Twilight, the _Archangel_ and its machines were drawing off quite a few of the Earth Forces mobile suits, including the Freedom and Sincerity holding the Specter and Astarte off.

Now there were two clashes no pilot wanted to get involved in.

Meanwhile, Aleksi was once again proving her worth. While Shiho was perhaps the single best pilot aboard the _Minerva_, and dealing with numerous mobile suits herself, it was Aleksi who was truly turning the tide. It amazed Talia how, despite being a pilot only skilled enough to be a Greencoat, she was a tactical leader worthy of being a Whitecoat.

"Formation Iota 13!" ordered Aleksi.

"_Yes ma'am!_" called Rey and Luna. The two took their positions in the formation, Rey ahead of Aleksi and Luna behind, and charged at a formation of Windams.

Rey fired the missiles of his Guul and Blaze Wizard, which the Windams swiftly gunned down. But behind the missiles came a pair of grenades, which both detonated, one taking out two Windams, the other taking out a third and damaging a fourth.

From behind Rey, Aleksi's GuAIZ rose up, firing its rifle at the Windams, catching two repeatedly and destroying them. Rey dropped down, firing his missiles again, while Aleksi fired her own missiles, and Luna lobbed two grenades over the GuAIZ.

The explosives were all detonated, creating a large dust cloud. Below, Rey and Aleksi tracked as many Windams as they could, sending their coordinates to Luna.

The ZAKU Warrior pilot didn't waste time, and the Orthros lit up the sky, dispersing the smoke cloud and cutting down no less than seven Windams in rapid succession, with an eighth and ninth each a victim of Rey and Aleksi's rifles.

Talia shook her head in wonder. Aleksi had trained with all of the _Minerva_'s original pilots in the use of various tactical formations, making sure they understood each one well enough to follow the basic outline. It amazed her how quickly she could judge not only which formations were best for the situation, but also which formations were best for the pilots and the machines involved.

Meanwhile, on the rocky ground that lined the straight, Athrun continued his battle with Stella. This pilot… was simply unbelievable when pushed. This guy really did remind him of his battles with Kira, only unlike then, Athrun only had his skills to level the playing field.

Fortunately, that was enough here. Not by much, but it was enough.

The Gaia's saber swung at the Saviour, Athrun intercepting with his shield before swinging his own saber. The Gaia ducked under, hunkering down to fire its beam cannons, forcing Athrun to leap up and shift to mobile armor mode. However, his flight was thrown off-course when the Gaia's shield was tossed into the Saviour's body, sending Athrun careening to the ground. Athrun quickly shifted to mobile suit mode, checking his systems over, and cursed.

Debris had gotten lodged in the Saviour's thrusters. He could still use them in mobile suit mode, but only for short bursts, or he'd risk blowing them—and himself—to pieces. He turned to face the Gaia, which caught its falling shield easily as it faced the Saviour, its blue eyes flashing menacingly.

Athrun grit his teeth, drawing his saber once again. The two Gundams charged one another, Athrun swinging his saber down in a wide, sweeping arc that had a lot of power behind it, but Stella's heightened state of awareness, combined with her enhanced abilities, allowed her to easily deflect the saber with her shield, and before Athrun could react, Stella slashed upwards with her own saber, cutting free the Saviour's left arm at the elbow.

It reminded Athrun of his final clash with Kira in the Marshall Islands.

The Gaia leapt into the air and delivered a vicious kick to the Saviour's head, knocking Athrun backward. He managed to land on his feet, but the situation was getting worse for him as the Gaia leapt at him. He tried to deflect with his saber, but the Gaia shifted to mobile armor mode, firing its cannons on the Saviour's shoulders and deploying its Griffon 2 beam blades, cutting off the right arm.

Athrun's eyes were wide as the Saviour, now armless, crashed to the ground. He fired the thrusters in a quick burst, shooting his machine to its feet just as the Gaia crashed into the ground where'd he'd just been, ready to finish him off.

"_Move forward… as the Saviour of ZAFT."_

"_But you __**are**__ one of the Knights. And in my book, that's about as close to an Angel as anyone can get without joining their ranks."_

"I can't… I can't let them down!" cried Athrun as a green jewel seed flashed through his mind, erupting in a nova of light.

The Saviour's thrusters blazed again as Athrun rushed his armless machine forward, spinning over to deliver a kick to the chin of the Gaia, sending the wolf-like mobile armor into the air. Athrun shifted to mobile armor mode, using the few seconds he remained in the air with his thrusters at max to fire his cannons at the Gaia, crashing into both sides of the machine. Explosions tore up the sides of both mobile armors.

As the two crippled Gundams crashed to the ground, their VPS armor faded. This battle was over for them.

In the skies just overhead, the Twilight and Rose continued their battle. Louisa and Suiren both grit their as they pushed back against one another yet again. Both of them were excellent pilots, with abilities superior to ordinary Coordinators, and very high levels of spatial awareness. For Suiren, her last battle of this level had been against Haruka in the Indian Ocean. For Louisa, it had been fighting Makoto at Mendel.

"Alright Louisa," said Suiren, grinning slightly. "What do you say we end this? Let us take this dance to the final level!" As she spoke, a unique jewel seed of spiraling ruby and emerald rushed through her mind, shattering in a nova of multi-colored light.

"Yes," said Louisa softly. "With this… the last remnant of my old self can finally be set free!" Accentuating her words, an azure jewel seed flowed through her mind before likewise shattering in a nova of twin-colored light.

The two ace pilots roared as they charged one another. Louisa's beam saber met Suiren's first Tempest sword, and both stabbed their other blade forward, each twisting their mobile suit's bodies out of the way before they pushed away from one another.

"It's a good thing our battle was interrupted," commented Suiren, her mismatched eyes each iris-engulfed with dilated pupils. "I don't think I'd have survived if we'd gone at it for an extended period."

"_I'm glad too!_" said Louisa, launching a Drache Schild at the Rose. Suiren dodged aside and kicked the claw away. "_I'd hate to think you were dead by my hands!_"

"Then we're in agreement!" said Suiren, charging forward, twirling one Tempest sword before bringing it down on the Twilight. Louisa blocked with her second Drache Schild before both pilots lashed out with a kick, the legs of their Gundams locking together as both opened up with their CIWS guns.

Suiren was the one to break the lock. Ultimately, if it really came down to their CIWS, Louisa would win, the large multi-barreled Igelstellungs matching the speed of her own CIWS and exceeding the power.

Louisa's saber descended on the Rose, Suiren deflecting with her shoulder-mounted shield before the two broke apart. Suddenly, the rosette activated the burst thrusters in her wings, rushing in for what both knew would be the final clash.

Louisa's Drache Schild cut through the connections of the Rose's shields while her beam saber swept aside both Tempest swords using sheer velocity. Suiren, however, had already anticipated this, and drew both beam sabers, one angling Louisa's second saber away from the Rose, while the other saber cut off the right arm of the Twilight.

The two broke apart, but Louisa had already fired her Drache Schild again, and the claw clamped down on the Rose. A quick electric burst to emphasize things and trigger the shutdown of the sabers, and the battle was over.

"Those claws saved you," commented Suiren calmly.

"_I guess we have the answer then,_" replied Louisa. "_Neither of us…_"

"Yeah," said Suiren, smirking lightly. They both knew that activating the Drache Schild again in this situation would only result in the destruction of both machines.

The Drache Schild released the Rose, and Louisa turned, retreating to the _Archangel_. Suiren, too, could tell that the battle was winding down, and descended to the Saviour. Suiren shook her head.

"Really, what am I gonna do with you?" she said, crouching down and picking up the Saviour. She glanced at the Gaia. She could end this now, kill or even capture the Gaia's pilot.

But capture would require that she sacrifice Athrun. And Suiren wouldn't kill a defenseless opponent.

Instead, the Rose hefted the Saviour's mobile armor, and Suiren took off, firing her thrusters at maximum as she carried Athrun back to the _Minerva_.

"Have you put on weight?" she asked mildly.

"_Shut up._"

* * *

Elsewhere

The Freedom and the Specter continued their graceful dance of battle. Like a pair of ancient swordsmen, they clashed, their blades meeting constantly. Every move one took, every attack they launched, was countered, parried, blocked or dodged by the other before they replied with their own strike, only to be met with a counter, repeating the endless cycle. Kira swung his beam saber in a low horizontal arc, intending to slice off the Specter's legs, but Treize leaped up, pulling up the Specter's legs way while swinging his sword down on the Freedom's head. The Freedom's shield shot up, slapping the dropping blade to the side. Treize then followed up by slamming the Specter's feet into the Freedom's upper body, knocking Kira back. Both pilots paused, allowing themselves a moment to recover from their fierce fighting.

"It seems that we are evenly matched. If it wasn't for my power restrictions, we could go on fighting until the end of time. It appears I have only one option left," said Treize, pulling his hands from the Specter's controls. "Never have I willingly done this before, but I think it's warranted, just this once." Treize reached for the control device to his drug administrator, located on his left wrist, and set it to its maximum setting, well beyond the safe range.

Treize let out a loud howl as more drugs entered his system. His heart raced as his veins began to bulge out of his skin. Red filled his vision as Treize tightly gripped the Specter's controls.

"DIE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, lunging at Kira with his Tempest sword.

Kira jumped back, dodging the blade as he thrust his own saber forward. The Specter sidestepped the beam blade and drove its knee into the Freedom. As Kira was thrown back, the Specter struck again, but Kira barely managed to raise his shield in time. It didn't stop Treize for long, however, as he began furiously beating the Freedom's shield with his sword. While the Extended attacked his shield, Kira deactivated his beam saber, placing it back on the Freedom's waist before reaching for his rifle. He pulled the weapon up, but at that moment, the Specter's sword came down hard on his shield, knocking it aside. Kira fired his rifle, the beam grazing the left side of the Specter's torso, cutting out a strip of his armor.

But it stopped the berserker Extended for all of a second. Treize roared as he continued to wildly swing his sword at the Freedom. Kira fought to block and evade the sword, losing the bottom portion of his shield in the process. He then threw the damaged shield at the Specter, causing it to stop as it sliced through it. Kira took off, using the temporary distraction to get some distance between the Specter and himself, so he could effectively use the full power of the Freedom's full burst mode against it. But Treize wasn't about to let him get away and raced after him, tightly gripping his sword. It wasn't lost on Kira that Treize wasn't firing on him with his revolvers or beam cannon.

_He's become like a berserker, a real one_, thought Kira as he dove over a pair of Windams. _He could have switched to his guns and fired at me instead of chasing after me with just his sword. If I can keep my distance, he won't attack me._

At that moment, the Specter reached the two Windams that Kira had flown over, but it didn't bother to avoid them. Treize sliced both in two as he passed them, his eyes never leaving the Freedom. At that moment, Kira flipped around, snapping into full burst mode, taking aim as the Specter drew closer to him. He fired the beams and high-velocity rounds racing towards Treize. At the last second, Treize dove down out the path of fire but Kira continued to fire, tracking him as he moved.

_I see. He's become faster and stronger, but he's only fighting on instinct and reaction. He isn't thinking. If I can–_

The Specter drew too close for Kira to effectively use the full burst, and as he folded his plasma cannons and railguns back, Treize slammed his machine into the Freedom. At that brief spilt-second, when the bodies of the mobile suits came into contact, both cried out in pain as what felt like red-hot iron rod was stabbed into their brains.

"_Kill…_" Kira heard whispered into his mind by an unrecognizable voice. "_Kill…_"

As the Freedom was sent backwards, away from the Specter, the pain faded, becoming a dull headache before disappearing altogether. Kira shook his head vigorously, trying to sort out what just happened. Was it because he had come in close contact to the Specter's pilot? He could feel that the Specter was like him, possessing the awareness only a few had. But what had caused that… that interference for the lack of a better term? Could his awareness have been brought out artificially and had a negative reaction with his own when they came into contact?

"Just who is this guy?" wondered Kira, staring at the Specter, which had come to a stop, just like him.

But it didn't stay immobile for long. A few moments later, Treize was back up, raising his sword to strike at the Freedom again. "DIE!!!"

Kira jumped back as the Tempest sword swung at him. Treize snarled and continued to swing away at him, forcing Kira to leap back from him again and again as he reached for his beam sabers. Drawing them, Kira crossed the blades together as Treize swung his sword down, catching it. Suddenly, the Specter's free hand collided with the Freedom's head, breaking apart the crossing blades. Kira flipped the Freedom as he fell back, driving its feet into the Specter. The two stumbled back from the other and paused for a split-second before they roared and lunged forward, their blades clashing once more. Both fought with everything that they could muster, their blades striking each other repeatedly, but neither could manage to hit the other's mobile suit as they battled. Quickly, Kira found himself being pushed back by the sheer ferocity of Treize's blows. Treize swung his blade on a diagonal arc, meeting Kira's raised left saber. Kira stabbed his right blade forward, only to have Treize grab the Freedom's wrist, forcing the beam blade away from himself. The two remained there, locked in that position as they fought to overpower the other.

* * *

Meanwhile

The destruction of the Murakumo and Haretsu Suru caught both pilots off-guard. The swords were made up of densely packed material, not dissimilar to the Raider's spherical breaker, and reinforced by VPS armor. In addition, the Haretsu Suru was very thick, intended to take a tremendous beating, serving as shield and offensive weapon, designed not only to slice through opponents, but to crush them with its own mass, while the Murakumo was designed not as a flat blade, but rather, as a cross-braced sword, the materials twining together like a series of thin strings into an extremely tough rope. For the swords to shatter was simply unbelievable.

But neither pilot was phased for long. Makoto drew one of her sword rifles, while Hotaru took hold of her Sashikizu beam sabers. The two women roared, charging at one another. Sword and shield clashed with sabers before the two broke apart far enough to lash out with a kick, blocking each other and pushing back even further. Makoto snapped her sword into rifle mode, snapping off several shots. Hotaru evaded these, and fired back with her Renpatsujū, Makoto blocking with her shield.

The heat rod was released from inside, and Makoto lashed out with it. Hotaru cut it away with her saber before firing her Renpatsujū. Makoto snapped her rifle back into sword mode, cutting apart the beam shot with it. Her machine cannons unfolded and fired on the Astarte, but the VPS armor was receiving enough power to hold off the relatively weak beam bullets. The two charged in once again.

Hotaru swung both sabers in a dizzying flurry, but Makoto intercepted each and every strike with her sword before lashing out once more with a kick to the Astarte's torso. This time, it connected, but Hotaru used the momentum to spin about and deliver her own kick to the Sincerity's torso.

The two tumbled away, quickly righting themselves before charging back in, Hotaru's left beam saber meeting Makoto's VPS sword.

"_This is just too much fun,_" said Hotaru. "_Too bad it's over._" The two pushed back, firing their rifle and handgun at one another. Makoto released her shield, allowing it to simply remain locked on her arm, and took hold of her second sword rifle, firing it at the Astarte as well. Hotaru cut these beams apart with her sabers and flew back in, wings spread wide, Washi and Renpatsujū blazing.

Makoto matched the charge, her rifles and CIWS also blazing. The rifles snapped into sword mode at the same instant the Astarte took back control of its sabers. The two struck.

Only this time, Makoto twisted perfectly through Hotaru's strikes, and spun the Sincerity, her swords cutting away both of the Astarte's hands before Makoto flipped the Sincerity over and kicked the Astarte in the chest.

"You're right," said Makoto. "It is over."

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Neo watched as the situation continued to unfold. Treize had gone berserk in his attempts to defeat the White Angel of Freedom, Stella had crippled the red Gundam but been crippled in the process, Gyunei, Miguel, Silber and Maia had been beaten back, Nanai was engaging that M3 Guardian, Leon was fighting the Reaper, Rache was fighting that speedy ZAKU that defeated Miguel, Sting and Auel were exchanging blows with the combining Gundam, and Haruka was now fighting the second most vicious battle Neo had ever seen—the first being, of course, the one between Treize and the Freedom—with that strange machine with the graceful movements.

He turned to Matthews.

"Fire signal flares," he said. "We're withdrawing. We've lost the upper hand here."

"Yes sir," said Matthews.

The _John Paul Jones_ fired retreat flares, surprising many of the combatants.

"Well… this is kind of awkward," said Leon. The ZAKU Blitz had the blade of its scythe right behind the Valiant, and its Hydra were locked on Leon's cockpit, while Leon's own sabers were just a little too far away to be able to save him. Fortunately, the Grim Reaper, despite his fearsome moniker, was evidently honorable, and removed its scythe, backing away to allow Leon's retreat. Leon nodded his thanks, snapping off a quick salute with the Valiant before turning back to the _John Paul Jones_.

Nanai grit her teeth in frustration. She couldn't believe she was being called back now! This pilot had taken everything Nanai had to throw and perfectly countered all of it! It was like this pilot had piloted the Divina Guardian himself!

What Nanai didn't know was that the pilot watching her retreat had, indeed, piloted the Divina Guardian, or more precisely, its ancestor.

All of the Orb and Earth Alliance pilots retreated, the Astarte, Chaos and Abyss retrieving the Gaia, save for one pilot.

Treize remained where he was, struggling to overpower the Freedom, showing no signs of even being aware of the order to retreat.

"Treize! We're withdrawing! Return to the _Jones_ at once!" demanded Neo, growing annoyed at his subordinate. Again, there was no response from Treize. "Very well then, you leave me no choice. 13 Omega Red."

Those three words pierced the red haze that clouded Treize's mind. For an instant, he stood there, his eyes wide in surprise. But it passed and he began to scream in agony, his body shuttering violently. The pain was too much, shattering his berserker rage. He had to withdraw… to get back to the ship… and the doctors… before it was too much…

Treize head-butted the Freedom, breaking the stalemate they had been in and raced back towards the _John Paul Jones_ with the same speed he had used to chase the Freedom earlier, ignoring everything else.

Kira watched him and the remaining Orb and Earth Alliance pilots' retreat, breathing heavily. Once again, he was reminded of his fierce battles from the last war, against Le Creuset, against the former Biological CPUs, against Athrun and his teammates. Even the dread he had always felt in the back of his mind every time they withdrew, knowing that he would end up facing them again in battle, and that he may not be so lucky the next time. He knew they would face each other again in combat, he could feel it. The only question was how would that encounter end?

"_Kira,_" came Makoto's voice, snapping Kira out of his thoughts as she approached. "_We're withdrawing as well._" Kira nodded, and turned to fly back to the _Archangel_ with the Sincerity. "_Hey._"

Kira looked over at Makoto's machine. "Yes?" he asked.

"_If you worry too much, you'll get wrinkles,_" said Makoto. "_So don't. Just believe in yourself, okay?_"

Kira nodded. "Yeah," he said. "You're right."

With that, the Freedom and Sincerity blazed away, following the _Archangel_, where all the other machines had already retreated.

As the group left, the ZAFT forces stared after them. Talia glared, angered at the loss of the Tannhauser. The _Archangel_ had aided them, but what they were doing was ridiculous, and they wouldn't have needed that aid if they could've fired off the positron cannon.

Shinn also glared at the _Archangel_. Those fools! Loyal followers of the Athhas, the arrogant, self-centered nobles who murdered his family for their precious _ideals_.

Heine, and most of the other pilots, were relatively impassive as they watched the _Archangel_ leave, most just grateful that none of the pilots had been lost. Luna, though, stared after the Freedom, eyes filled with longing and confusion.

Athrun watched them leave. Kira. Cagalli. Lacus.

"Kira… what was the meaning of all this?" he asked, though his friend was too far away to give a response.

Standing next to the crippled form of the Saviour, the Rose stared at the retreating forces. Suiren smiled, raising her hand in a salute only she knew of.

"Thank you," she said.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Our fearsome, decidedly dangerous, and certainly feared mercenary Gundam pilot, Haruka Tsukino, is actually _Hotaru Aino_?!?!?!?!?! What the *&%#!!!!!**

**Well, of course, I'm not surprised, but you should all know how I am at this point. Anyways, we get a lot of decidedly deadly clashes here: Kira vs. Treize is simply the most extreme and high level of them, and for the first time ever, we see Treize "lose it" while fighting Kira. If Treize hadn't faced power restrictions, it's difficult to say who would've won that battle. Personally, I think Kira would have won in the long run, simply because Treize was fighting purely on instinct, which would give Kira the edge he needed, if only barely.**

**I enjoyed Makoto vs. Hotaru/Haruka as well. That was a decidedly vicious clash, and all the while, the two are arguing back and forth, though Makoto eventually wins. Meanwhile, Suiren and Louisa finally get to finish their battle from way back during the final days of the First War, and somehow, it only seems fitting that it ended in a draw.**

**Athrun vs. Stella was a lot of fun as well. Once her SEED triggers, Stella first overwhelms Heine, then Athrun, even effectively crippling the Saviour before Athrun pulls a miracle out of his hat by triggering his SEED for a few seconds to cripple the Gaia as well.**

**Aleksi gains some more attention as a team leader here. When I wrote up the first "Iota" formation that was used against Treize, I couldn't help but think of the Jetstream Attack, so I sort of aimed to have this new formation emulate the attack as well. Everyone else mostly just gets a few paragraphs, with this chapter being decidedly focused on Kira vs. Treize and Makoto vs. Hotaru. Heine has been spared, for now, but who knows what his fate is going to be? Even I'm not certain of that yet.**

**I especially loved two of the final thoughts at the end: Luna, showing a bit of her crush on Kira, and Suiren, apparently quite glad for the _Archangel_'s intervention. We'll have to wait to see what that's about. And on an unrelated note... how the hell is Leon able to keep up with Nicol? Admittedly, he lost both battles overall, but Leon judged himself a rookie, so how is he able to keep up with a legendary Coordinator war veteran???**

**Well, again, it'll all be answered in the future. If anyone ignores Akatsuki Leader13's work in favor of mine, I promise that there will unholy fire raining down upon you.**

**Please leave a review everyone! Ja ne!  
**


	22. Phase 22: Differing Views

**Like the last chapter, much of what we have here is mine. More or less all of it, really. The next chapter, though, is written primarily by Akatsuki Leader13. Regardless...**

**The title is kind of appropriate, because this chapter jumps between a large number of differing viewpoints. We get a lot of stuff here that, frankly, I feel this fic has needed lately, like screentime for Flay, Liz and Louisa. There's really all sorts of things here, but I think I'll just let you read it all. Wouldn't want to spoil stuff.**

**I will say this though: Happy 19th Birthday to me. With any luck, we'll celebrate by posting the next chapter before the day is through, but I make no promises. *Sigh* It figures that I have to work on my birthday (moving an office) while my sister gets a big celebration thrown for her.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Two: Differing Views

November 13th, C.E. 73

* * *

The _Minerva_

_SMACK!!!_

Suiren stared, eyes cold enough to freeze hell, as Talia fell to the floor of her office, clutching her already swelling cheek where Suiren had just slapped her with all the strength in her body.

"How dare you…" hissed Suiren as Talia stared up at her. "How _dare_ you… trying to fire that… that _thing_ down here on Earth…"

"But Suiren…" started Talia.

"No, Talia!" said Suiren coldly. The captain winced at the ice in her tone. "No 'buts'. No excuses. I know you. You're not an idiot, so how the hell was it that you didn't even _consider_ how much damage firing the Tannhauser out here would do to the environment?! Did you even realize that, had you fired it, you would only have caught the Orb ships? More than likely, more people in Orb would've been inclined to support the Alliance once the Seirans presented the usual doctored events the Alliance has been using, and meanwhile, the Earth Forces flagship—you know, the carrier where all those Gundams have been coming from?—would've been almost completely unscathed, the biggest threat to them being the radiation."

"So I should've just let them shoot us down?" asked Talia, pulling herself to her feet.

"You needed to have more faith in the pilots of this ship," said Suiren. "We may have been badly outnumbered, but don't you realize what the pilots of this ship can do yet? The Impulse is all but invulnerable so long as Shinn can create openings to use the Core Splendor system, the Impulse, Rose and Saviour can recharge their batteries in an instant, Aleksi has a talent for taking herself and two pilots and forging an unbeatable team, Saul, Nicol and Shiho faced even greater numbers back at Jachin, Athrun is one of the Knights, Heine wasn't placed in FAITH or in my team without good reason, and Jessie, Tristan, Rey and Lunamaria have nerves of steel. We might've lost some of them. I don't like that thought. And despite the damage, we only lost a few people in the bow of the ship, since a lot of our enemies were drawn off by the _Archangel_ and its forces. But none of this excuses the attempted use of the Tannhauser."

Suiren sighed. "Talia… you're a good person," she said. "I'd like to think that I, of all people, know that. But… if you _ever_ try to fire that cannon in an atmosphere again… I promise, next time, _I'll_ be the one to shoot it down." With that, Suiren turned and walked out of the office, and Talia stepped behind her desk, slumping into her chair.

The Tannhauser wouldn't be an option again. Talia knew that Durandal would take Suiren's side, and the blonde's argument had a lot of merit.

Talia had toyed with the idea of using the Tannhauser several times before, each one justified with the thought 'as long as we don't use it too often'. But every time before this one, something had prompted her not too.

How much had she been relying on that weapon as a trump card? Talia sighed.

This whole war was going straight to hell for them.

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Hotaru shook her head, surveying the damage to the hangar caused by the Specter's wild thrashing as it crashed into the ship.

This was the first time she'd seen a block in action. She hadn't even been certain if Treize actually _had_ a block, and on top of that, he'd been in the most absolute berserker state she'd ever seen before when it had been activated. It was no wonder he was like this.

The hatch of the Specter's cockpit opened and Treize stumbled out, his helmet tossed aside.

"RAAARGH!!!" he screamed, thrashing wildly on the ground. Hotaru was not normally one to enjoy the idea of inflicting tremendous pain on individuals, but if she was honest with herself, she found something strangely fascinating about how effective Treize's block seemed to be.

After all, she couldn't even sense his presence with her sixth sense. Doctors rushed into the hangar as Treize's thrashing fell down to spasms of pain, and they quickly moved him onto a stretcher, rushing him from the hangar.

Watching all of this happen, Gyunei laughed.

"Ha! Look at what the self-proclaimed 'greatest of the Extended' has been reduced too!" he said mockingly. He never saw the blow coming for his stomach, followed by a decidedly vicious uppercut.

Hotaru shook her hand, trying to relieve the pain a little.

"The doctors put you guys together right," she commented. "Even one as pathetic as you is made of some pretty tough stuff."

"Why you–"

"Don't mock your betters," she said. "03 Omega Red."

Gyunei let out a roar of pain, thrashing about on the ground just as Treize had, drawing the attention of the remaining doctors. They all looked distinctly annoyed, and as soon as he also fell down to spasms, they likewise moved him onto a stretcher and rushed him from the hangar.

"You really shouldn't have done that," said Rache. "The doctors will have their work cut out for them."

"Mmm… I don't like him," replied Hotaru as Stella and Maia approached her.

"Yeah! He deserved it!" said Maia. Stella walked up to Hotaru, looking apologetic.

"Haruka… I'm sorry," said Stella, looking down. "I messed up."

Hotaru glanced at Stella before shaking her head, laughing.

"Messed up? Hardly," she said, laughter dying down to a light giggle. "That entire battle was, ironically, hell from the moment the Angels showed up. You did quite well for yourself."

"She was crippled by an already crippled machine," said Miguel. "That's hardly doing well for yourself."

"It is when you consider her opponent was the Crimson Knight," said Hotaru. Everyone froze.

"What did you say?" hissed Silber.

"That red ZAFT Gundam is piloted by Athrun Zala, otherwise known as the Crimson Knight of Justice," explained Hotaru. "Of course, I also had my own troubles out there. That machine I was fighting. I'll give you one guess as to the pilot."

"Wasn't that supposed to be the personal machine of Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha?" asked Leon. "I heard about it. It's called the Sincerity."

"You're right… mostly," said Hotaru. "Actually, the pilot is _her_. Returned from the dead to fight battles once again. The Dauntless Angel of Faith… she's quite persistent, isn't she?"

"You mean you fought one of the Angels?" questioned Sting. "If what you're saying is true, how are you even still alive?"

"It was a close match," said Hotaru, shrugging. "But… really, I just think she wasn't taking it seriously. She's a lot stronger than she showed. It helps that I have the same basis for my fighting style."

"Well, that's interesting," came Neo's voice as he entered the hangar and walked over to them. Stella smiled brightly. "Hmph, we took a lot of damage out there." He looked around at the mobile suits before settling his gaze on the pilots. "Silber, Nanai, Miguel, I'm disappointed in all three of you."

"I'm sorry sir," said Silber. "I have no excuses."

"No, you don't," said Neo, voice tinted with frost. "That's twice now you've lost to that ZAKU. The same goes for you, Miguel. In fact, of the EX-Cs, the only ones who performed to the standards they're supposed too are Treize and Rache. At this point, the mercenaries and second generation are proving more valuable than the lot of you."

"But sir, that bastard…!"

"No excuses," said Neo, making it clear he was ready to voice Miguel's block as well. Three blocks in one day—it would be a new record. "You failed. Our forces managed to inflict some damage to the _Minerva_, but we should've _sunk_ it. Treize, Haruka, Stella, even Leon have good reasons for why they were tied up. The rest of you do not. I'll let it slide, this time, but you'd best not slip up again."

"Yes sir."

"Good," said Neo. "Now, report to the doctors." The Extended nodded and left the hangar. Neo turned to Hotaru.

"I have some questions for you as well," he said. "Follow me."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Damn it!" said Shinn, punching his locker after changing back into his uniform. "I can't _believe_ that! We could've actually won that battle if they hadn't interfered!"

"I understand you're frustration, Shinn," said Heine, calmly buttoning up his uniform. "But I'm not sure I agree with you. We'd only have gotten the Orb ships, for the most part, and the Freedom's presence did draw away the Specter. Given that the pilot was able to match the Freedom, I'd say that's a very good thing."

"We could've taken him!" insisted Shinn.

"Oh, so now you think you're better than the White Angel?" demanded Luna, sounding distinctly annoyed.

"That's enough!" said Saul, calmly closing his locker. "Arguing about it won't solve anything. Just be glad that you're still alive."

"But sir!" objected Shinn.

"He's right Shinn," said Athrun. Shinn quieted down.

"So what now?" asked Tristan.

"We're making for the port of Tarcuius for repairs," came Suiren's voice as she entered the room. "We took a fair bit of damage all around out there. We'll probably be stuck at port for at least three days, maybe more."

"Anything else we're supposed to be doing when we get there?" asked Aleksi.

"Not to my knowledge," replied Suiren. "Unless we receive alternative orders, I think we can all take this opportunity for a bit of real shore leave." Suiren sighed. "Athrun, Heine, I'd like to talk to the two of you—alone."

"Sure," said Athrun as Heine nodded and the two followed Suiren out of the lounge. Shiho let out a small sigh and exited as well, followed by Luna. Saul and Nicol exchanged a quick glance before also heading out, and the rest left soon after.

* * *

The _Archangel_

"Damn it!" shouted Cagalli, punching the wall furiously—repeatedly. "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"

While the Lioness of Orb vented her frustrations, the other pilots calmly changed back from their pilot suits to their uniforms, all keeping well away from her. As Kira left the lounge, he found Makoto waiting for him with Lacus. A slight nod was shared between them before they started walking down the corridors.

"The pilot of the Specter," he said, glancing back at Makoto, flanking him on the left with Lacus on the right. "Do you have any idea about that?"

"None," said Makoto, shaking her head. "I felt the SEED an instant before it activated. It was… I don't know. It was almost like some kind of a pit of darkness. Void of light… and life."

"When our machines came into direct contact…" said Kira. "I heard this voice. 'Kill', it said. It sounded like some kind of mantra." Kira frowned. "But it was strange. At first, I thought it was him uttering kill over and over again, but now, looking back at it, I think a part of him was actually pleading for me to kill him."

"Could it be the original personality?" asked Lacus. However, she quickly shook her head. "No… Shani, Clotho and Louisa all retained much of who they originally were, just with new dominant traits brought out. I don't understand. Even I could feel that… that thing." Lacus frowned, somewhat disturbed that she was unable to come up with any other word to describe it.

"And that unknown, the one I fought," said Makoto. "The pilot's Hotaru. I guess now we have some idea of where she disappeared to, but I can't for the life of me figure out why she'd fight for the Earth Forces… at all, even. And the machine is even more troubling now."

"Why's that?" asked Kira as they came to a stop on the observation deck.

"Because it's powered by a Deuterion Drive, just like Sincerity," answered Makoto. "How in the world did she get that kind of tech?" She paused. "Faith."

"Yes, Makoto?" questioned the AI, materializing in the corridor with them.

"Please, look into that," she said. "Also, I need you to perform a check on all available agents. We need to try and get someone on that ship. We need to know more about what's happening on the Earth Forces side of things."

"Right away," said Faith before dematerializing. The leaders of Terminal each heaved a small sigh.

Now what?

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Neo threw down the orders with a look of disgust on his face, clear even with the mask he wore.

"Andras," he sneered. "I can't _believe_ he's being sent to us."

"He was the head of the Extended project, wasn't he?" questioned Hotaru casually as she leaned back in the chair opposite Neo, projecting just the right combination of mercenary arrogance and soldier submissiveness. "If the Extended aren't measuring up, he seems the ideal candidate to handle the problem."

"That's just it," said Neo, shaking his head. "The fool has no concept of the human element. At the end of the day, for all that's been done with Treize, he couldn't stand up to the Freedom—and I suspect he'd even have fallen to you, the Dauntless Angel, or the Crimson Knight."

"Mmm… I don't know about that," she answered mildly. "Treize has found more than blind determination to drive him, and for that reason, only the Angels could hope to match him. That said… would Andras want to wipe that from Treize?"

"Without a moment's hesitation," answered Neo.

"Then there's the real weakness to the Extended," she said. "They can neither learn, nor grow, for every time they do, the doctors push a reset button and we're back to square one. It makes sense, if the growth causes them to become potentially hazardous, but otherwise, it simply limits them. They become no different than the machines they pilot, except they can't even benefit from so-called 'upgrades'."

Neo nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "I've given strict orders against messing with Treize since we attacked the PLANTs with those dummy nukes. He'd become blasé—they all had. It's why their performance was subpar. They handled themselves well enough against the rookies the _Minerva_ had to start, but against more experienced and skilled opponents…" Neo shook his head. "Honestly, I can't say if they're really any better than the first generation."

"In appearance, they might be," commented Hotaru. "But as I understand it, while the first generation were rather wild and reckless, they didn't have the primary weakness of these later generations—they neither had their memories wiped, or their conditionings reset. In fact, I heard one particular member of that generation proved to be quite _formidable_ as time passed."

Neo chuckled mirthlessly.

"Well, I believe that answers my most significant question," he said. Hotaru shrugged.

"I suppose, though why you'd come to me about the Extended is something I don't understand," she said.

"Because as far as I'm concerned, you're the second best under my command," said Neo. "And you've spent a lot of time with them. As a pilot, you'll have an understanding of them most others won't. I wanted confirmation from the most reliable source available of my own opinions."

"Hmm… I guess that makes sense, but you realize that I'm still a mercenary who, how shall we say… 'knows too much'?"

Neo sighed. "As far as I'm concerned, you can be trusted," he said. "I have a sixth sense for these sort of things. Besides… you're loyal to those you care for."

"And who do you think that is?" asked Hotaru, quirking an eyebrow.

"Stella… and, strangely enough, me," answered Neo. His curiosity was obvious. "Now I wonder why that is?"

"Because while you may be a soldier, I can sense that you are also a good man at heart," said Hotaru. She paused, as though thinking of something. "In fact… there are times I get the same feeling around Treize."

"Treize?" questioned Neo. "Funny. He always seemed more like a monster, through and through."

"My first thoughts as well," admitted Hotaru. "I'm probably just sensing whatever shattered remnant is left of the original Treize Zabiarov. But I'd have to know more about his origins, and Maia's as well, to be certain. Last I checked, the only records left have been destroyed."

"You're right," commented Neo. "You know too much."

"I like to be aware of who—and what—I'm working with," said Hotaru. She sighed. "But let's cut to the chase. You want to know the truth, don't you?"

"You're a Coordinator," said Neo. "I don't need your answer to know that. The same goes for Leon. There's no other way you could've stood against the Dauntless Angel and the Grim Reaper."

Hotaru sighed again. "You're right," she said. "But… what are you gonna do about it? Will you kill us? 'For the preservation of our blue and pure world'?"

"That's enough," said Neo. "I'm a soldier, but regardless of what others may think, I am not Blue Cosmos. And as of yet, I have not received any orders to 'kill the dirty rotten space invaders'."

"Hmm, their fanaticism is a little overwhelming, isn't it?" murmured Hotaru. "So, your orders have simply been the destruction of the _Minerva_?"

"More or less," said Neo. "I've failed thus far."

"Not your fault," said Hotaru. "If anything, the failing is with us pilots."

"Yes, and I'd actually like your help fixing that," said Neo, catching her off-guard.

"What do you mean?"

"Simulations, abilities, practice," said Neo. "Call these the three basic foundations for the Extended. All of it quite important, certainly. And yet… where does your power come from?"

"I have a particular way of fighting," said Hotaru. "Several, actually, but there's one in particular I favor." She quirked an eyebrow. "You want _me_ to train _them_?"

"I want you to spar with each of them in turn," said Neo. "With the exception of Treize. I want you to observe how they fight, find their weaknesses, exploit them, and then show them how to remove that weakness."

"Are you that sure I can?"

"Whether or not you can, you're the only one for the job," he replied. "The fact is that all of them—_most_ of them—respect you. They'll _listen_ to you. I'd be a candidate, but I'm neither familiar enough with any Gundam to match their particular machines, nor do I have the abilities that would allow me to bring this so-called 'training' to the fullest. You do."

"So, I'm valuable because of both Astarte and for being a Coordinator?" she questioned.

"Natural, Coordinator, soldier, mercenary." Neo's raised brow was clear even through his mask. "In the end, does it matter? You and I are both warriors here."

Hotaru eyed Neo for a moment before smiling lightly.

"I accept."

* * *

The _Minerva_

"I can't fathom why they would do this," said Athrun. "I don't understand it at all."

The other two FAITH pilots glanced at Athrun briefly before looking away.

"The answers are something you'll have to find for yourself," said Suiren. Heine nodded.

"If you can't find those answers yourself, then you won't find the resolve to do what you must, either," he said. "What will you do?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Athrun. "I guess I'll have to go out and find the answers."

"We'll have several days before we head out again," said Suiren. "Perhaps you should try and get in contact with them during that time?"

"What?"

"Now that they know you're a pilot aboard this ship, they'll seek you out," she said. "Like you, they'll want answers."

"That makes sense," said Heine, looking at Athrun. "The rest of us can hold down the fort here, so don't worry about that."

"But what if they come and try to attack us while we're still in port?" asked Athrun. Heine shook his head.

"No. They're ships may be relatively undamaged, but their mobile suits took an even bigger beating out there than ours did," he said. "They won't attack us under those conditions."

"Hmm… I'm curious, though," murmured Suiren. "Which machines will they prioritize the repairs on?"

"I don't really see how that's valid," said Athrun. Heine chuckled.

"Actually, it's critical," he said. "Think about it: when your entire mobile suit force is crippled, which machines will you prioritize the repairs on? The ones with the most power, or the ones with the best pilots?"

"I'd have to say the best pilots," said Athrun, nodding. "Okay, I see what you're saying."

"Mmm," murmured Suiren, opening the door to her room and leading the other two pilots inside. She motioned for them to sit wherever they wanted as she walked over to the closet, removing her trenchcoat and hanging it up. Athrun took a seat on the bed, while Heine sat down in the chair at the desk. Suiren reached up, untying the braids in her hair, allowing it to fall freely to her hips as she turned to face the other two.

"So, again: which machines will they prioritize?"

"The Gaia and that unknown," said Athrun. "After that, probably the Duel-copy and the Strike-copy. The Guardian and Buster copies, as well as the Specter, didn't really take much damage, so there's not much concern for them there, and the performance of the rest just hasn't measured up."

"I agree," said Heine, nodding. "What I can't understand is the Gaia. I had the pilot on the ropes, but all of a sudden… I don't know. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before."

"There are several names for it," said Suiren, leaning against the wall. "The most common is 'berserker'. It's a good analogy, except that the individual's focus and mental prowess increases rather than decreases. Very few individuals can take this ability and forge it into that of a true berserker. Shinn is one… and so is the pilot of the Specter."

The heads of both her fellow FAITH agents snapped up at that.

"The Specter pilot has that power?" questioned Athrun, sounding nervous.

"Oh man," murmured Heine. "What I saw with the Gaia was bad enough, but that guy in the Specter is on a whole other level."

"Yeah," said Suiren. "It was poignant enough that I could actually feel it out in the Indian Ocean. But it was only here that he seemed to push it to the level of a berserker. When Shinn triggered the SEED outside of Orb, though, there was no doubt he was only a hair's breadth away from the level of a berserker."

"So how do we handle that?" asked Athrun. Suiren shook her head.

"I… _might_ have a way," she said softly. "But we can't count on it. So, as much as I hate to say it… about our only chance is luck." She sighed, straightening up and unbuttoning the shirt she wore, catching the other two off-guard.

"I'm gonna take a shower," she said, removing the shirt to reveal a blue shoulderless one beneath it, much to the relief of her companions.

"Do you want to have a debriefing afterwards?" asked Heine as he and Athrun stood up and Suiren tossed the first shirt on the bed.

"No," she said, turning her back to them. She looked over her shoulder. "If nothing else, then Shinn is gonna need some time to cool down."

"Yeah, your right," agreed Athrun. "Well, see you later, then."

"Yeah, see you," she replied, nodding. The two stepped out of her room, the door closing behind them. Heine glanced at Athrun.

"Did you see that scar? It must've been nasty," he commented. Athrun thought the mark visible on the back of her right shoulder, and shook his head.

"I don't think that was a scar," he said. "It looked kind of like a crescent moon. I think it was actually a birthmark."

"Hmm, you're probably right," murmured Heine. "Well, in any case, thanks."

"Huh?" questioned Athrun, confused.

"For saving my hide out there," explained Heine. "If you hadn't shown up… I probably wouldn't have survived."

"That's not true," said Athrun. Heine laughed.

"Think about it: you're piloting the Saviour, you're the legendary Crimson Knight, and you _still_ nearly got killed before pulling a metaphorical rabbit out of your hat," said Heine. "I have just enough pride to recognize I'm good, but I'm not so arrogant to believe I'm on your level, and while the GOUF is far superior to the ZAKU, and even a ZAKU can measure up to the Gaia in the hands of a skilled pilot, you can't deny that the Saviour is still a superior machine."

"Well…"

"The fact of the matter is…" continued Heine, somewhat more softly. "If you hadn't arrived when you did, the Gaia probably would've killed me. So…" Heine turned to Athrun, saluting him. "I owe you my life, Athrun Zala, Crimson Knight of Justice."

"You really don't need to go that far," said Athrun. Heine lowered his hand, chuckling.

"Maybe, but that's my choice, isn't it?" he replied.

* * *

Elsewhere

Lunamaria sighed as the door to the quarters she shared with her sister opened, and she fell face first onto her bed.

He'd been there. _Right there_. The legendary White Angel of Freedom. A man whose reputation had captured her imagination, and who's supposed kindness had captured her heart.

Why had he done that? Why had he appeared in this battle to fight not only the Earth Forces, but the _Minerva_ as well? Had he really been hoping to help Cagalli stop the Orb fleet from participating in the battle? But that was foolish, and she'd never believed the White Angel to be a fool.

So why?

* * *

The _Archangel_

Flay let out a soft sigh, feeling the tension in her muscles fade away under the soothing heat of the shower, the sweat and dirt from piloting washing away easily.

She'd killed again today. It was almost strange, though—Andy had told her about his first kill, how it had turned his stomach, and how, just as he'd been told, he'd eventually get used to it.

Flay had gotten used to it. But, to no real surprise, the lives of the Orb pilots that she'd taken had twisted her stomach, badly. She idly wondered how the others were feeling, before her thoughts turned to the Specter, and she shivered, feeling as though the water pouring on her had suddenly turned to ice.

That feeling… she recognized it. She had to tell Kira what she could, but knowing that it was a relatively minor priority, she'd decided to wait until they'd cleaned up and his usual meeting with Lacus and Makoto had come to an end.

Flay had only piloted in three battles up to now. Returning after her third battle, aiding the _Minerva_ as one of Makoto's so-called 'personal agents', she'd found herself reflecting on the past.

When the Strike Raven was first completed, Kira, Athrun and Makoto had all volunteered to help teach her. Athrun had shown her how to handle the Raven Striker, but after that, he'd backed out, both so that he could focus on his job as Cagalli's aide, and because he couldn't measure up to the two Angels who, unlike Athrun, had actually known Flay as more than an acquaintance before the war ended.

Kira taught her how to handle all of the Strike Raven's guns. She could even handle all of them near-simultaneously—within the Strike Raven's own limits, of course—quite well, and she was steadily improving. Out of the cockpit, she'd trained her skills as a marksman with Victor and John, which had also helped her aim within.

And Makoto had, naturally, taught her melee combat. She helped adapt the martial arts taught to her by Chris to fighting with the Strike Raven unarmed, then trained her in handling the close-combat weapons, as well as suggesting tactics to exploit an opponent's predictability, though she'd also been warned against relying too much on that.

Flay turned off the water, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel, wrapping it around her body. Her thoughts turned down another avenue.

The Angels. Flay had been nothing short of disbelieving when she'd been told the truth of that project.

They'd all thought the Angels were simply machines for Kira and Makoto. What the two later revealed to her was that there was actually a _third_ Angel—currently referred to only as the Angel of Memory, the sister to the Angel of Freedom and the Angel of Faith. It was to be her machine, a mobile suit that would forever mark her as the Third Angel.

It was absurd—her, Flay Allster, one of those legendary, unstoppable, unbreakable… _Divine_ Angels? Yet, that's what they wanted for her. They believed in her. They believed she could become just that.

It had cemented Flay's determination. The opening stages of the Angels production was to be done out at the Sanctuary, so aside from the workers there, the only ones who knew about the Third Angel were the leaders of Terminal and Flay.

If anything, Flay had originally expected to become a Sentinel, like Liz was to suppose to be. But the ranks of the Sentinels—already thin with the loss of three would-be-members years ago—had been thinned further.

Flay shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she finished toweling off and began to get dressed.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Docked at the Port of Tacuius on the Sea of Marmara

The next day

"What? You think you can find that ship?" questioned Talia.

"Yes ma'am," answered Athrun, standing across the desk from her. "I'm sure you're aware of what's in my records captain. But I fought alongside that ship. During the Great War, I fought alongside the _Archangel_ against the ZAFT forces at Battle of Jachin Due. I know the person who's most likely piloting that mobile suit, the Freedom, as well as the crew of the _Archangel_. And it goes without saying, I know the Orb Representative we heard." Talia frowned as Athrun paused. "But that's just it. I know them so well that… I can't fathom why they would do this. I… I just don't understand it, ma'am."

"I know how you feel," replied Talia. "I don't understand it either, but…"

"I think that after Orb sided with the Earth Forces, all they wanted was to get them to stop fighting and go home," said Athrun. "But there must've been a better way they could've achieved their goals. A way that wouldn't have ended up with lives being sacrificed. Maybe they just don't understand the whole situation." Athrun sighed. "They don't know they're making a mistake."

"I'm sure Headquarters is going to want to take action on this," he continued. "In that case I think it's my duty to try and find them. When I talk to them, I can try and work out some kind of solution."

"And is that your judgment as a FAITH operative in the service of ZAFT?" asked Talia.

"Yes ma'am," replied Athrun. Talia sighed.

"Then I really don't have the authority to stop you," she said, turning to him and standing up. "I agree that the entire battle, which resulted in a pointless sacrifice, was unnecessary." Well, it was her opinion. The scenario would never repeat—but Talia wasn't going to go public with the confrontation between her and Suiren, which was why Athrun never had a chance of seeing the proof of it on Talia's cheek. "Although, who knows what might've happened if we had fought the Earth Forces without interruption. Very well. I understand." Talia sighed. "You have my permission to leave the ship. But will you be alright by yourself?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, ma'am," said Athrun, raising his hand in salute. "And thank you for obliging me."

Talia returned the salute.

A short while later, and the Saviour, repairs complete, launched.

* * *

Tarcuius

The next day

"Yes," said Miriallia, holding the cell phone to her ear. "Yes. I understand. I'll find him." With that, Miriallia hung up the phone and sighed.

Ever since she first left on her job as a photojournalist, Miriallia's work for Terminal had simply been sending information back. This was the first time she received any specific orders.

Not that she could complain. In a way, it was really her own fault for taking such an interest in the _Minerva_ and following it all over the place. Besides, it had been good to actually hear from someone again, and after seeing the _Archangel_ at the Dardanelles Straight yesterday, well… she'd sort of been hoping for this.

Still… it was a pretty big city. She wondered where Athrun could be.

Miriallia walked down the stairs to street level. She supposed the best place to start would be closer to the _Minerva_ at the port. She glanced both ways, looking for any approaching cars. She was about to step onto the street when she heard one coming the left, and paused. She looked that way to see the vehicle come around the bend and, as soon as it passed her, ran across the street.

She was about to start down the stairs towards the harbor when a familiar voice called out.

"Miriallia! Miriallia Haw!"

"Huh?" she murmured, pausing and glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the voice. The vehicle that just passed her had stopped, and the driver was half standing on his seat, looking back at her as he removed his glasses.

Mir couldn't believe her luck. "Athrun Zala?"

A short while later, the two were at a restaurant as Athrun finished explaining what he'd been doing. Mir knew at least some of it already, but few people knew that her job as a photojournalist was mostly just a guise for her job as part of Terminal Intelligence.

"I see," she said. "And so, when the war began, you didn't stay with Orb. Instead, you went back to ZAFT." Somehow, despite her attempts to sound neutral, she felt like she was being negative about it.

Athrun looked away, almost guiltily. "Well, it's simplifying things, but that's what happened," he said. "Um… listen, I need to talk about the _Archangel_."

_Perfect_, thought Mir, putting on an expression of confusion.

"See, I knew that your old ship had left Orb, but why in the world did it end up here?" he explained. "When it interfered… things got a little…"

"A little messy?" supplied Mir. Seeing Athrun's confused expression, she continued, reaching into her bag. "I know all about it. I saw the whole thing from beginning to end." She slid him the photos she pulled out—photos she'd taken of the battle. He rifled through a few before setting them down. "What do you want to accomplish by searching for the _Archangel_?"

Mir knew they wanted to talk to Athrun too. She hid a wince, thinking about that fake Lacus.

"I just want to talk," explained Athrun. "I want to meet with them. With Kira and Cagalli too."

He had guts, she'd give him that much. That or a death wish. "Even though… you're a member of ZAFT again?" she challenged.

"But that's…!" started Athrun before falling silent.

"Alright," said Mir. "It can be arranged. I can put you in touch, as long as it's just you."

"Huh?"

"It's my country," she continued. "But I haven't been back to Orb in a long time. I don't exactly know what's happening there. But I can't imagine anyone being happy about this situation." As she spoke, she reached out and picked up the photos she'd handed to Athrun. The one on top showed the Freedom, just after it had knocked away the Specter. "Especially Kira."

* * *

The _Archangel_

"What's out best course of action?" asked Murrue of no one in particular. "Any ideas?"

"Not really," admitted John, carefully studying the coffee brew he was working on. "We've made our intentions clear in that battle, but we've also revealed ourselves. ZAFT and the Alliance will both be after us."

"What about Orb?" asked Andy, who was helping John with the coffee. "Has there been any word there?"

"Unato confronted Serenity about our machines," said Shizuka, sipping her tea.

"And? How'd that go over?" asked Victor, glancing impatiently at the coffee.

"And what about ZAFT and the Atlantic Federation?" added Natarle, pausing as she was about to take another bite of her meal. "They'll want to know as well."

"Like Makoto said, we've prepared for this," said Shizuka. "Serenity was able to provide hard evidence that the M3s, MX1 and Strike Raven are still at Morgenroete, the Twilight, Raider and Forbidden are on their way to L3, and the Sincerity, Farsight III and Talos II are already there. As are most of the pilots, though Setsuna is still in Orb." The others stared at her. "What?"

"And how did you manage to pull _all_ of that off?" asked Victor.

"Faith and a little preparation," answered Shizuka. "Copying the M3s, MX1 and Strike Raven weren't hard—and the mock-ups for the rest won't be recognizable without being there directly. And not many know about Faith—she 'cloned' herself to create a mock-up of Makoto."

"I see," said Murrue.

"Very clever," murmured John.

"So, what's the official story, then?" asked Andy.

"One that plays into the official stance that the self-proclaimed Cagalli Yula Athha is an imposter," she answered. "The official Taiyonoha stance is that the imposter has created elaborate mock-ups of our machines to try and increase her own credibility."

"And what about the move to Izanami?" asked Natarle.

"That's progressing well," said Shizuka, before letting out a small sigh. "But lately, it's been getting slower. The Seirans and the Alliance have been causing what trouble they can get away with, and ZAFT has a few teams keeping an eye on us as well, though they've still kept well away from our territory."

"Well, it only makes sense," said Andy.

"Agreed." John nodded. "Despite the neutral stance, the Taiyonoha Fleet could tip the balance of the war in favor of either side. Not only is it a military force that no one wants to seriously test, but everyone knows that its led by Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha, and her popularity these days is actually greater than even Lacus's."

"Yes, what with all the negative imagery the Alliance and Campbell have ended up painting her with," said Murrue. "If Makoto publicly voices support for either side, public opinion is likely to turn in that direction, whether its making the people of the Earth question the Alliance, or reinforcing their beliefs in what they've been told."

"And they also control Morgenroete," added Natarle. "Right there are the rights to the production of the M3, the M4, even the _Archangel_ and _Izumo_ lines. That alone is a lot of power."

"Meaning the Taiyonoha can tip the scale both militarily and politically," said Victor. He sighed. "For Serenity's sake, we need to be careful. Everybody wants that power."

* * *

_Archangel_ Spa

Cagalli sat submerged in the hot water, thoughts on the events of the Dardanelles Straight. Now that she'd had the chance to cool down somewhat, she just felt depressed again.

This whole situation was all her fault.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice Lacus come in and join her.

Everyone had warned her; both against the Seirans and that they wouldn't be able to do much for a while. Things had gone smoothly, at first. She was accepted as the Head of the Athha House, and the Chief Representative of Orb. It wasn't until after the signing of the Junius Treaty that things started to go wrong for her.

When she really thought about it, it seemed oddly convenient that it was only _after_ the Treaty was signed, prohibiting Orb from providing any technology to either ZAFT or the Alliance, that Orb technological developments began to crop up amidst ZAFT military designs.

Suddenly, Cagalli felt water sprayed into her face, catching her completely by surprise and drawing her attention to Lacus.

The rosette smiled, giggling slightly as she continued to move her hands, held together like a water gun, spraying water into Cagalli's face.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing Lacus? Cut it out!" said Cagalli.

"It's because you've got such a grumpy look on your face," replied Lacus. "Is something bothering you?"

Cagalli glanced away.

"I was just wondering if we did the right thing," she admitted.

"First, decide," said Lacus softly. "And then just do it."

Cagalli looked back at Lacus, almost wonderingly. Lacus had suffered many losses similar to Cagalli's own during the war. Both of them had lost their fathers—Lacus's murdered by the soldiers of ZAFT, Cagalli's sacrificing himself to keep Orb's power out of the reach of the Earth Forces.

They'd lost their homelands, too, each in their own way.

"It's the only to achieve anything of real value in this world," continued Lacus. "I'm sure."

"Lacus…"

"Right?"

"Hmm… thank you," said Cagalli. After a moment, she got up and left the water, walking back into the changing rooms.

She'd just finished the hooks of her bra when she saw it.

The ring Athrun gave her when he left Orb. He was a ZAFT soldier now. But…

She picked it up and slid it onto her left ring finger. It fit, perfectly.

This was where it belonged. She wouldn't let it go ever again. Not even Athrun could take it away.

He wasn't taking this back; even if it meant she had to drag him, kicking and screaming, back to Orb.

* * *

Elsewhere

"You've asked me that question every day since the battle," said Liz. "For the last time, I'm _fine_."

"If you say so," replied Louisa, her tone making it clear she didn't believe what Liz had said. "Stop moving."

"I wouldn't move so much if you didn't try to irritate me," the brunette retorted, but nevertheless, tried harder to hold her pose as Louisa continued to sketch her. "And what about you? You never did say much about your fight with that Freedom-thing."

"The Rose," supplied Louisa. "No one told you? The pilot, Suiren Kyusai, was the same one who piloted the silver GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type at Jachin."

"You mean the one who fought you before they fired GENESIS?" asked Liz, genuinely taken by surprise.

"That's the one," said Louisa, pausing for a moment to switch pencils. "You had a brief run in with her too, just before you fought Christian."

"Yeah, and her entire collection of gold GuAIZ puppies," said Liz. The brunette shook her head. "What gets to me is that she'd attached a METEOR to it. That's how she brought down so many missiles."

"Mmm…" murmured Louisa, pausing again. She set down her pencil and picked up a colored one to do Liz's eyes. "She also saved Makoto's life, getting her away from the Faith before the reactor detonated."

"Do we really owe her that much?" asked Liz, shifting slightly. Louisa scowled at the brunette for moving.

"Yes," she answered. "Anyways, the both of us wanted to finish our old battle. It's the first time since I remembered who I was that I felt the full depth of my old power again. Even with that, I couldn't quite beat her. She's good. She's going to give Makoto a hard time if they fight."

"I see," murmured Liz.

"Alright, we'll take a break," said Louisa, much to Liz's relief. Louisa set aside her pencils and papers, and stepped over to the door, causing Liz to shift with sudden nervousness. "What are we gonna do with her?"

"Oh." Now Liz understood. Louisa had locked the door to keep Makoto out. "I don't know," she admitted. "Makoto's stubborn at the best of times and in the best of situations. This hardly qualifies as either."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," said Louisa, sighing as she sat down on the bed next to Liz. "And Kira's the same way, even Lacus says so."

When the two had first realized that Makoto had developed feelings for Kira before they were drawn into the war, and that those feelings still persisted, they were gobsmacked. Makoto had once told Liz that she wouldn't believe who it was Makoto had once had feelings for, and she'd been right. Louisa had been just as caught off-guard, because for the two of them, the sibling-like relationship between the two Angels had always been rather clear.

In fact, it had been so dug into their own heads that they only realized the truth when a teasing Lacus pointed it out to them. _She'd_ known about it since day one, the more-clever-than-she-looks-or-acts songstress taking far too much fun out of their reactions.

Of course, once the shock had worn off, the three had briefly discussed the issue, but decided to stay out of it. They weren't jealous—they were all quite certain about how each of the two felt about _them_ after all. The issue was how the Angels felt about each other, and the three girls had decided to keep clear of the issue and let the two work it out for themselves.

Although Liz thought it could turn into a rather big mess depending on how things played out.

The problem was that things weren't.

"Well, I suppose this ship isn't the best place to work on that," commented Louisa. "Now then…" The rosette turned to Liz with a wicked grin. "I've been cooped up to long. And I elect you to help me relieve some stress."

"Oh no!" Liz mock-gasped, jumping up and making a run for the door both knew to be futile—particularly when Louisa dragged the brunette back onto the bed.

* * *

Makoto's Quarters

"Thanks for this," said Flay, stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body.

"Don't worry," said Makoto, glancing back from where she was working on her station. "It was no trouble at all. And it's not like I even _can_ get into trouble for it—_I'm_ the one running the Intelligence division, after all."

"Still, thanks."

"You missed your son," replied Makoto, shrugging slightly as Flay started to get dressed behind her. "Using Terminal Intelligence for a small, personal favor like a short videoconference so you can talk to him isn't much of a problem. As it is, only a few of my agents are able to provide meaningful information anyway."

"You still haven't told us who any of them are," said Flay. Makoto shrugged again, and the other redhead, now fully dressed, stepped up behind her, looking over her shoulder at what she was doing. "What is that?"

"The specs for the Gundams we're currently dealing with," said Makoto. "Most of it wasn't difficult to get. I've got an agent in Actaeon Industries now. But here, look at this."

Makoto brought up an image of the Astarte, and displayed the information she had on it. Flay blinked.

"Unknown?" she read. Makoto nodded.

"The Astarte and Valiant are mercenary owned, piloted, and produced," she explained. "The Valiant's specs are readily available—it even has a still untested beam armor system. But the Astarte is one big unknown. Hotaru's keeping everything under wraps. What we know is that it's a multi-role unit that excels in all forms of fighting, all environment, with agility comparable to any modern ZAFT unit and even greater firepower."

"So we only know enough to recognize the danger?"

"Yes," said Makoto. "There's something else I'd like you to see." She brought up another file. "My agents haven't been able to determine any details on this thing. All they've found is that codename."

"Project Destroy?" whispered Flay. "What could they be developing?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the sounds of it," she replied. "It spells trouble. I'm planning to forward this data to my agent on the _Minerva_. He can't tell them what to expect, but at the very least, he'll be ready if this starts trouble."

* * *

The _Minerva_

Just after dusk

"A reconnaissance mission?" questioned Shinn. "That's what you want us to do?"

Arthur had called him, Rey, Tristan, Jessie and Aleksi for an unexpected meeting, which, oddly enough, Luna, Suiren, Heine and the Kessel Team pilots were not attending. In fact, nobody had seen Luna since yesterday. The meeting had visibly irritated Aleksi—she was wearing civilian clothes that were clearly wet, with her ZAFT uniform jacket over the clothes, still dry. She'd obviously been enjoying the rain.

"That's right," answered Arthur. "It's a formal order straight from Headquarters."

"So what exactly is the mission?" asked Aleksi.

"We've received some information from a local resident," answered Arthur, indicating a location on the map of the Tarcuius area with his pointer. "Apparently, there's some kind of research facility connected to the Earth Alliance in the backwoods of the area. There's not much happening there now, but it is of significant size. And, in the past, the locals have noticed a lot of vehicles, including mobile suits, coming and going." Arthur collapsed the pointer. "We want the five of you to head out by midday tomorrow and check on it."

"You want to use us for this lame job?" said Shinn.

"For once, I agree with him," said Jessie, frowning. "I mean, the five of us for this? Wouldn't one of the Commanders be better for this?"

"First, Shinn, this job is certainly not 'lame'," said Arthur sternly. "What if, for example, you find it's an armory filled with weapons?"

"Oh… yeah," murmured Shinn.

"It's an _extremely_ important mission," said Arthur. "But the potential risk isn't great enough to warrant one of the higher-ups for mere reconnaissance. Aleksi, you'll be in charge of this mission."

"Yes sir," answered the blonde.

"And also…" continued Arthur, surprising them. "I'd like to extend my congratulations to you."

"Sir?"

"You're receiving a bit of a promotion," explained Arthur. "Traditionally, the right to where the uniform of a ZAFT Red is awarded only at graduation, but it seems quite a few people believe you were improperly placed. You've been promoted to Redcoat status."

"What?" Aleksi—everyone, really—was completely caught off-guard. Her, a Redcoat? "But sir, I really don't think…"

"This has come through from Chairman Durandal and National Defense Chairman Kessel," said Arthur, cutting her off. "And you've been vouched for by the Captain, myself, Saul and Suiren. Trust me, you've earned this."

"But…"

"No buts, or I take away that GuAIZ," came Suiren's voice. The occupants of the room all spun to face her. The heterochromic blonde, her hair with a lock on each side of her head tied up to stand out while the rest of her hair fell freely, and dressed in a sleeveless black shirt that clearly showed the muscles of her arms, white short skirt that showed off her long legs, and a white trenchcoat completely opposite to her traditional black, was leaning against the door, smiling at them lightly.

She looked nothing like the soldier they'd all come to know, and more like a civilian who'd wandered aboard and knew a lot more than she should have.

"Commander Kyusai…" said Aleksi.

"You deserve this, Aleksi," said Suiren, her eyes wandering over Tristan and Jessie. "Honestly, I think the two of you just might deserve it as well. And Aleksi? You might not have shown the piloting qualities of a Redcoat, but you've shown much more important qualities. Of the pilots being sent on this mission, you're the best."

"Suiren…"

"What color would you prefer to have your ZAKU painted?" asked Suiren, grinning wickedly. Aleksi gulped.

"Alright, fine, I accept," she grumbled.

"Good," replied Suiren as Shinn, Rey, Jessie and Tristan couldn't help it anymore and laughed lightly at Aleksi. "I'll see you all later. I'm gonna head out for a bit."

"Alright," said Rey. "See you later, Suiren."

* * *

Tarcuius

Athrun sat in his room as the rain poured down on the city. He really had nothing to do but wait for Miriallia to contact him with whatever meeting point she managed to setup with Kira and Cagalli.

What Athrun didn't know was that somebody was watching him.

Luna felt like a stalker, watching Athrun from across the street through a pair of binoculars. When the Captain first asked her to keep an eye on Athrun, she'd jumped at the opportunity—after all, she was a great admirer of the Knights and Angels. She'd been even more eager when she'd learned of _this_ job, though.

Athrun was going to try and meet with his old comrades. He was going to find out their motives. With this job, not only did Luna get the chance to learn the information herself firsthand, but also, she might just get the chance to see the White Angel himself.

_Please let him succeed_, thought Luna, eager to see her long-time crush's face for the first time.

* * *

The _Minerva_

The next day

"That uniform looks good on you," said Tristan as Aleksi entered the locker room wearing her new uniform.

"I don't think so," she said, brushing off the complement as she walked over to her locker and pulled out the pilot suit. Red as well. She sighed.

"I don't understand why you'd complain," said Shinn, finishing putting on his pilot suit. "No matter how you look at it, people will look at Redcoats with more respect than Greencoats, whether or not it's deserved. At least now you'll get what you deserve."

"Wow, never expected that from you of all people, Asuka," commented Jessie with a snigger, finishing with his own pilot suit.

"Shut up."

A short while later and the five pilots launched. Aleksi, who launched last, landed her machine on her assigned Guul with her usual grace and took up point.

"Alright, let's get going," she said. "I'd like to get this mission done with."

* * *

Elsewhere

An hour later

Kira, with Cagalli at his side, glanced around, staring at the pillars that were the only notable feature of this area. Good—as ever, Mir had come through for them.

"Kira!" came the voice of the brunette in questions. Kira turned to see her running towards him, smiling, and he returned the smile.

"Miriallia," he greeted.

"You know, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that it was actually the Freedom flying around out there," she said, sounding overjoyed to see him again. Her voice became more subdued as she glanced at Cagalli. "Though I did hear about how you kidnapped the bride and then high-tailed it out of Orb."

"Yeah… that's… kind of a long story," said Cagalli. "By the way, where's Athrun?"

"He should be here soon," said Mir. "You're aware that he's rejoined ZAFT, of course."

"Yeah," said Cagalli softly.

"I really didn't get much of a real answer from him as to why," continued Mir. "But he definitely wants to talk to the two of you. Do you think you could do us all a favor and not tear him limb from limb over that fake Lacus?"

"We won't this time," muttered Cagalli darkly. "I make no promises about next time."

"He's here," said Kira, glancing back just as they heard the whistling of a fighter flying through the air.

The Saviour, in mobile armor form, soared through the skies at high speed, shifting back to mobile suit mode and landing near the pillars. The cockpit opened, and Athrun emerged, grabbing the zipline and descending.

He glanced at them before walking over.

"Kira, Cagalli," he said, a somewhat grim note in his voice.

"Athrun," replied Kira.

"Why did you go and do it Athrun?" asked Cagalli, running up to him. "Tell me." Athrun glanced away. "I was… I was so worried about you. I had no way of contacting; no way of telling you what had happened. But… but why? Why did you have to go and join ZAFT again?"

"Because at the time, I thought it was the best thing to do," answered Athrun. "For me. And for the nation of Orb."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Cagalli. "What does Orb have to do–?"

"Cagalli," said Kira, cutting her off and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Kira," she whispered, before stepping aside, allowing Kira to look Athrun in the face.

On a cliff overlooking the area, Lunamaria leaned forward slightly from her vantage point. She was using audio enhancement equipment to listen in on the conversation. She focused her binoculars on the second male figure, the brunet.

She'd seen the Freedom down there, and there was the faintest flutter in her heart as she focused on that figure.

The pilot of the Freedom was indeed handsome. Perhaps not as handsome as Athrun, but certainly enough to catch some eyes.

And just looking at his face, Luna knew the stories about his kindness were true. And from the words he began to speak, his force of will was also obvious.

"So, this machine is the Saviour," said Kira, glancing up at the red Gundam.

"Yes," said Athrun. "I saw what you did. And I want to know why you did that! Something so damned foolish!"

"Foolish?" questioned Kira calmly.

"As a result, there was chaos in the battlefield, and because of you, unnecessary sacrifices!" said Athrun, almost ranting.

"So, it's okay to sacrifice hundreds of soldiers following their orders as long as they're not on your side?" questioned Kira, catching Athrun off-guard. "How many men and women would you have sent to their deaths if that cannon had lit up the sea? At least five hundred times as many people as died when I shot that cannon."

Athrun faltered, unable to come up with a retort.

"They're the enemy," said Kira. "They attacked us first. Fight them. Kill them. Before they can kill us. How many husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters are you willing to sacrifice, as long as they're not your own?"

"That's not–!" started Athrun, but Kira cut him off.

"Cagalli loves Orb," he said. "That's why we came. We didn't know what our chances of success were, but we had to try. If we didn't, nothing could change."

"Well maybe you should've prevented Orb from participating in the Alliance in the first place!" said Athrun.

"You say that, but aren't you the one who rejoined ZAFT?" countered Kira.

"The Chairman wants peace," said Athrun.

"Durandal sent assassins after Lacus and Makoto," said Kira. Athrun gasped, as did Luna in her hiding place. "And he's the one who convinced Canard to kill me."

"What? What are you talking about?!" demanded Athrun.

"That fake Lacus, Meer Campbell," said Kira calmly. "If the Chairman wanted to know where the real Lacus was, he could've spoken with Ian—after all, Defense Committee Chairman Kessel does have contacts who were known members of the Three Ships Alliance in the last war. So why didn't he?"

"It must not have occurred to him. The Chairman doesn't want war!" insisted Athrun. "He's been trying to find a peaceful solution to all of this!"

"If what you're saying is true, why would he even need a fake Lacus?" asked Kira doubtfully. Athrun didn't have the answer. Kira shook his head.

"Gilbert Durandal was a saboteur of Divinity," he said. "He's the one who kidnapped Canard, and later told him to kill me. Durandal wants Lacus, Makoto and myself out of the way."

"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions simply over that?" said Athrun. "That's not enough to accuse the Chairman of all of this! There are many separate factions in the PLANTs. Some would want to frame the Chairman, and others would definitely want to get Lacus out of the way, so if they found out the truth… and also, some of them might even…"

"Be controlled by Logos? Don't make me laugh," said Kira, surprising Athrun. "Durandal has shifted the blame for everything on this 'Logos' organization. But do you really think that's true?"

"It makes sense," said Athrun.

"Well I don't buy it," said Cagalli. "If that Serena Ryker woman hadn't shown up and the Earth Forces really did use nukes that day, how would things have worked out?"

"What do you mean?" questioned Athrun.

"They had a weapon developed and used as a counter to nuclear attacks," said Cagalli. "We heard all about it. The Neutron Stampeder. Its purpose is to detonate nuclear missiles and reactors. And it was perfectly placed to intercept those dummies. If they hadn't been dummies, the battle would've gone completely differently."

"Are you suggesting the Chairman has been manipulating events throughout this whole war?" demanded Athrun.

"Not at all," said Kira. "And in the end, that doesn't matter. We don't want all this fighting to happen. Athrun… what is lost in pointless battles can never be reclaimed."

Athrun's eyes widened. His thoughts turned back to the destruction of the Tannhauser. The near death of his fellow _Minerva_ pilots. And briefly, his father's death and the destruction of Junius Seven.

"I've had… just about enough of your sanctimonious talk," he snarled, hand balled into a fist. "You think you've got all the answers?! Or have you forgotten just how many lives you've _personally_ ended?"

"Yes," said Kira. "I know." Athrun's glare let up in confusion. "And that's why… I'm so sick and tired of all of it."

"Kira…" Athrun felt ashamed of himself. He'd forgotten just how Kira felt about all this.

"I don't want to kill anymore," continued Kira. "And I will not sit by and just let others kill."

"Then that's all the more reason why you should go back to Orb," said Athrun.

"And what will you do?" asked Kira.

"What will I…? I'll continue as I am," said Athrun. "And don't try to convince me that I'm wrong. Or are you saying that Nicol, Saul and Shiho are wrong as well?"

"Do what you want," replied Kira easily. "Just one thing."

"What?"

"You're not getting any sympathy from me."

In the next instant, Athrun fell to the ground, a handprint on his cheek.

"That's for everything you said today," said Cagalli, tears in her eyes. "When all of this is through, I'm bringing you home. So you better not die."

Athrun grunted, pulling himself to his feet.

"And you should head to Orb," he said, accepting the slap, knowing he probably deserved far worse overall. "If you want to get some good done, then get the Union out of the Alliance."

With that, he turned to walk away.

"It's not that easy," called Kira. "If it was, we'd never have left Orb."

"Hmmm." Athrun glanced back at them. "I'll look into the assassinations when I get back. I expect to be forwarding my findings to you in _Orb_."

A moment later, Lunamaria crouched down as the Saviour launched, shocked by everything that she'd just heard.

The Lacus she'd seen in Diocuia was a fake—Meer Campbell? And the real Lacus had suffered an assassination attempt? And Makoto… wasn't that the name of the Dauntless Angel? So she was alive?

And the White Angel… Luna was at least glad to know that he truly seemed to be everything the rumors claimed.

But she hadn't turned off her spy equipment, and so, she heard the next words spoken by the three remaining.

"How is everyone taking everything anyway?" asked Mir.

"They've got mixed feelings," said Kira. "Flay and Liz are ready to kill Zane. And things in the PLANTs seem to be getting hectic, and it worries Makoto."

"No one's happy about that Meer girl either," added Cagalli. "Flay and Makoto especially."

"And you Kira? You can't be happy with someone impersonating your girlfriend like that."

Luna dropped her spy equipment, and at that instant, her communicator went off.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Alright, we've scouted the perimeter thoroughly," said Aleksi. "Everything's cold. We'll explore the facility on foot from here, but keep your wits about you." She then led the others down near what they had determined to be the entrance to the facility, landing her Guul gently as the others touched down around her. "Tristan, I want you to stay here and keep an eye out for trouble out here."

"_Yes ma'am._"

The cockpit of the GuAIZ opened and Aleksi removed her helmet before picking up her sidearm and stepping out to grab the zipline, Shinn, Rey and Jessie following her as she headed into the facility.

"Ugh, this place makes me sick," she muttered.

"I feel fine," said Shinn, sounding perplexed.

"It's not something most people would feel," said Rey, aiming his gun down a hallway, searching for potential enemies. "It's more of a feeling. This place feels sick to me too."

"Yeah, I got a bad feeling about all this," added Jessie, checking another hall. "This one's clear."

Things continued like this for the next ten minutes, the four moving steadily deeper into the facility. Shinn had to admit, he was also starting to get a bad feeling about this. It was starting to feel like something straight out of a horror movie.

He had no idea how right he was about to be proven about that.

Rey slid open a door, stepping inside calmly. Everything seemed normal, and Aleksi came in behind him, sweeping the dark room as well.

Then, all of a sudden, Rey froze, eyes widening. Aleksi could feel his sudden panic, and peered at the large objects he was staring, squinting slightly, before she realized what they were, and she dropped her gun.

Behind them, Shinn and Jessie came in, the latter flipping the switch to turn on the lights, revealing everything within.

Rey was gasping for breath, eyes wide with horror. The rest were just as wide-eyed.

"What is this place?" gasped Shinn, horrified.

Suddenly, Rey collapsed to the ground, clutching at his chest in panic. Shinn rushed over to him.

"Rey? Rey, what's the matter?" Rey didn't respond. "Rey!"

"No…" whispered Jessie. "What the hell have we found?"

The room was filled with large, glass tubes, obviously used for scientific research and experimentation. But contained inside each and every last tube was a human body.

Aleksi gulped, fumbling for her communicator as Jessie joined Shinn, trying to calm Rey down.

"Tristan?" she whispered, as though fearful of waking the occupants of the tubes.

"_Yes ma'am?_"

"Contact the _Minerva_," she said. "Tell them to get themselves down here ASAP. And have medical staff ready—Rey's collapsed, and I don't think the rest of us are doing any better."

With that, she clicked off the communicator, not even waiting for Tristan's reply. Now she knew—she understood that dark feeling.

They'd walked right into a nest of dark and evil sins.

* * *

**Author's Notes: I always wondered about how Athrun talked about "unnecessary deaths" because of Kira's actions, even though the Tannhauser would've killed a LOT more Orb soldiers than there even were crew of the _Minerva_. So, I had Kira point that out, along with some other things regarding how everything's going.**

**We also get the much-needed Flay, Liz and Louisa screentime, as well as some more on Flay in relation to her preparations to join the ranks of the Angels. We get to an idea of what the relationship/friendship between Liz and Louisa is, a subject I've been very vague on up to this point. Suiren discusses a bit of everything with Athrun and Heine, revealing the Specter's pilot as a berserker. Hotaru has a talk with Neo, and he's now caught on to some of the reality of who and what she is.**

**Aleksi is forcefully promoted to Redcoat status--something I actually had a lot of fun with, because of the way her attachment to her GuAIZ was used to make her accept the promotion. Meanwhile, Shizuka explains how the Taiyonoha have handled the matter of their machines being on the _Archangel_ and Natarle comments on just how powerful the Taiyonoha really are.**

**The Flay-Makoto bit where they discuss the Earth Forces machines is something I put in mostly because I've had a hard time getting Flay-Makoto interaction, and I felt we needed more of it. Meanwhile, Luna learns a great many secrets, and unlike Athrun, it seems to shake her belief in ZAFT and reinforce her feelings for Kira--a man she's never even met. Who knows where that will lead. Neo commissions Hotaru to "train" the Extended, who have been rather disappointing lately. And finally, my last thing to discuss is the first event in the chapter: the confrontation between Suiren and Talia. It was always my intention that Suiren challenge Talia, and even threaten to destroy the Tannhauser if it were to be fired again. The only exception she'll ever make is if Durandal gives the order and she believes it's necessary--for instance, let's say, trying to destroy the _Archangel_. It would be all but invincible otherwise.**

**And that's that. If we're lucky, the next chapter will actually be posted before the day is done, so hurry up, read these chapters, review, and be ready for the next one!**

**Ja ne!**


	23. Phase 23: The Darkest Secrets

**Alright, we managed to pull it off. Two chapters in one day, partially as a celebration for my 19th birthday.**

**Fortunately, it didn't turn out to be the nightmare I'd feared it would be. In any event, here we go: Phase Twenty-Three of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity _released in tandem with Phase Twenty-Four of _Gundam SEED Destiny: A Retelling_. Because of what's in this chapter, it's a fair bit shorter than the last one, but I think this is a good one, and so, it should be forgiven.**

**Okay, I'm gonna stop boring you all now. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Most of this chapter is the work of Akatsuki Leader13. The parts that are mine... well, they'll be fairly obvious, I think.  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Three: The Darkest Secrets

November 16th, C.E. 73

* * *

The _Minerva_

Suiren sighed as she walked down the corridors of the ships. Today and yesterday had been fun, and it would be a shame to be getting back to work.

Barely more than a month had passed since the fall of Junius Seven, and already, so much had happened. Like a pair of ancient duelists, ZAFT and the Earth Forces had been exchanging blows, thrust, parry, slash, dodge, and on and on. The only difference was that ZAFT was keeping to the defensive, only going on the offense when someone requested liberation from the Earth Alliance. But Suiren doubted that would last forever.

And something had to break soon. None of them could go on like this. They'd gotten breaks no longer than a few days. Their longest had been back in Diocuia, and it had weighed down by the information on Logos, the brief spat of tension between Zane and his former teammates, and the presence of that annoying, pink-haired, bimbo-headed brat that claimed to be Lacus Clyne. That bit of deception was going to bite Durandal hard one day, she was certain of that.

And Durandal… he was trying to push them even harder than the _Archangel_ had been pushed in the last war. It was folly, and if he didn't let up soon, he was going to send the _Minerva_ and its crew straight to their deaths.

"Penny for your thoughts?" interjected a voice suddenly. Suiren paused, glancing over her shoulder to see Shiho standing behind her, watching her. "You seem troubled." Suiren looked away, sighing.

"The crewmen are about to hit their breaking points," she said. "I can already see some of the early signs of it. Aves is working himself to the brink on maintenance, the crew is showing signs of tension, and the pilots… they won't last much longer either."

Shiho nodded. "You're right," she said. "We're being pushed for much more than we're worth at this point. I wouldn't complain if the Angels were here as well, but…"

"The Angels…" Suiren shook her head, continuing forward, leaving Shiho behind. "I wonder if those two even have a breaking point."

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

"That's the third tech you've sent to the infirmary," commented Rache, watching the mechanic limp out of the hangar. "You think you could cool down?"

"They touched Astarte," replied Hotaru icily, proving that cooling down was the last thing she needed. "_Nobody_ touches _my_ machine but _me_."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

Hotaru sighed. Makoto had done a real number on the Astarte. She should've known better than to hold back during that fight. She almost wondered if she could really fight at her full potential again.

How many years had she been locking herself down?

"How is your machine coming along anyway?" asked Rache. He'd just finished work on the Verde Buster, but not wanting to deal with Silber or Gyunei's crankiness over the state of their own machines and the way the Gaia received priority over them, he'd decided to stay in the hangar rather than join them in the lounge.

"She's done, actually," answered Hotaru. "My girl is a hundred percent again."

"That's good to hear," muttered Rache. "Maybe now you'll stop breaking limbs."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," replied the EX-C. Hotaru sighed.

Gyunei, Silber, Nanai and Miguel were all in foul moods over the way the last battle went. Treize was _still _under, and Maia had shown a measure of instability over the length Treize would be out, so she was being kept asleep until he was moving again.

Sting and Auel were undergoing their routine maintenance, and the doctors were taking a little longer, trying to see if they could tweak the two to try and emulate Stella's sudden increase in abilities—something that seemed to put emphasis on just what the two really were to the Alliance. Stella herself was with Neo.

And Leon had disappeared who knows where. He wandered even more than Hotaru—she sometimes wondered if he was flouting his license.

Which left only two of the _John Paul Jones_ twelve pilots relatively handy: Hotaru and Rache.

It wasn't to say that Hotaru was really complaining. Of the Third Generation, Rache was probably her favorite, because while he was as dedicated a soldier as the others, at least _he_ seemed to understand the concept of kicking back and relaxing.

Hotaru shook her head to clear it. Now that the repairs to Astarte were complete, she'd start her 'training' with the Extended tomorrow.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," she said, walking away. Idly, she stretched her arms over her head, pulling on her left elbow with her right hand. Rache raised an eyebrow when he saw a strange birthmark roughly shaped as a pentagram on her left wrist. He wouldn't have noticed—or been curious—if it hadn't been clear that the sweat she'd worked up fixing the Astarte had washed off some makeup, particularly since he'd never seen it before. Now why had she tried to hide it?

* * *

Earth Forces Extended Research Facility Lodonia

A short while later

Talia stared at the abandoned facility, wondering what had been here and what caused the reaction among two of her crew as ZAFT personnel finished setting up camp in the facility grounds. Hopefully, some of those questions would soon be answered.

"We've finished checking the inside. We've disabled and removed all explosive devices. Biological abnormalities: negative," reported one of the ZAFT officers as biohazard crews withdrew from the facility.

"I see. Thank you," replied Talia.

Well, that eliminated the possibility of them having been exposed to some kind of biological agent that caused their reactions and meant that they were in no physical danger. Unfortunately, it still left the question of why it happened.

"But that means we still don't have an explanation for what triggered Rey's reaction," said Arthur, voicing her exact thoughts. "Outside of Suiren and Aleksi's explanation, but that sounds too farfetched to believe."

Regardless, now that the facility was safe, they could enter the building and get some answers.

"Captain, the Saviour is here," an officer called out from one of the nearby consoles.

A moment later, the Saviour in its mobile armor mode soared overhead, before transforming back and landing next to the Impulse and the other mobile suits.

They had moved most of the _Minerva_'s mobile suits outside, in case the Alliance attacked. It would be much faster for the pilots to board their machines and take off outside, rather than launch from inside the ship.

Once the Saviour had landed, it powered down and Athrun disembarked, approaching Talia and her XO.

"When I got back to the harbor, they told me you had taken off," he explained. "So what's going on? Did something unusual happen?"

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

"How are the repairs coming?" asked Neo.

"Well, the repairs on the Specter, Gaia and Astarte are done," answered the mechanic. "And the Abyss, Verde Buster, Viola Surge and Divina Guardian escaped with relatively little damage. But we're gonna be up all night finishing the work on the others, particularly the Rosso Aegis."

Neo nodded as Stella affectionately clung to his arm. "Yes I know. We didn't expect that they'd take so much damage in that last sortie."

"True. But by fixing them here instead of returning to Suez, we're really pushing our luck."

"I hear you, but it can't be helped. If they were damaged to the point that they could no longer function, then we'd have a good reason to go back. But the bulk of them are still healthy," replied Neo, glancing at Stella.

Stella smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

Another officer approached the pair. "Captain Roanoke, sir," said the man with a salute.

"What is it?" asked Neo.

"It's the lab at Lodonia sir," replied the officer. Stella frowned as Neo pulled away from her, moving towards the officer. Lodonia felt familiar to Stella, but she couldn't remember why. "There was an accident, and they failed to demolish the site. To make matters worse, ZAFT found it."

Neo let out a tired sigh. "You're kidding me."

"We've notified Suez and they're scrambling to do something about it. I thought you should know, sir."

* * *

EX-C Maintenance Room

"The dialysis is complete. Your blood has been purged of the excess of drugs."

Treize opened his eyes. Every inch of his body ached, but he had experienced worse, much worse. Treize rose from the stretcher he was laying on, sitting up. He glanced down at his arm, at the tubes inserted into his veins.

"However, your body won't be back at a hundred percent for another forty to forty-eight hours," the doctor droned on as Treize pulled out the tubes. "Also, I've locked your administrator at its lowest setting as your body is still recovering. After forty-eight hours, when your body has fully recovered I'll release the lock and set you back to your normal."

"I'll be at a hundred percent in thirty," said Treize, getting to his feet.

"But–" the doctor started, but Treize ignored him as he left for his quarters. He needed to change back in his uniform after spending the last few days in his pilot suit—the long process of carefully purging the excess drugs from his system, restoring his condition after the use of his block, repairing the damage inflicted from the use of the drugs and the strain of his battle had taken every day since the battle, and even then, the recovery wasn't completed just yet. His pilot suit felt nothing short of disgusting.

* * *

Lodonia

Talia, Arthur, Athrun, Suiren, Heine, Shinn and Saul silently walked through the dark corridors, reeking of death. Nicol and Shiho had initially joined them, but they both left soon after, unable to stomach the smell and the sights they saw. Bodies were lying all over the place. Some were wearing the white coats of doctors, others, the white uniforms of nurses and orderlies. But most were clad in simple beige clothes with a metal collar on their necks. Most horrifying of all, those wearing beige were all young children.

And all of the bodies were stained with blood…

On the ground laid a doctor, his head bashed into an unrecognizable mess. Nearby, a young girl was slumped up against a wall, trails of blood leading down from several bullet wounds in her body. The body of a blond haired nurse clutched a dead child to her chest, as though trying to shield it from an unseen attacker, but the child she held was driving a knife into her chest. A teenage boy was sprawled across the floor, staring up at the ceiling, knife wounds, both deep and shallow, lining his body, and a bullet hole in his forehead.

Above the ground, resting on an exposed part of the ceiling stood two ravens, giving a silent vigil to dead lining the hallway. Yet oddly, none of the bodies showed any signs of being picked on by the scavengers. It was as though the horrors of what had happened here were so great that the scavengers dared not touch the remains, lest it poison them.

Suddenly, Arthur's foot bumped an empty bottle, causing it to roll across the floor loudly. Arthur turned, following it with his flashlight until it hit the wall and stopped. He pulled up his flashlight, gasping in horror.

"What in… heaven's name…" gasped Arthur, horrified at the sight. "What kind of place is this?!"

What they had thought was a wall was in fact a series of large glass cylinders filled with a clear liquid. Inside, floating in the fluid was a naked ten-year-old boy, his empty, lifeless eyes staring at them. Worse, they could see the outlines of more bodies in the other tubes.

For a few minutes, no one said anything, until Talia gestured towards the body of a doctor lying a foot away from the door at the end of the room. His back was a torn, bloody mess. Clearly, someone had jumped him from behind, stabbing at him repeatedly until he died, perhaps even for a bit afterwards. A few inches from his outstretched right hand laid a keycard. Talia pointed her flashlight at it. There was writing on the card, reading _Self-Destruct Authorization_.

"A mutiny. That's what it looks like," said Talia. "They were going to blow up the lab but…" She trailed off, everyone realizing what had happened.

"But what's with all the children?" asked Arthur the one thing he couldn't figure out.

No one answered, either not wanting to voice their thoughts on the dead children or unwilling to accept them. Talia stepped over the body and entered the room, everyone else following behind her. The room was small and had only a single computer terminal and chair. However, two of the walls were lined with small glass cases, filled with something, but they couldn't see what in the dark.

Shinn pressed his face close against one, but instantly let out a startled yelp as he jumped back. Inside the case was a human brain. Athrun pointed his flashlight on the wall, revealing that all of the cases were filled with human brains. Everyone was disgusted at the latest sight in a long string of horrific sights they had seen so far, but none said anything, for it was a far tamer sight than the others had been. Athrun quickly lowered his light as Saul approached the terminal.

It was the only reason he had come along, otherwise, Saul would have left with Nicol and Shiho.

"Alright, let's see…" said Saul, his fingers dancing across the keyboard, trying to ignore the brains around him. "Wow… high-level security and encryptions… they definitely didn't want anyone getting in."

"Can you crack it?" inquired Talia, looking over his shoulder at the screen.

"Of course, I can hack it. It may be high-level but it's not the worst I've seen," reassured Saul. "There. She's cracked. Now let's see what… shoot…"

"What? What is it?"

"While they were trying to abandon this place, they initiated a data purge. Fortunately, something stopped it. Likely around the same time that all those people were killed. Unfortunately, I can't tell how much data was lost or damaged." Saul paused for a moment. "What the… there's sections that appear to be under even heavier encryptions. Damn… I haven't seen encryptions this heavy since Orb. It will take time to crack those, but at least it can be cracked, unlike back at Orb."

"Well, bring up what you can," said Talia.

Saul nodded, bringing up the first available file. "Okay… Year 64, July… 11 rejected, 3 admitted," he read out loud. "August… 7 rejected, 5 admitted."

"Rejected… admitted? What are they talking about?" asked Arthur.

"They're records," answered Talia, a noticeable tremor in her voice. "Of the arrival and departure of test subjects… of children."

"The Extended," muttered Suiren, feeling as though a hole had replaced her stomach as her fears were finally confirmed. "This is where they made them."

"Yeah… this is one place I never thought I'd set foot in," added Saul, still typing away. "The descriptions they gave us of withdrawal were bad enough, but this place is worse."

Shinn blinked his eyes in confusion. "Extended?"

"I've heard rumors and stories about the Alliance's Extended," replied Talia. "Though they detest genetic manipulation, the Alliance and Blue Cosmos are not above creating living weapons through the use of drugs and other means. Humans who exist only to fight. This is their experimental production facility. With drugs and other means, they were able to reconstruct and enhance their bodies, enabling them to compete against Coordinators. They were then subjected to the most rigorous combat training imaginable. Those who weren't competitive enough or who couldn't keep up with the rest were discarded mercilessly. That's the kind of place this was." She paused before asking, "Who are you talking about? Have you encountered Extended in the past?"

"Yeah, we have and so have you," answered Saul. "During the Battle of Jachin Due, Shiho and I battled a pair of very strong Earth Forces pilots while our friends, Yzak and Dearka, double teamed a third. They got attacked by reinforcement, and died fighting him. Shiho and I were so distracted that the other two escaped. Then… something, I really don't know what, happened, and the two who escaped, along with another like them, turned against the Earth Forces and destroyed their flagship, saving the _Archangel_ in the process. Only one of them had any real grasp of who she was, so they all ended up staying in Orb."

Talia solemnly nodded her head. "But you said that we've met them as well. When was that?"

"They were two of the three pilots with Commander Alaric," said Suiren, cutting in. "Shani Andras and Clotho Buer."

Shinn staggered back upon hearing those words. They had come from this hellhole?! He hadn't believed it when Commander Alaric called them victims, but after seeing where they had come from…

Suddenly, someone stepped into the doorway, cocking a gun. Everyone turned. Standing in the doorway was a young boy, no more than twelve, wearing the pale, bloodstained clothes and dark collar of one of the test subjects. His eyes were gray with tears trailing down his dirty cheeks, his left eye twitching every few seconds while his head was completely hairless, but there noticeable surgical scars across his head. He had a pistol in his hands, aimed at them.

"Whoa now…" said Talia, raising her hands as she tried to calm him down. "We don't mean you any harm. My name is Talia. What's your name?"

"The voices… those voices… they won't stop…" he mumbled. "I killed them… but they won't stop! They won't stop screaming! Why won't they stop?!"

"No one's screaming," said Talia, keeping her voice low.

"Are you mad?!" the boy exclaimed, tightening his hold on the shaking gun in his hand. "They're screaming constantly! I killed them but they won't stop screaming in my head!"

"Calm down. We can help you," replied Talia. "We can take you from here and make you better."

Unfortunately, the words 'make you better' didn't react well with the boy. He began screaming at the top of his lungs, firing off a few shots. Everyone dropped to the ground instantly as bullets hit the ceiling and the glass cases on the wall.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" the boy screamed, putting the gun to his forehead.

"No! Don't!" Talia cried out, trying to stop him.

_BAM!_

The boy's lifeless body collapsed to the ground. For a moment, everyone was silent.

"That's it!" exclaimed Saul, breaking the silence as he stood up. "I'm getting the hell out of this damned nuthouse. I'll send someone down to set up a datalink with our terminals outsides. There's no way in hell I'm spending another second in this place."

No one could disagree with him.

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Sting, Auel and Stella were walking to the mess hall when Stella suddenly spoke up.

"The lab at Lodonia…"

Her male teammates stopped, looking back at her with questioning looks.

"What?" asked Sting.

"What is it?" asked Stella, trying to remember why it was important.

Sting blinked in confusion, wondering why Stella was asking about it. "That lab at Lodonia? Don't you remember?"

"That's the place we lived before we came here," added Auel.

With her question answered, the two resumed walking. "I wonder what brought that up," commented Sting as he stepped into the mess hall doorway.

Before Auel could reply, Stella spoke again. "To make matters worse, ZAFT found it…"

Once again, both froze and turned to their female teammate.

"What?!" shouted Auel, beginning to panic.

His mother was at Lodonia. If ZAFT had found it, she was in… was in…

"I have to stop them! I have to stop them!" yelled Auel, starting to run to the hanger.

But he only got a few steps before Sting grabbed him, stopping him. "Come on! Calm down, will ya!"

Auel broke free and spun around. "Calm down! How do you expect me to calm down!" he screamed. "That lab is the place where my mother–" He froze in horror. Auel had just used his block word. "Mo… Mo… ther is… she's… still… there…"

Sting's eyes widened in horror, knowing his teammate's block word.

"Hey! Cut it out Auel!" he said, grabbing Auel by the collar.

"Mo…ther… Mother… could… Mother's gonna die!" Auel howled in terror, tears trailing down his eyes. "Mother could… No! I can't let that happen!"

"Die?" uttered Stella in a monotone as she watched the pair. But something _different_ happened. She started walking away. "Die… but I don't want to die… I'm scared…" Suddenly she stopped. "Protect…" Images of Shinn appeared in her mind, images of him protecting her. "Protect," she said, sprinting down the corridor, heading for the hanger.

Minutes later, Stella entered the hanger, running past several crewmembers as she reached the Gaia and climbed in.

"Open that hatch!" she ordered, powering up the Gaia. "Open it or I'll rip it apart!"

But Stella didn't even bother waiting for them to do anything. She turned around and started forcing the hanger door open. It didn't take long for her to do it. After all, the hatches were designed to withstand an external force trying to open it, not something forcing its way out.

Stella leaped out of the hanger, transforming the Gaia before it landed.

"Lodonia… Lab… Protect… Mother…" she whispered like a mantra, heading for Lodonia.

"_Everything's fine… I'll make sure of it… Stella…"_

The name was wrong again. A part of her dimly wondered why.

* * *

Lodonia

Unfortunately, while none of them desired to stay in the facility, they had to. They needed to make sure that there weren't any survivors still around, so Talia had ordered them, along with other ZAFT personnel, to search the entire facility for anyone that might still be alive while other teams were sent in to begin the retrieval of the bodies for a proper burial.

Suiren and Athrun were searching together through more hallways. Unfortunately, all they found was more blood and bodies. Suiren had a hand rubbing her temple, trying to keep back what she felt emanating from the entire facility. That was until she reached a door. She stopped at a closed metal door, feeling something faint but familiar. It was almost exactly like the feeling she got whenever the Specter's pilot was near her, but with the rage and bloodlust toned down, leaving the wrongness of him at the forefront. She placed a hand on the door and was instantly bombarded by an overpowering surge of images, voices and feelings.

Needles pierced her arms, filling her veins with fire.

"_Give him more…"_

Red began to fill her vision. The fire was threatening to burst from her body.

"_More…"_

"_But Doctor…"_

"_More…"_

She couldn't keep the fire in anymore. It was tearing her apart. She had to release it. She yelled… she screamed… she howled… she roared…

"_RAAAAAAGH!!!"_

"_My God! He's broken loose!"_

"_He's gonna kill us all!"_

"_For the love of God, let us out!"_

"_Thank you for donating your bodies for science, gentlemen…"_

"_NOOOOOOO!!!"_

"_HELP ME—AAAAAAAARGH!!!"_

Suiren stumbled back, clutching her head. Athrun appeared behind her, grabbing her shoulders.

"Suiren! Are you alright?" he asked, worried about her.

The sheer force of it had been too much, leaving her temporarily in a daze. "They did terrible… horrible things to him… drove him mad… and he tore them apart with his bare hands…" she whispered without even realizing it, her eyes beginning to water. "…And he loved it… he loved inflicting pain on them… Goddess… he loved it so much..."

"It's alright Suiren," said Athrun, slowly guiding her back outside. "I'm going to get you out of here."

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Neo rushed into the hanger with Treize behind him. Instantly, he could see the empty spot where the Gaia stood and the hanger door that had been forced opened.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Sorry sir. She ran in here and boarded the Gaia before we could stop her," answered a crewmember. "She forced open the hatch and ran."

Neo bit back a curse. "Treize, take the Specter and bring her back," he ordered. "_Alive_."

"Yes sir," replied the Extended, rushing towards the Specter. Neo turned to the other crewmen.

"And get me Haruka, _now_!"

* * *

Lodonia

Once they were outside, Athrun set Suiren down at one of the tables that had been set up. Suiren looked and felt a lot better, now that she was outside the facility, but she still hadn't fully recovered.

"Are you going to be alright?" asked Athrun, sitting down next to her.

"I will be," answered Suiren quietly. "That place is… is filled with so much pain and suffering. I've lived with horrible things since I was born, but that… it was just too overwhelming for me."

Nearby, the first of the bodies were being brought back. There were too many… too many children among the dead. Stretches carrying two, three, even four small bodies, were being taken past them and lined up on the ground.

There had been times when Athrun had hated the actions of the Earth Alliance. The Bloody Valentine Tragedy, the invasion of Orb, the repeated use of nuclear weapons, the declaration of war following Break the World, forcing Orb to join forces with them, were examples of their actions he despised. However, he had never truly hated the Earth Alliance as a whole. But seeing the bodies of those children, and the horrors that they and countless others had suffered, made a part of him utterly hate the Earth Alliance, and wanted to see it burn for its crimes here.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was how the men and women who dropped Junius Seven felt.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Stella! Return to the _John Paul Jones_ at once!" demanded Treize as he approached the Gaia from above. But there was no response from Stella. "Fine. You leave me no choice. If you do not return at once, you will _die_."

…Nothing happened and the Gaia continued racing towards Lodonia.

"What?! The block word isn't working?!" shouted Treize angrily as the Gaia rushed ahead. "That's impossible!" He paused, shaking his head. "No matter, I'll stop her the other way."

* * *

Lodonia

Heine, Saul and Shinn collapsed down next to Athrun and Suiren, looking pale and worn out.

"There were no survivors," said Heine, his voice utterly devoid of its normal light and humorous tone.

"There was no one else alive?" asked Athrun.

"None that survived," answered Saul, sounding exhausted, frustrated and disgusted.

Athrun could tell from his tone that he shouldn't inquire into what that meant exactly.

"This is crazy! It's unbelievable!" exclaimed Shinn angrily. "They go on about Coordinators being a mistake and a crime against nature, and then they create these!?"

"Shinn..."

"How the hell can they say tinkering with genes is wrong when they are doing things like this!?"

"I couldn't agree more," started Athrun.

Unfortunately, that was as far as he got. At that second, Bart's voice came through the radio in one of the nearby consoles, where the Captain, the XO, and a number of ZAFT officers were.

"_Captain! One, no two, incoming mobile suits! They're the Gaia and the Specter!_"

"What?! Just the two?" asked Talia.

"_Yes ma'am._"

Talia spun around to the pilots, four of whom were already on their feet, only Suiren who hadn't fully recovered, remained sitting.

"Go! Defend the complex," she ordered as the four were already running to their machines.

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize drew his beam revolvers, firing in front of the Gaia's path. Stella didn't even slow down, she just leapt to the left, her beam blades slicing through the forest.

"Damn this blasted girl," growled Treize. "This would have been so much easier if I didn't have to bring her back alive."

Suddenly, the Specter's radar started to beep. Treize swore. Four contacts were approaching. ZAFT mobile suits.

"Annoying insects," he said, twirling his revolvers for a moment before firing at them. "I'll crush you all and then bring her back!"

The Impulse, the Saviour, the Rose, the GOUF and the ZAKU pulled apart, dodging his shots.

"We need to be careful," said Athrun. "If they came here to destroy the facility, they may have been equipped with special equipment. We need to take them out without destroying them."

"_What?! You want us to take them down without destroying them?!_" exclaimed Shinn.

"Exactly."

At that moment, the Gaia attacked, leaping into the air and firing at the Impulse and the Saviour. Athrun dodged the beams while Shinn blocked a few with his shield before the Gaia collided with him.

Nearby, Treize continued to fire on Heine and Saul. The GOUF and ZAKU split apart, coming at the Specter from different sides, but it still managed to track them, firing a revolver at each of them. But that didn't stop them. They continued to race towards the Specter, Heine drawing his sword and Saul drawing his tomahawk. The blades swung at the Specter, but Treize narrowly pulled up in time.

"Fast, but not fast enough!" shouted Treize, firing on them as he soared upwards.

"I'll show you fast!" Saul yelled back, dancing around the beams as he raced after the Specter, firing the ZAKU Surge's thrusters.

Athrun fired on the Gaia, managing to blast off the beam rifle stored on its side before the Gaia struck him and bounced off. As it soared, the Gaia transformed back into its mobile suit form. Stella landed, trying to find her rifle. But neither Athrun nor Shinn let up. Shinn fired at her as he rushed towards her, forcing Stella to protect herself with her shield for a few moments before leaping into the air, to avoid his shots.

But Athrun was waiting for her, firing his rifle as she raced upwards.

"Shinn, I'll distract the Gaia, you come at it from below," said Athrun.

Stella drew her beam saber and pulled her shield in front her, moving towards the Saviour as it rushed towards her. Once Athrun drew close, Stella attacked, pulling back her shield and swinging down on him. But Athrun was faster, sidestepping her blade as he rushed past her.

At that instant, the Impulse shot up, its beam saber drawn. Before Stella could mount any kind of defense, Shinn sliced through the front of the Gaia's chest, tearing up a large gash. The Gaia fell, crashing violently on the ground. It was down.

Shinn landed next to the fallen machine, taking a closer look at it. He looked into the exposed cockpit and gasped. Lying in the cockpit was the unconscious form of Stella…

"Hmph. Inferior girl," said Treize in contempt of his fallen teammate. "You can stay here and die for your stupidity and weakness." At that instant, a presence flashed across his senses, and he pulled up in time to avoid a pair of mortars that cut the air where he'd just been.

"_Suiren!_" said Heine as the Rose rushed forward, Tempest sword drawn.

"Heine, Saul, pull back and cover me," she ordered, swinging the sword down on the Specter, Treize blocking with his shield. He tried to bring his revolver to bear, but her other hand lashed out, grabbing the Specter's wrist and forcing the weapon away. "The others are on their way."

"_But Suiren, this guy went up against–_" started Saul

"Trust me!" insisted Suiren. The Specter tried to bring its knee up to the Rose's torso as the two continued to struggle, but Suiren brought the Rose's own leg up to catch and hold the Specter's.

"_Kill…_"whispered the voice. "_Kill…_"

The Specter's verniers flared to life, pushing the Rose back. Suiren grit her teeth, firing her own thrusters up to slow things down a little.

Then, sensing the others, Suiren reared the Rose's head back before slamming it into the Specter's, sending the dark Gundam tumbling back.

Heine soared in, lashing out with his heat rod at the Specter. Treize pulled up his shield arm. The whip coiled around the shield and the Specter's arm. Heine pulled back with everything his GOUF had, pulling the Specter's arm, causing it to drop its revolver.

As Treize fought to free himself from the GOUF, Aleksi took the window of opportunity. Her extensional arrestors fired, the thrusters activating to carefully angle and coil themselves around the Specter's other arm, and she pulled back, running the gears to withdraw the arrestors as well, causing Treize to drop his remaining gun and pulling the right arm away from the left.

"Let go of me, you test-tube bastards!" shouted Treize as he fought to free himself.

Their only response was Heine releasing the electrical discharge of his heat rod into the Specter, messing with its systems.

"Now Athrun!" shouted Suiren, who'd pulled back to try and complete her recovery, made more difficult by her bout with the deadly pilot of the Specter.

Athrun, in the transformed Saviour, raced towards the Specter. At the last second, the Saviour transformed back and drove its foot into the dark mobile suit. At that same second, Heine pulled his heat rod and Aleksi withdrew her arrestors.

Like the Gaia, the Specter was thrown down, crashing into the ground.

"Alright, he's down," said Heine, looking down at the immobile Specter. "Is it just me or does he seem… weaker than he did in the last battle?"

"Maybe it's a different pilot," suggested Athrun, thinking the same thing. There was no way that this pilot had battled Kira to a standstill. Either it was a different pilot or they had been injured in the last battle and wasn't able to fight as he had.

Suddenly, Suiren, Rey and Aleksi felt an _extremely_ powerful and potent presence flash across their senses right on top of their heads.

"_New heat source, right on top of you!_" called Bart.

But it was too late. Beams lit up the sky, piercing the rifles of every machine and knocking out the thrusters on most. Suiren, Rey and Aleksi all somehow managed to evade, while the Saviour, GOUF and ZAKU Surge crashed to the ground, the Impulse's Force Silhouette detonated on its back, and the ZAKU Duel Arms and ZAKU Blitz joined the others on the ground almost as soon as they arrived.

Everyone turned their attention skyward as the Takusan returned to the Astarte. Staring down at them, the Gundam was even more menacing with their present situation.

"Damn!" cursed Suiren as she led Rey and Aleksi up to face the pilot. However, another flash cut across their senses. Rey and Aleksi both cried out, and in the instant of distraction, the Renpatsujū destroyed both Guuls.

Suiren grit her teeth as she fought against that pressure. The situation had gone from bad to worse. She drew her second Tempest sword as she continued forward.

"What the hell are you?!" she demanded, swinging her swords at the Astarte, only for the Haretsu Suru to deflect both with lightning quick parries. The Astarte's sword descended on the Rose, but Suiren caught it with her crossed Tempest swords.

"Damn," muttered Hotaru. She'd thought going to this level would work. It was only one step short of everything she had. "Well then… sorry." A sapphire jewel seed flashed through Hotaru's mind and across the senses of Suiren, Rey and Aleksi before bursting in a nova of light and power.

"_RAAAAGGHHH!!!_" came Suiren's scream over the comm. lines as the Rose suddenly fell from the skies. Athrun rushed forward, barely managing to catch her before she crashed to the ground at an angle that would've shattered the Rose's wings.

Within the Rose, Suiren thrashed against her harness, soon snapping it with her strength.

"_Why won't she stop crying?"_

"_Look, they're playing together!"_

"_Help us. Help us! HELP US! **HELP US!!!**"_

"Make them stop!" she screamed, clutching at her skull. "I don't want to hear them again! _MAKE THEM STOP!!!_"

As Suiren screamed, Hotaru winced, feeling all that pain that was even now crippling everyone else in the area who could feel it, before turning to look at the facility. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

No! If they found that data… worse, if Durandal saw it…

"Shit," she swore. "This is Lodonia?! Neo, you idiot, you should've told me something went wrong!" The Astarte rose further into the air, and Hotaru grabbed her rifle. None of the mobile suits below were in a position to offer resistance. The Daini unfolded and connected to the Hitotsu, forming the Astarte's ultimate weapon once again.

"If you don't want to die," she said, projecting her voice over the Astarte's external speakers. "Then I suggest you get away from the facility!"

Two seconds later, and the Hakai Suru fired, the massive mega beam crashing into the heart of Lodonia. Like a second sun, the explosion lit up the night for miles around. ZAFT personnel were sent flying through the air, battered by debris. The computers that had been retrieving data fell to pieces, shattering as they hit the ground. Fortunately, though, no one had been inside at the time, and no lives were taken.

When the smoke cleared, it would reveal only a huge crater. But Hotaru didn't stick around for that, disconnecting the Hakai Suru and turning to leave.

But Shinn came in from below, roaring as he drew a beam saber from the new Force Silhouette he'd ordered the _Minerva_ to launch. His rage at everything he'd seen in the facility and his shock at seeing Stella in the cockpit of the Gaia drove him onwards as he attacked the Astarte for all he was worth.

But in his current state and against the enemy he was facing, that didn't prove to be much.

Hotaru easily deflected the strike with her Haretsu Suru, and swung the large sword back in like a knife fighter. Shinn had no way to defend, and no time to dodge against the lightning fast blow as the Haretsu Suru connected with the Impulse's body, cutting or crushing the entire upper torso and the Force Silhouette behind it. Hotaru spun over, giving a brief second in which she fired the Takusan without launching them, hitting the Impulse's legs. The Impulse fell from the sky, and Shinn was forced to eject the Leg and Chest Flyer, escaping on the Core Splendor as the two components exploded.

He expected the Astarte to attack him. Everyone did. She had them right where she wanted them, and could finish them all off and then retreat with her teammates.

But for whatever reason, she didn't. And instead, the Astarte turned and flew away.

"But I don't get it," said Athrun. "Why didn't she finish us off?"

"She probably didn't have enough power left," answered Shiho, checking the damage. Nothing major, but just enough to take them out of an aerial fight. "Damn, she got us good. What the hell is going on here?"

"I know," said Heine. "It's like the Specter pilot lost all his skills and instead put them in that guy."

"What about the facility?" asked Aleksi.

"_Gone,_" came Talia's voice. "_No one was inside, and no one's been seriously injured, but we lost everything that wasn't put on the __**Minerva**__ or memorized._"

"Damn," said Saul. "That must've been their objective after all."

"What do we do with these two?" asked Nicol, turning to the fallen Gundams as the Core Splendor landed next to the Gaia.

"Looks like Shinn's checking the Gaia pilot," said Saul. "Athrun, can you take a look at the Specter? I want to make sure the pilot's out of commission."

"Right."

The Saviour set down the Rose and walked over to the Specter. Athrun powered down his machine and climbed out, making sure he was armed before leaving. He walked over to the Specter and carefully climbed onto its body, heading for the cockpit hatch. Athrun pulled the hatch release, opening the cockpit. he climbed in, his sidearm drawn. The Specter's white-haired pilot laid unconscious in his seat, blood trailing down the side of his face. Oddly, there was a black and white mask on his face that reminded Athrun of Rau Le Creuset's. Athrun didn't know why, but he felt compelled to remove the mask, to see the face of the Specter's pilot, the face of one of their toughest enemies. He reached up and pulled off the black and white cloth mask…

And immediately dropped it when he saw the face below it.

"No…" he whispered, horrified at what he saw. "It can't be…"

But there was no mistaking that face. Even if the hair didn't match, the face did, right down to the small scar under his left eye.

Christopher Dante had come back from the dead…

* * *

**Author's Notes: ...**

**Review! ^_^  
**


	24. Phase 24: The Promise

**We return! You've been waiting a month for this--we sort of figured we'd left you hanging long enough. Anyways, I don't have much to talk about here. I'll just let you all get on with it.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't think anyone really cares.  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Four: The Promise

November 16th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

Outskirts of the Lodonia Facility Crater

No… this was… this was…

"This is impossible!" shouted Athrun to himself. The communicator on his wrist suddenly activated.

"_Athrun?_" came Nicol's voice. "_Athrun, what's wrong?_"

Before Athrun could answer, another voice cut in.

"_Commander Kyusai? Commander Kyusai?_" came Aleksi's voice. "_Suiren!_"

Rey's ZAKU Phantom and Aleksi's GuAIZ rushed to the Rose's side, while on the Gaia, Shinn held Stella, just as shocked to realize she was the Gaia's pilot as Athrun was to see the face of the Specter's pilot.

"Oh Stella… why you?" he murmured, remembering that time he'd saved her.

Suddenly, she started coughing, before cracking her eyes open.

"I can't die… I won't…" she whispered. "I'm scared… protect…" Shinn remembered the time he'd saved her out at Diocuia, and the death of his family. His eyes narrowed as she fell back unconscious, and he picked her up, rushing back to the Core Splendor.

Meanwhile, Rey and Aleksi popped open the hatch of the Rose and looked inside.

What they saw horrified them.

The interior of the Rose looked like it had been torn apart—in fact, judging from Suiren's bloody hands, that's exactly what she'd done. The blonde was lying unconscious in her machine amidst a pile of panels, wires and even the Rose's hand controls. Her shirt was torn, and it looked like she'd clawed at the skin of her own bleeding shoulder. Blood was leaking from her forehead and the corner of her mouth.

"Damn!" cursed Rey, quickly pulling Suiren from the cockpit with Aleksi's help before taking his friend completely on his own and rushing to his ZAKU.

The Core Splendor took off heading back towards the _Minerva_, while the ZAKU Phantom also started rushing in that direction. While Shinn said nothing, Rey activated his comm.

"_Minerva_, please prep the infirmary," he said, Suiren's unconscious form sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest. He winced slightly as another jab of that darkness she was emitting flashed across his senses "Suiren's suffered a lot of injuries."

"_Athrun?_" said Saul. Athrun shook his head, telling himself this had to be some kind of nightmare. "_Athrun!_"

Saul's shout finally broke through the haze clouding his mind, distracting him as he turned towards the hatch. Suddenly, a grayish-green eye and a black eye opened, and a fist slammed into the side of Athrun's head, his pistol flying from his hand. Athrun staggered back, on the edge of the cockpit, but before he could do anything, he was thrown out, falling onto the Specter's leg. Fortunately, it wasn't that much of a drop, and aside from some bumps and bruises he was fine.

Athrun got back up to his feet, looking up at the cockpit. Chris was standing there, pulling his mask back onto his face. Once it was back on, he jumped down onto the leg, unzipping his coat. He threw it back into the cockpit, revealing his scarred, muscular arms. Underneath his coat, he wore a sleeveless black t-shirt with a noticeable bulge on the center of his chest.

"It's been a long time since I've killed someone with my bare hands," said Chris, punching his palm. "I'm going to enjoy this."

_It… it doesn't even sound like him_, thought Athrun as he took a defensive step back while Chris spread his legs apart and raised his arms up, slipping into a fighter's stance.

Chris charged forward, pulling his right arm back. Athrun managed to sidestep his attack, only to have Chris swing his arm, trying to backhand him. But Athrun was faster, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, forcing Chris onto one knee.

"Chris! It's me! Athrun! We were friends! We shouldn't be fighting!" he pleaded as Chris fought to free himself. "Don't you–"

At that instant, Chris's head slammed back into Athrun's face, breaking his hold.

"Chris? Who the hell is Chris? The name's Treize Zabiarov, Patchworker," said Chris, getting back onto his feet while Athrun staggered back. "Don't forget, because it's the name of the one who's gonna kill you."

A powerful fist struck Athrun's gut, followed by another shot to his face. But when he struck a third time, Athrun managed to pull his arms up, blocking the punch and countering with a low kick to Chris's knees, causing him to lose his balance. Athrun followed up with an uppercut, hitting Chris square in the chin. As he fell down, Athrun stopped, wiping the blood from his nose.

"Please Chris! This isn't you!" he said, trying to reason with him. "I don't want to fight you! Please, stand down!"

Suddenly, Chris's feet slammed into Athrun's abdomen. Athrun fell to his hands and knees, dry heaving as Chris rose to his feet.

"You're beginning to annoy me, Patchworker," he said. "I'm going–"

"_Hold it right there!_" Heine called out from his GOUF, his beam guns locked on Chris. "_Another step and I'll fire!_"

"Go ahead!" Chris yelled back, spreading his arms out as he turned to the mobile suit. "Fire! Kill us both!"

Heine didn't fire. He couldn't for that very reason. If he fired, Athrun would be killed in the shot as well, and unfortunately, the GOUF lacked CIWS guns. So he had been bluffing.

"Coward! That's why you're kind is going to lose this war!" shouted Chris. "You lack the spine to do what needs to be done! Had I been in your position, I would've fired without hesitation! But you are all too weak!"

Suddenly, Athrun tackled him, throwing Chris to the ground while he landed on top of him.

"I don't want to do this Chris," said Athrun, raising a fist. "But you leave me no choice."

But Chris was faster, rolling his body, reversing their positions and delivering a series of blows to Athrun's face. Athrun pulled his arms up, shielding himself from more punches before rolling over, forcing Chris off of him.

As Athrun tried to recover from the latest attack, Chris rose up, grabbing him by the collar, lifting him.

"Don't do this," pleaded Athrun.

"Don't do this. I don't want to fight you," echoed Chris mockingly, pulling back his fist. "Like a broken record."

This time, though, Athrun was faster, slamming his knee into Chris's stomach. He stumbled back as Athrun landed on his feet. Before Chris could regain his footing, Athrun struck, delivering punches to his head, forcing him back. But after the third blow, Chris blocked the next punch and struck back with a punch of his own, followed by more vicious blows. Athrun struck back after being hit several more times, throwing Chris off-guard, but only for a moment; as soon as Chris regained his balance, he headbutted Athrun.

It was too much for Athrun. He fell to his knees, vision blurring and his left eye starting to swell. Chris's hands shot out around his neck, cutting off his airflow.

"Time to die," said Chris with a wicked grin.

Athrun gasped for breath, flailing against Chris, but his grip was like iron. He couldn't believe it. He was going to die here, strangled by someone who had been his friend.

_It… can't end… like this…_

_BAM!!!_

Suddenly, Chris let go, staggering back, blood pouring down his right side. His hand instinctively shot there, pressing against the wound, as Athrun choked in air, and both turned to face the direction from which the sound of the gunshot had come.

Standing next to the Specter's cockpit, holding Athrun's fallen gun was Aleksi. She fired again, this time hitting Chris in the shoulder. The masked pilot stumbled back, teetering on the edge of the Specter's leg. Aleksi fired a third time, the bullet catching his leg this time. For a split-second, he just stood there. Then, he fell over the edge.

"Are you aright Athrun?" asked Aleksi, rushing to his side.

But Athrun didn't respond. Instead, he pulled himself over to the edge, staring down at Chris. He wasn't moving as blood continued to pour from his wounds. He needed a doctor. Fast.

"_Athrun? Are you alright?_" came Heine's voice.

Athrun turned his head towards the GOUF. "We need to get him to the _Minerva_! _Now_!"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Damn it!" shouted Hotaru, slamming her fist against the side screen of the Astarte. Destroying Lodonia and removing the threat presented by the others had left her without enough power to rescue Stella and Treize. And what she'd done to the Rose pilot… damn.

Suddenly, something came up on her radar, and she glanced ahead to see the Verde Buster flying her way. Rache pulled up short.

"_Hey, Hotaru, what happened?_" he asked as the Astarte stopped in front of the Verde Buster. "_I could see that explosion from miles away._"

"I destroyed Lodonia," she answered. "And… Treize and Stella have been defeated, probably captured."

"_What?!_"

"I know," she said softly. "I wanted to try getting them out of there, but just what I managed to do was risky enough, and I could never have carried both back. Given the circumstances, I thought it best to destroy Lodonia and keep the information held within out of ZAFT's hands. They might've gotten some data, but hopefully, all the truly important stuff has been destroyed."

"_But they still have those two,_" said Rache. Hotaru sighed.

"I know," she said. "I'm not really sure what'll happen now."

"_Neo's the only one who might be worried about Stella,_" replied Rache. "_The rest will just write her off. But only Miguel is gonna be happy about Treize. Man… this is gonna be trouble._"

"I know, but there's nothing we can do," she said. "Come on, let's head back. ZAFT probably has reinforcements on the way, and even the two of us couldn't take everything they've got to throw at us."

"_Yeah,_" said Rache as he turned around and the two made their way back to the _John Paul Jones_. "_This is gonna get messy._"

"No doubt of that."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Get out of my way!" shouted Shinn, leaping out of the Core Splendor with Stella in his arms. The crew was so confused to see him carrying an Earth Forces soldier that no one stopped him as he rushed out of the hangar, heading for the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Rey crouched down his ZAKU Phantom, opening the hatch and likewise rushing out, holding Suiren's unconscious form. Aves gasped.

"What happened to Commander Kyusai?" he demanded.

"We don't know," said Rey, rushing after Shinn. "She was fighting that machine with the cannon when she suddenly just collapsed and started screaming. She was like this when we opened the hatch."

"What?" gasped Aves. But Rey didn't say anything further, rushing from the hangar with Suiren.

Shinn ran through the corridors of the Minerva, ignoring the confused looks and questions from the crewmembers as he carried Stella to the infirmary. Pausing only to wait for the door to open, he rushed into the infirmary, shouting. "Doctor! Help her! Hurry!"

Dr. Grant and one of his nurses just stood there, utterly flabbergasted at the sight of Stella, clad in a pink Earth Forces uniform. Neither of them made any attempt to move as Shinn set her down on one of the beds.

"C'mon! She's hurt! Help her!" exclaimed Shinn, noticing their inaction.

"I need the Captain's authorization before I can treat enemy combatants," explained Grant. "No one has notified me about this patient."

Shinn was stunned by his words. Stella was hurt, possibly dying, yet the doctor was refusing to treat her because she was an enemy combatant?! What happened to do no harm?! He opened his mouth to shout at the doctor, but the door opened again, and Rey rushed in, holding Suiren's injured body. The sight of a woman he both feared and respected as his commanding officer in such a state caused Shinn's mouth to snap shut in shock. Rey spared him and Stella a glance before carrying Suiren to the second bed, laying her down gently.

At that instant, Stella's eyes shot open.

"Haruka!" she screamed, bolting upright. Shinn turned to her, opening his mouth to speak, but he never got a chance. Stella tackled him as she continued to scream furiously. They wrestled across the floor, Shinn struggling to hold her back while Stella tried to claw out his eyes.

"I won't let you!" she screamed.

At that moment, Rey's hands suddenly grabbed Stella's shoulders, pulling her off of Shinn. But Stella didn't stop fighting, elbowing Rey as he fought to hold her. Rey grunted in pain, but his grip didn't falter at all.

"Stop struggling! You'll only make things worse!" he shouted, trying to be heard over her screams. But if she did hear him, she didn't listen, clawing at his hands and slamming her foot down on his. Rey's vision blurred as the strain coupled with his earlier experiences, but he grit his teeth and held on.

Fortunately, Dr. Grant had already started moving, grabbing and loading an injection gun.

"Try to hold her steady," he ordered, approaching Stella.

"I'm trying," grunted Rey, fighting to keep the flailing blonde under control.

Dr. Grant reached forward, grabbing Stella's shoulder and pushing it against Rey's body, restricted her movements and stilling her enough for him to jab the gun into her neck and squeeze the trigger. The blonde's movements started becoming slow and sluggish as her body started to go limp. Within moments, she was out, allowing Rey to put her back onto a bed.

Rey panted, turning to Shinn. "Bringing an enemy soldier aboard was stupid," he said, leaning against one of the bedposts. "So why Shinn?"

Shinn opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, the door opened yet again. This time, Athrun and Heine entered, carrying a second Earth Forces pilot between them, bandages wrapped around two wounds on his chest and another on his leg.

"Another one?!" exclaimed Grant. "I can't treat these people without–"

"Doctor, as a member of FAITH, I'm ordering you to treat them. Both of them," said Athrun as he and Heine set the pilot they were carrying onto a third bed.

Athrun didn't look fine himself. His face was covered in bruises and cuts and he had a black eye.

"Perhaps I should look at you first," said Grant, glancing at Suiren and correcting himself. "After Commander Kyusai."

"I'll be fine," said Athrun, also glancing at Suiren. "Please, at least look at his wounds first. He's been shot, and I'm not sure how long he'll last without treatment."

"Very well…" said Grant reluctantly. "Nurse Roberts, please attend to Commander Kyusai. Mr. Westenfluss, if you could find some of the other nurses…?"

"Yes, of course," said Heine.

As Heine was about to head out, the door opened for a fourth time. This time, it was Talia and a group of armed soldiers that entered the room.

"What's going on here?" she demanded. "I was told injured prisoners were being brought on board without authorization." She did not sound pleased, and her eyes narrowed further after a quick glance showed her the extent of Suiren's condition.

Shinn gulped, waiting to get chewed out.

"I authorized it," said Athrun, slumping down on the empty bed. "I take full responsibility for bringing them both on board."

Talia eyed him curiously.

"I assume you had a good reason for this," she replied.

"Yes, I do," said Athrun. "But we shouldn't talk here."

"Very well then," said Talia. "We'll talk in my office. Shinn, you as well."

"Yes ma'am," said Shinn.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

"I see," said Neo steadily. "And… why didn't you finish any of them off?"

There was ice in Neo's tone, steel in his spine, and even through the mask, fire in his eyes. The other pilots did not pity Hotaru, but the mercenary seemed to brush it all off with the utmost ease.

"After the initial surprise attack and the destruction of Lodonia, I had very little power left," she answered calmly. "Once I saw the situation, I assessed the priority as the destruction of Lodonia, followed by Treize and Stella's retrieval. With retrieval impossible, I felt it best to retreat. I only removed their ability to battle in the air, and even if I had been able to finish them, both Treize and Stella were disabled, and reinforcements would've arrived."

Neo nodded slowly. "Very well then," he said, leaning back slightly before shaking his head. "This whole thing is a mess, and to make matters worse, Andras is on his way." He stood up suddenly. "Alright, it would seem we've got our work cut out for us. Silber."

"Sir?"

"I want you to piece together a team of the best pilots in our fleet, and commandeer enough Windams for all of the Extended," ordered Neo. "Starting tomorrow, Haruka is going to be in charge of whipping you all back to the quality we were supposed to expect from you. And until further notice, she will be second-in-command of our mobile suit team."

All of the pilots straightened up.

"Understood sir."

"Good," said Neo. "It's time to wake Mariemeia up as well. Haruka, she's also your responsibility."

"Yes sir," replied Hotaru.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"So, what explanation do you have for yourself?" said Talia, sitting down in her chair and glaring at Athrun and Shinn. Athrun gave Shinn a brief glance, telling him to go first. Shinn took a calming breath before proceeding.

"I know that girl," said Shinn. "Her name's Stella. I met her on the coast of Diocuia. She was drowning. I had some trouble understanding her situation. I… you see, at the time, I thought she was a traumatized war victim."

"But the truth of the matter was she was Gaia's pilot," said Talia, a hint of anger in her tone. "She's been fighting us all this time. You know that, right? And… perhaps she's something more."

"I believe you're right," said Athrun. "I also know the pilot of the Specter, but it seems that he's been brainwashed into fighting for the Alliance. You see, he's a Coordinator."

"What?" gasped Shinn and Talia.

"He lost his parents in the Bloody Valentine," continued Athrun. "He hates Blue Cosmos with a passion, but not only did he not recognize me, claiming his name was Treize Zabiarov, but he talked like a Blue Cosmos agent."

"And just who is he supposed to be?" questioned Talia.

"Christopher Dante," he answered. "The pilot of the Raven."

"What?!"

"I didn't believe it myself at first," said Athrun. "But despite some of the changes, the face is identical, right down to a scar Chris received a few months before Jachin Due. I don't really understand how this is possible."

"But why would he do this?" asked Shinn. "I don't understand! The pilot of the Specter… he… he's some kind of monster! We've all seen it before!"

"Chris isn't a monster!" snapped Athrun. However, he immediately regretted his outburst, and sighed. "I'm sorry. You're not wrong about… the Specter's pilot… whatever's been done to him…"

"We were in the middle of storing the encrypted data on the _Minerva_ when the attack happened," said Talia. "I don't know what its current status is, but maybe we can find out more from that."

At that moment, the comm. panel on Talia's desk suddenly started beeping. She switched it on.

"What is it?" she demanded, irritation in her voice.

"_Captain, could you come down here please?_" said Grant.

"I'll be right there," she said before switching off the comm.

**

* * *

**

The Infirmary

_Two women, one preparing to go into surgery… "I'd like you to be her godmother."_

_A couple being led into a facility by another… "So, this is where you work."_

_Two men, one reassuring the other… "Naomi's okay, and so is your daughter."_

_A desperate, running woman, clutching her precious child in her arms… "Everything's gonna be fine, Ami."_

_Several men and women discussing two strange babies… "They've been displaying the same strange behavior."_

_Disembodied voices… "…help us…"_

_An examination table with a blonde baby on top of it… "Her brainwave activity is off the charts."_

_Two men and one woman, preparing themselves for the greatest challenge of all… "The final hour is upon us. Either we succeed… or everything we've strived for has been in vain."_

_A woman, defending everything that matters to her… "She's going to be my godchild! I won't let her suffer for what she has to be! I'll succeed, I swear it!"_

_More voices… "Help us."_

_A man pushing his friend out of the path of a bullet and sacrificing himself… "Yushiro!"_

_A baby, held in the eyes of her dying mother… "Misuumi Hino Kamakura."_

_A woman, looking down on her newborn, saddened only by the way another would not get to do the same again… "Minako Rei Arata."_

_A man, presenting the child he's saved to the mother who desperately needed it… "Canard Yamato."_

_A princess, a legacy, an evolution, coming out into the light of day to brighten the world even more… "Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha."_

_A failure, destined to become his own success, carrying light and darkness within his soul and his chosen future… "Christopher Dante."_

_A boy of light and a girl of darkness, opposites, yet part of a whole, the first an eternal angel, the second a bringer of dawn and hope… "Kira and Cagalli Hibiki."_

_A child with no past and no future, a heart that desperately sought out hope… "Ami Hibiki."_

_A protector… "Elizabeth Dante."_

_A lover… "Flay! FLAY!"_

_A sacrifice… "CHRIS!"_

_A monster… "EX-C1304. Perfect."_

_Pain… "Help us!"_

_The hand of sorrow… "In ascending order from lowest to highest in performance, Auel Neider, Sting Oakley, and Stella Loussier. For the third generation, EX-C0311, EX-C1004, EX-C0607, EX-C0588, EX-C1261, EX-C1306 and EX-C1304. Use them well, Captain Roanoke."_

_A mother's final defiant act… "I won't tell you bastards anything! And you won't hurt my daughter either!"_

_A harbinger… "So… you're the eldest of those cursed children? How… perfect. I should thank him for this."_

_Hell… "HELP US!"_

_And…_

"_When this is all over, the six of us will finally stand together, or so my source claims. And I've found it to be very reliable. Sister… the Reunion is almost upon us, and the Shadow of Divinity shall finally be lifted from those weary souls."_

Suiren's eyes steadily lifted open, her vision hazy, and her mind clouded. What was that? Those voices, crying out for help she knew, though she hadn't heard them in a long, long time. But what was with the new information? Auel, Sting, Stella… EX-C? Why had she heard that? And whose voice had it been…? And that last one… sister? Reunion? The Shadow of Divinity?

What did it all mean?

Sensing the two presences on the other beds, Suiren groaned slightly in pain as she sat up. There was a bandage wrapped around her forehead, her fingers, and her left shoulder.

"Commander Kyusai!" exclaimed Grant, attention caught by the sound. "You're awake." He stood up, walking over to her. "You shouldn't be moving yet."

"How long was I out?" asked Suiren.

"Not long," said Grant. "Only about an hour or so. Now please, lie down. The captain's on her way."

"What about them?" said Suiren, ignoring Grant's order and glancing at the other beds.

"Ah, yes," said Grant. "Shinn and Commander Zala brought them aboard. They're two of the Alliance's Extended. I was ordered to treat them both. I was even ordered to place a higher priority on him than you."

"That's okay," said Suiren, swinging her legs off the bed. Grant exclaimed angrily at her to lie back down, but she ignored him, standing up only somewhat unsteadily. She grunted slightly in pain. "Damn. I did a real number on myself this time."

Grant's eyes widened. "You mean this has happened before?"

"Yes," said Suiren, closing her eyes and taking deep, calming breaths. "But it hasn't happened in years, and back then, my father—or sometimes Talia or Gil—made sure I didn't hurt myself too bad." She opened her eyes, glancing between the two occupied beds. Both of the Extended were strapped down to the beds, and the blonde had a bandage wrapped around her head. The white-haired man had that, and a bandage on his leg, and several on his torso, along with some sort of device on his chest.

"Stella Loussier… and EX-C1304," she murmured.

"What?"

"Her name. His… model number," she replied. "If they're part of that project at Lodonia, maybe we can find more information in the data we retrieved."

"Actually, that data's been destroyed," said Grant, drawing her attention back to him. "I was told your machine just fell out of the sky suddenly, and immediately after, the machine you were fighting destroyed the facility. The nurses are currently treating most of the personnel for minor injuries until relief forces show up."

"I see…" murmured Suiren, eyes narrowed before she started walked to Stella's bedside, ignoring Grant's objections. "Who are you?" she whispered, too softly for Grant to hear. "Are you the one who showed me those images? Are you one of them? Or…" She glanced at EX-C1304. "Did you show me all of that?"

At that moment, the door opened, and Talia walked in with Shinn and Athrun.

"Suiren! Your awake," said Talia, surprised. Suiren glanced at her, nodding slightly.

"Yeah," she said.

"How are you feeling?" asked Athrun.

"Better now that I'm up," she admitted. "When I was unconscious… well, I'd rather not go into it." She looked down at the two Extended again, and the others followed her gaze. Shinn gasped when he saw that the two were bound.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded. "They're injured for crying out loud, especially him! And sure, Stella may have been a little hysterical before…"

"That's not the problem here," said Grant.

"Huh?"

"It appears this girl and that man are two of the Alliance's Extendeds," the doctor explained.

"What?" gasped Shinn.

"I thought so," murmured Talia.

"I gave her something to help her sleep," said Grant. "But honestly, I don't know how long the medication will keep her under. Before treating them, I subjected them to a simple examination. The results were unbelievable for almost every test. For one thing, he's a Coordinator."

"So its true? The Alliance is even using Coordinators for their Extended?" murmured Talia.

"EX-C1304," said Suiren.

"What?"

"EX-C… I get it now," whispered Suiren. "Extended-Coordinator. But that doesn't apply to all of them."

"How do you know this?" asked Grant. Suiren shook her head slightly.

"It's not important right now," she said. "You were saying?"

"Well, next, there are abnormally high levels of many natural chemicals in both of them," said Grant. "In addition, I detected numerous substances not normally found in the human body. It was most likely done through the use of drugs. I can't guarantee it for her, but for him, there's no doubt."

"Then is that thing on his chest…?" questioned Talia.

"Yes," he said. "It's pumping a steady stream of drugs into his system. I considered removing the device, but I can't say what sort of effect the loss of those drugs would have on him. I can't say anything more until we can examine them at a more specialized facility."

"If they're getting these drugs regularly, who knows what the withdrawal could do to them," said Suiren. She shook her head. "I've seen the facilities at Gibraltar. We could probably determine everything we'd need to keep them alive there, but getting there will be difficult."

"What do you mean?" asked Shinn.

"Think about it," said Athrun. "That mobile suit that attacked us fled immediately afterwards. They know we've got two of their pilots. They're not just gonna let us carry them off to Gibraltar."

"Yes, all routes out of the Tarcuius area will be closely monitored from here on out," agreed Talia. "Doctor, how long can they last?"

"Well, I think I can provide something for the girl," he said. "I can't say how long just yet, but I'd guess at about a month, depending on luck and how long she was intended to be able to last without her drugs. For him, estimating by the rate the device is pumping the drugs into him, he's only got two weeks before they dry up. Again, I may be able to devise a temporary solution, but without better facilities, that's all any of it will be."

"So we've got at best three weeks to reach Gibraltar," murmured Talia.

"More if we can scale back the drugs in him further," said Grant. "If we take them down to the bear minimum to sustain him, not only will it be unlikely he'll be able to try and escape, but we could extend how long the drug supply will last."

Athrun bit back a comment about how that might affect Chris. He needed to remember the way things stood right now.

At that moment, Stella's eyes began to lift open. Noticing this, Shinn leaned closer to her.

"Stella," he murmured softly. She turned her head, looking at him. For a moment, everything was quiet.

"I don't know who you are," she whispered.

"What?" gasped Shinn. Suddenly, Stella panicked.

"Where am I?!" she cried, struggling against her restraints.

"Calm down!" said Shinn, instinctively reaching out to hold her down, but stopping himself before he did so. Athrun was about to jump in when Suiren spoke up.

"Calm down Stella," she said, pushing Shinn aside. "No one's going to hurt you."

To general surprise, Stella listened, but her breathing was ragged, her heart rate shooting up, and her eyes shifted quickly, taking everything in. Suiren quickly removed the bandages on her fingers and reached out to gently stroke Stella's cheek, hiding a wince as she put a light amount of pressure on her tender flesh. Stella's eyes focused on Suiren.

"H-Haruka," she whispered, surprising everyone. Then, she seemed to shake her head ever so slightly. "No… you're… why…?"

"My name's Suiren," she said softly. "What's yours?"

"S-Stella."

"And who is Haruka?"

"Haruka… protects Stella…" said the Extended, looking up at the ceiling. "Haruka cares. You're… like Haruka."

Suiren motioned everyone else to back away ever so slightly as she gently sat on the bed next to Stella.

"Then I guess I'll protect Stella," she said gently to the captive blonde.

"Where am I?" asked Stella. "Why is Treize here?"

"Treize?" murmured Athrun, glancing at Chris, confused. And how did Stella know he was there? She couldn't have seen him, bound where she was.

"Rest for now," said Suiren, stalling. "Just rest. We'll talk more later."

Calming herself fully, Stella, still feeling weary, did as told, closing her eyes. Suiren stood up, stepping unsteadily back from the bed.

"I see," she murmured, leaning against the wall and letting out an exhausted breath. "I see…" Suiren trailed off. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and the blonde fainted from exhaustion, Athrun catching her the instant he saw what was happening.

"I don't understand," said Shinn as Athrun put Suiren back in her bed. "Why didn't she recognize me?"

"Her memories have probably been manipulated or erased," said Grant. He looked them over. "Everyone seems exhausted. Why don't you all rest? We can deal with this more later."

"Yes," said Talia. "Yes, you're right." She led Shinn from the infirmary, Athrun following. He paused, however, and glanced back at the three patients.

What was that? What did Stella mean that Suiren was like this 'Haruka' person?

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Saul bit off a vicious curse as he ran into yet another defense. It was getting really frustrating how many were delaying him, but he brutally tore this one apart as well. At that point, he ran into a section of corrupted data, and, cursing again, began restoring as much of it as he could.

When the attack came, they'd been in the middle of transferring the encrypted data to the _Minerva_. While the transfer had been mostly complete, the data was already damaged and corrupted in some areas, and there were now even bigger holes in it than before. At best, Saul figured he'd be able to recover a fraction of the data, probably badly fragmented.

But that didn't matter. _Any_ data he could get out of this could be an invaluable clue to figuring out what the hell was going on here!

How could Chris _possibly_ be alive?! Yes, there was the cockpit modification, but the Raven couldn't have had any power for it. The same basic truth held true for all of them—Mu, Dearka and Yzak. The Strike had disintegrated, the Buster's powerplant had taken a direct hit, so the PS armor would probably do more harm than good, and the Duel had been destroyed at the same instant the armor would've gone active.

They were dead, all four of them! So why the hell was somebody with Chris's face, right down to that same scar, lying unconscious and injured in the _Minerva_'s infirmary?!

They were Extended. All of, or at least most of, the Earth Forces Gundam pilots were Extended. But how did Chris figure into all of this? The answer was in this data, Saul was sure of it.

And _nothing_ was going to stop him from finding out what.

**

* * *

**

Early the next morning

"_Why are we doing this again?_" asked Miguel contemptuously.

"Because without Treize and Stella around, you're all a bunch of worthless baggage," sneered Hotaru, making sure to rile him up.

"_Ha! Without that damn Treize around, things can only improve!_" said Gyunei.

"Oh really?" murmured Hotaru, chuckling as she suddenly punched the controls of her Windam. The machine was almost instantly on top of Gyunei's own Windam, Hotaru delivering a kick to the head, spinning about to punch the torso, sending it flying back, then grabbing the leg and pulling back, igniting her thrusters, and throwing the Windam into the ocean. As a cursing and enraged Gyunei emerged from the water, he found a beam saber tip next to his cockpit, and a pair of missiles aimed directly above that.

"See?" said Hotaru. "_Worthless_. Every last one of you. And now it's my job to whip all of you into shape. You got a problem with it… well, I don't think anyone will complain about the removal of _dead weight_."

Gyunei growled, but said nothing.

"Good," said Hotaru, turning to walk back to shore. Gyunei snarled, grabbing his beam saber and lunging at her, intending to kill this accursed mercenary once and for all!

His saber cut air, and his Windam's arm went soaring to the water before Hotaru grabbed hold of his Windam's head, lifting it into the air and twisting slightly, ready to tear it completely free.

"One more slip up… and you're dead," said Hotaru icily. She released his Windam, letting it fall into the water, before leaping back to shore. "Anybody else have any complaints about why were here?"

"_No ma'am,_" came the voices of the Extended, Leon, and the Orb and EA pilots Silber assembled. The exception was Maia, who was completely silent, and came to Hotaru's side as soon as she landed. The girl had attached herself to Hotaru as a 'replacement' for Treize, but it seemed likely she'd break at any moment. Andras seemed to be her only hope, and he wouldn't arrive for another two days.

"All right, here's how we're gonna do this," said Hotaru. "I'm gonna start kicking ass one by one. Then, I'll tell you how to make it harder for me to do that again. After that, we'll test how you do in group combat, and again, I'll tell you how to improve yourselves. Then, I'm gonna start kicking ass one more time, and we'll see how you do then. Understood?"

"_Yes._"

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Several hours later

"It seems that Haruka is to receive some sort of a bonus for destroying Lodonia," said Matthews. "In the meantime, though, we're to consider Treize Zabiarov and Stella Loussier as irrecoverable losses."

"That was… careless of me," admitted Neo, staring at Sting and Auel as they underwent maintenance after their exhausting training with Haruka.

"Not at all sir!" objected Matthews. "I think you've handled them very well indeed. And even Lord Djibril himself…"

"Yes, I've heard enough, thank you," said Neo, cutting him off. It was careless of him, sending Treize off after Stella in his current condition. "So, Stella's a… loss." His thoughts turned to the young blonde Extended. As loyal a soldier as he was, sending her into situations where she could very easily die, he had a bit of a soft spot for her. He'd miss her. "Well… that sounds like a military term alright. _Impersonal_."

"Yes sir," agreed Matthews.

"Well, whatever," said Neo. "I understand why." Matthews saluted and walked away as Neo turned to the doctors. "Sorry guys, but could you erase Stella from their memories?"

"What?" gasped one doctor. "Erase her? Sir, you do realize how much work that is, right?"

"I know," said Neo. "But… please."

"Very well sir," said the doctor. "We'll get on it right away."

Neo nodded, and walked out of the room to find Hotaru waiting for him. Nodding lightly, he motioned her to follow him, and headed to his office. Once there, he sat down at his desk, motioning for her to take the seat across from him. After she sat down, he spoke up.

"So, what's your assessment?" he asked.

"Good enough," she said. "Silber's issue was his wild recklessness. He took everything I had to say to heart, and refined himself. Rache didn't need too much work, his biggest weakness being close combat, but he shouldn't be getting too close for that to be a problem. Auel's a lot like Silber, just on a lower level all around, though he's improved somewhat. Sting follows orders all right, and he learns surprisingly quickly, but his skills don't quite measure up to Auel's, he just handles himself better."

"And the rest of them? Maia especially," said Neo. Hotaru sighed.

"She's not talking much," she replied. "She's clinging to me and that robot of hers. I've gotten a bit out of her, but not much. As for her fighting, she's much more aggressive now. She's looking to kill and destroy everything."

"And the others? Miguel, Gyunei and Nanai?"

"Nanai's fine. She learns from her mistakes, and generally doesn't follow any sort of pattern, which is good," said Hotaru. "She relies on the speed and power of the Divina Guardian a little more than she should, but I'm not sure how much can be done to fix that. Miguel has a similar problem with relying on the Viola Surge's speed, but unlike Nanai, he's easily predicted if you've got a good eye. He should be dealing with those GuAIZs, not that ZAKU he's constantly gunning for. And as for Gyunei… he's wild, reckless, and rebellious, doesn't listen, doesn't learn, and relies on brute power for a single purpose: destruction. That said, he's got quick reactions in actual combat situations, and unless you can predict him perfectly, he'll be a decidedly deadly force. But I'm afraid I can't do much to help him."

"And finally, your fellow mercenary." Hotaru shrugged.

"Leon's got remarkable reflexes, powerful senses, and the ability to learn quickly. The next time he fights the Reaper, they'll likely prove equals. Two more battles and Leon will come out on top."

"I see," said Neo, leaning back slightly. "Haruka, you know that they've been written off as losses, right?"

"Yes, of course," said Hotaru. He could sense how displeased she was.

"There's nothing I can do about that I'm afraid," admitted Neo. "I'm a soldier. My hands are tied." Hotaru's gaze snapped to him. A silent conversation seemed to pass before she nodded slightly and saluted him.

"Excuse me sir," she said. Neo returned the salute, and Hotaru left his office, knowing that the masked man was wearing a smirk, the same sort that now adorned her own features.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Luna felt the deck shift slightly as the _Minerva_ lifted off into the air, returning to Tarcuius. In her left hand, she held several photos she'd taken yesterday, and in her right, the disk on which she'd saved her report. Fortunately, recordings had not been in her orders, so she had control on the information she'd give.

Because there were some things Luna really wanted to keep to herself. Like the assassinations, and her final discovery. Thinking about that, she set aside the disk and all but one of the photos—the one with Kira Yamato as the focus.

It was Lacus Clyne. Of all the people in the world, her crush was going out with Lacus Clyne. And not the airheaded bimbo Luna had met in Diocuia, but the real Lacus, the Eternal Heroine who gave hope to the whole world.

It was a surprise she could've done without. Despite what she'd been told by Lieutenant Koenig, a part of Luna had still hoped she stood some chance. But in the end, she was a nobody—how could she stand a chance against Lacus for the eyes of the legendary war hero?

Despite that, Luna's feelings were only stronger. She'd seen the real White Angel yesterday. He was much more real, and much more captivating, now than he'd been before. So regardless of the impossibilities, there was no way her feelings could just be switched off. Somewhere between having a crush and being in love, Luna was caught in dangerous territory, and there was no one she could possibly turn to in this situation.

Setting aside the picture she held, intending to hold onto it for herself, Luna let out a small sigh as she also thought about everything else she'd learned. Where would things go from here…?

**

* * *

**

The Infirmary

Shinn sat at Stella's bedside, staring down at her as she mumbled, asking 'Neo' and 'Haruka' to help her. It seemed that, while Suiren had calmed her down for a short while, Stella was still afraid.

And she didn't remember him. How terrible was that?

Gently, he placed a hand on her head, similar to the way he would've for his younger sister, Mayu, back before the Athhas killed her.

"All that time," he murmured. "You were the pilot of the Gaia." He closed his eyes, shifting his hand down, laying it against her cheek, in a way he would've for a girl he loved, if he'd stopped to think about it. "And you're the girl… I met by the sea."

Suddenly, Stella's eyes lifted open, finding his face. "Shinn?" she murmured, surprising him. His eyes snapped open. "Shinn," she said again.

"Stella?" whispered Shinn.

"You came to see me," she said. "Thank you."

Shinn smiled. It seemed as though… "Yes Stella," he said, nodding. "Do you… know who I am?"

"Mhmm," she murmured with a slight nod. He was overjoyed—she really did remember! "Shinn…"

**

* * *

**

Later

Suiren's eyes opened. Again. She groaned as she realized she'd fallen unconscious. Well, at least the voices remained quiet, the images blank. She sat up, feeling restless. There was no way she could stay here.

"You're awake," said Shinn, causing her to glance over to see him sitting next to Stella. She nodded.

"How are they doing?" she asked, swinging her legs off the bed.

"Fine, for now," said Shinn. "Commander Kessel was in here earlier. He and Dr. Grant were working on that drug administrator thing, trying to cut it back and make the supply last longer."

"How long was I out?" asked Suiren.

"Only a day," said Shinn. "We're docked at Tarcuius again. We were actually waiting for you to get up."

"Why?"

"It's… about Lodonia," said Shinn. Suiren's eyes widened, and she immediately got to her feet, wobbling slightly. Shinn rushed to her side, steadying her. She nodded in thanks.

"We should get going," she said. "No reason to delay this."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest more?" asked Shinn, who, being honest with himself, was reluctant to know more about that hellhole. Suiren shook her head.

"No," she said. "I couldn't stand being here another minute."

"Alright," he said, understanding perfectly how she felt. In her position, he'd have felt the same, after all.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The briefing room was tense. Everyone knew that something was wrong—after all, when Faith had summoned each of them, she'd seemed almost frantic, and pale—which, given her white skin, should've been impossible, but evidently, her internal programming was good enough to compensate.

The door opened, and a pale Makoto walked in.

"What is it?" breathed Cagalli. "Makoto, what's happened?"

Makoto looked at her, and Cagalli almost physically recoiled at the haunting look in the redhead's eyes, somewhere between dead and insane. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"I received information from my agent on the _Minerva_," she said. "It's… well, the information is…" She was trying to keep steady, and failing miserably. What the hell had happened?!

"You'll just have to watch this," she said, collapsing into a chair, and letting Faith handle the rest.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Talia, Arthur, and all of the _Minerva_'s pilots had assembled for the debriefing, and Chairman Durandal was also present via videoconference. Saul was white as a ghost, and had spent hours composing himself for this.

He still wasn't ready. And more than a few people weren't going to like this.

"I was up all night working on what data we had," he said. "I wasn't able to retrieve much."

"_And what were you able to retrieve?_" asked Durandal.

"Pictures and accompanying names and model numbers," said Saul. "I also discovered several project names, and another attached name without any pictures."

"That doesn't sound like much," commented Talia. Saul snorted.

"We were lucky I was able to get that much," he said. "Only two of the images I retrieved were actually attached to the name and model number, I was simply able to determine who they belonged to haphazardly at best, by comparing them with other data that was only half-recovered or worse. I also got some sporadic test results, final assignments, and comparisons with the 'Biological CPUs'."

"_That will have to do for now,_" said Durandal. "_What do you have to show us?_" Saul took an almost shuddering breath as he began his presentation.

"First, these three," he said. Pictures of Sting Oakley, Stella Loussier and Auel Neider came up, their names listed below them. Shinn tensed slightly at the sight of Stella. "They're part of the Second Generation of Extended, though it seems the Second and Third Generations were actually 'developed' concurrently. These aren't their actual names, but codenames they were given when they 'graduated' to assignment with the Earth Forces 81st Autonomous Mobile Corps—Phantom Pain."

"I saw them at Armory One," said Athrun. "When I saw them again at Diocuia, I just wrote it off as a coincidence and my imagination. Apparently, I was wrong."

"What about the others?" asked Suiren. Saul gulped slightly.

"One at a time," he murmured, bringing up the image of a young man with short, curly black hair. "This is EX-C0311. No name is given, just the model number. He apparently was assessed as the least of the Third Generation project headed by Mikhail Andras, the primary 'designer' of all Extended." Suiren and Durandal both took in sharp breaths at the mention of the Extended director. "All members are given numbers only. EX-C stands for 'Extended-Coordinator'."

"What?!" cried Jessie. "You mean Blue Cosmos is using Coordinators for this… this…"

"Yes," breathed Saul. "This particular pilot was assigned to the GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis in Phantom Pain. That's where all of them were assigned. The next is their second lowest performer, and was assigned to the GAT-X105E Strike E. EX-C1004 is also their youngest member." He hit the switch, bringing up the image of a young girl with black hair and familiar red eyes. Shinn's eyes widened in horror, and a familiar pain shot through his chest.

"No way!" he shouted, jumping to his feet, catching everyone off-guard. "That's impossible!"

"What?" asked Saul, taken aback by Shinn's reaction. Shinn's hand clenched into a fist, his fingernails biting into his palm deep enough to draw blood as his whole body shook with pain, shock, relief and fury all at once.

"That's Mayu," he said softly, slumping back into his chair. "My sister."

"What?!" gasped almost everyone, eyes darting between the girl in the picture and Shinn. They were quick to see the resemblance.

"How can this be?" whispered Shinn, panting heavily. "She's dead… she was murdered by the Athhas… how can she be here… fighting for those monsters…?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Saul cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, but that's all the information I have on her," he said. "I'm afraid we'll have to move on."

Shinn continued his haggard breathing, but nodded numbly regardless. It was clear his mind was no longer truly there with them.

"This next is EX-C0607," continued Saul, bringing up the image of a pretty young woman with blonde hair tied in pigtails and green eyes. This time, Tristan was the one to react, something Saul did not miss. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

Everyone else followed Saul's gaze to Tristan, who was staring at the picture of EX-C0607 intently, eyes shifting as he took in every detail.

"Tristan?" questioned Aleksi.

"Ayaka…" breathed Tristan. "That's Ayaka Katagiri."

"Katagiri? That family was wiped out in a Blue Cosmos attack following the Battle of Orb," said Suiren, surprised. "So they took her for an EX-C?"

"Why…?" murmured Tristan.

"_We can worry about the details later,_" said Durandal, though his voice was clearly sympathetic. "_Commander Kessel, please continue._" Saul cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably.

"As I saying, EX-C0607 was assigned as the pilot of the GAT-X308DG Divina Guardian," continued Saul. "She has an apparent fondness for explosions, which influenced the assignment. She's almost fanatical about sowing destruction."

The image now changed to a man with messy black hair and cold grey eyes.

"This is EX-C0588," said Saul, eyeing everyone to be certain there wasn't yet another connection before continuing. "He was the middle scorer of the final seven EX-Cs. Unfortunately, the only other information I have on him is his assignment to the GAT-X204XV Viola Surge."

"What about the others?" asked Talia. Saul hesitated.

"_Commander Kessel?_"

Saul let out a tired and worn sigh. Several people noticed that he seemed even paler.

"This first is EX-C1261, assigned as the pilot of the GAT-X103AP Verde Buster," he said softly, bringing up the image of a dark-skinned blond who almost all of them recognized. "His name is Dearka Elsman."

"Dearka?!" shouted Athrun, shooting to his feet. "You mean he…?!"

"Saul…" Shiho's voice was barely more than a whisper. "Does this mean…?"

"I'm afraid so," said Saul, switching the image of Dearka Elsman for one of Yzak Joule. "Yzak's been designated EX-C1306 and is the assigned pilot of the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel."

"No…" whispered Shiho, horrified. How could this be…?

"It seems those engineers knew what they were doing," said Saul, who'd had several hours to process all this. "Those cockpit reinforcements held up, saved their lives… only for this to happen."

No one questioned what Saul was talking about—all of them had at least heard of Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman, and it didn't take a genius to understand what he meant by the engineers.

"The last turned out to be our highest scorer," said Saul, wanting to move on and get this over with quickly. "The man down in the infirmary is the strongest, fastest and best of all Extended." The image switched to the face of Christopher Dante. "Chris's designation was EX-C1304. He wasn't assigned a mobile suit, probably because he was instead sent to lead the theft at Armory One."

"Christopher Dante?" questioned Suiren, who hadn't heard his actual name before. She couldn't believe it—and neither could Durandal.

"_You mean to say that the pilot of the Specter is actually one of the greatest war heroes of our time?_" he questioned, though his thoughts were actually on Chris's relation to Divinity.

"Yes," said Saul, nodding as he sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I'm all for the destruction of Lodonia, but I wish we could've gotten more out of there first."

"_Yes, that's understandable,_" said Durandal. "_Very well. __**Minerva**__, I want you to launch for Gibraltar as soon as you're resupplied and repaired. We need to–_"

"I have to object to that Chairman," said Suiren, surprising everyone. "If we launch now, the _Minerva_ will be destroyed." Everyone's eyes widened while Durandal frowned.

"_Please, explain,_" he said, not particularly happy with her objection.

"It's simple," she said. "Right now, the _Minerva_ has a bigger bulls-eye painted on it than the PLANTs do. Remember, an Earth Forces pilot saw the capture of Stella and EX-C1304 and then escaped. They won't just let us take them to Gibraltar. The Earth Forces will have their eyes on the area like hawks, preventing any of us from leaving under any circumstances, and the moment we leave the safety of port, they'll move to intercept. Even I can admit that I shouldn't be flying in my condition and what about the rest of our pilots? Athrun, Saul, Shiho, Nicol, Shinn, Tristan—do you think they should be flying in their current state, _especially_ against those mobile suits?"

Her words caused everyone to tense as they suddenly realized that the next time they fought, it would be against friends once more, only this time, they weren't ignorant of that fact.

"I agree with Suiren," said Talia. In fact, if Suiren hadn't spoken up before Durandal was done, Talia would've been the one voicing an objection. "The Earth Forces want this ship sunk, and our pilots are in no condition to be flying." Durandal nodded slightly, realizing that they were right.

"_Very well then,_" he said. "_As soon as you feel everyone is ready, I want you to launch for Gibraltar._"

"I have to object to that as well, Chairman," said Talia. "We can't leave without an escort fleet."

"_Escort fleet?_"

"As we've already establish, the Earth Forces will be gunning for us with all they can muster," explained Talia. "Even had we fired the Tannhauser in that last battle, the truth is, we probably would've lost anyways. We can't go into battle like that again." Reluctantly, Durandal nodded.

"_Yes, you're right,_" he said. He shook his head. "_I'll contact Commander Dante and the Kyusai Team. I'll see if they can coordinate a strike to meet the Earth Forces just before or shortly after you meet them. In the meantime, I'll also see about finding whatever other reinforcements I can get to you. Once everything's assembled, you must launch. It's our only hope for getting those two to Gibraltar._"

"Yes sir," said Suiren, Talia, and Heine. Athrun, Saul and the rest did not respond, to busy reeling from what they'd discovered.

Durandal hesitated, then continued. "_There's… something else,_" he said. "_Saul… you're father was murdered two days ago. I'm sorry. I… didn't want to tell you._"

"What?! My father?!" shouted Saul. "No, that can't be right!"

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Nobody moved. It seemed uncertain if anyone even breathed. Makoto had only known about Chris, and while she'd had her suspicions, she hadn't really wanted to believe.

For some, it was worse than others. Among these were Kira, Murrue, Flay, Liz, Miriallia, Tolle and Shani.

Kira had been right there when the Raven exploded. Murrue knew that this might mean Mu was alive—but there was no way to know, now. For Flay, the father of her child, the man she loved with the utmost desperation, had just returned from the dead as an unspeakable horror. For Liz, it was the knowledge that her brother had been transformed into the sort of butcher that murdered their parents. For Miriallia and Tolle, it was the knowledge that the man Mir had come to love had returned from the dead with the intent to kill them.

And for Shani, it was perhaps worst of all, for it was his bastard of a father who was responsible for all of this.

The line was cut as Durandal's transmission ended. They didn't know whether or not to be grateful that any chance at more information had just been lost.

"We need to go there," said Flay. "We need to get Chris out of there!"

"Flay's right!" agreed Liz. "We need to–"

"If I thought it was possible, don't you think I would've come here with a plan?!" snarled Makoto, jumping to her feet, her obvious rage shocking everyone as a fist slammed against the wall with enough force to dent it. They'd never seen her lose her composure like this. "I would've told you what I learned _hours_ ago if I hadn't been pouring over hundreds of scenarios and plans to rescue Chris! And every last one of them ended in spectacular failure! At most, we've got four or five allies on that ship to help us rescue him, and an entire ship of Coordinators against us! And do you really think Blue Cosmos wouldn't make sure he'd try and get back to them?! We're all fooling ourselves if we believe for even an _instant_ that he'll just snap back to himself by seeing us!"

Liz and Flay both recoiled slightly, and not even Kira and Shizuka were willing to try and calm her down.

"We've got time," said Makoto. "That's all we've got. We can't rush into this foolishly." There were tears in her voice. "I want to go there. I want to him back too. All of them. But going there now… it would just make things worse for all of us. We need to try and figure out some way to get him and that Stella girl off the _Minerva_ before the ship can get to Gibraltar. Given the delay on its launch, we've got at least a few more days, maybe as much as a few weeks. We need to be careful in how we approach their retrieval."

"Makoto's right," said Lacus softly. "But the situation is changing quickly. We should all take some time to rest, and then we'll figure out where to go from there."

Liz and Flay both looked thunderous, but acceded—they were right, after all.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_ Infirmary

Chris was still unconscious. This was good, because the last thing Suiren wanted was to deal with a struggling EX-C. She'd removed his cloth mask, wishing to look at the face of this young man lying on the bed in front of her.

She'd always wondered. The secrets of Project Divinity were well known to her—neither Rau nor Gil had even attempted to hide them from her. And now, the youngest Child of the Mind was lying in front of her. She'd never expected to see any of the Children of Divinity up close, believing them long dead. She'd been shocked to realize that Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha was, in fact, Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, the Child of the Soul. It was the first time she'd actually met a Child of Divinity face-to-face.

And now, here was another. It was a surprise, to her.

The sound of a body shifting drew Suiren's attention away to Stella, whose eyes slowly lifted open. The heterochromic blonde walked over to the young Extended, whose eyes shifted to look at her.

"Suiren…?" she murmured, recalling this woman. Suiren nodded. "Where's Shinn?"

"Resting," said Suiren, sitting down on the bed next to Stella. "His sister was thought dead. He just found out that she's the pilot of the Strike E."

"Maia?" questioned Stella. Suiren looked at her inquisitively. "Maia pilots the Strike."

"I see," murmured Suiren. She gave a slight smile. "What about the others? Can you tell me their names and what they pilot? It won't hurt them, I promise."

Stella looked towards the ceiling. She knew she could trust Suiren, and she didn't see how it could hurt.

"Sting… Chaos," said Stella. "Auel… Abyss. Gyunei, Aegis. Miguel and Surge. Nanai pilots Guardian. Rache and the Buster. Silber and Duel. Treize is… Specter. Leon is Valiant. And Haruka…" Stella's lips turned into a slight, unconscious smile. "Haruka flies Astarte." Suddenly, Stella's eyes became worried. "Will I get to see Haruka again? And Neo?"

"I hope so," said Suiren, and she meant it. A part of her felt very protective of Stella. The girl was like a vulnerable child, needing the protection and guidance of a parent or older sister or brother. It was hard to believe that she was a victim of Blue Cosmos, one of their Extended pilots, and most likely older than Shinn, probably Luna's age, if she were to guess. Most probably wouldn't notice it, of course, but Suiren was a good judge of age, part of the reason Setsuna's existence had initially confused her.

"How is Treize?" asked Stella. Suiren glanced at him, frowning. For Stella's sake…

"He's doing fine," she said. "Still out of it though."

"Treize… is dark," said Stella. "Treize… is a creature in the night."

"What?"

"They took her away," murmured Stella. "The creatures took my family away. It's all I remember of them. They can't take it away. No one can."

"I see," said Suiren softly. So that's what held this girl together—that shadowed memory of losing her family. It was an interesting piece of information to learn. She smiled gently. "Stella, rest and conserve your strength. You don't need to worry about anything now. I'll protect you. And so will Shinn."

"Shinn… Haruka… Neo… and Suiren…" Stella smiled. "I…" The smile faded. What was it? What word was she looking for? She couldn't remember, but it was important.

"Shh," replied Suiren. "Just rest." Reaching out, Suiren touched Stella, physically and across that mysterious sense they shared. It was like a bonding of spirits at this range, and it warmed Stella as the older blonde soothed her to sleep.

"Just rest," she repeated. "And may the Children of Divinity have mercy on you." She stood up, glancing briefly at Chris… no, at Treize. Her next words were an almost silent snarl.

"Because Andras won't be getting any."

**

* * *

**

Crewquarters

"_Hi, Mayu here. Sorry I can't talk to you right now. I'll call you back later. Please leave your name after the beep._"

Shinn pressed the button again, replaying Mayu's voicemail greeting for what must've been the… what? Tenth, twentieth, thirtieth time? Maybe more.

How could this be? How could Mayu be one of… them? He vividly remembered his battle with the Strike Noir in the L4 debris field. That battle… it could've gone either way. But if it had actually come to an end, then either Mayu would've killed him… or he would've killed Mayu.

The records, the sounds—Mayu cried out like a Blue Cosmos fanatic, a manic, genocidal murderer. Shinn's grip on the cell phone tightened, and his hatred for Blue Cosmos—no, for the entire damn Earth Alliance and the Athhas responsible for destroying his family!—intensified a thousand fold.

How dare they do this to _his_ sister?! He'd make every last one of those bastards pay for this!

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Like Shinn, Tristan's thoughts were also on one of the EX-Cs. He'd thought Ayaka was dead—though the details were fuzzy, the Katagiri Family was destroyed following the Battle of Orb because they remained defiant of the Earth Alliance and, more particularly, Blue Cosmos.

He remembered how he'd first met Ayaka. His mother had taken him with her on a visit to the Orb Union, specifically to see an old friend of hers, Ayaka's mother. He'd gotten into a fight with her twin brother, Saji, and she tried to break it up, only for the two of them to end up in an all-out brawl with each other before they were pulled apart, and though initially tense, the two had developed a strong friendship.

He cared about her, probably a lot more than he'd readily admit. He'd grieved after her death, but eventually, he put it behind him, though he resolved to do everything he could to ensure as few such tragedies befell others as possible.

But this was… this was the worst thing of all. Ayaka hadn't stayed dead.

Instead, she'd come back, and likely with every intent to kill him and every Coordinator alive.

Tristan's hand clenched into a fist.

Damn Blue Cosmos straight to hell!

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Nicol stood on the top deck of the _Minerva_, staring out at the Sea of Marmara, and let out a faint sigh.

Things were getting more and more difficult, in more ways than one. He desperately wanted to get Chris out of here before they could deliver him to Gibraltar. As one of Makoto's top two Intelligence Agents in the PLANTs, he was made aware of everything relevant to his job. Recently, that had become Durandal, and he shuddered to think of what Durandal and the ZAFT scientists might do if they got their hands on Chris and that Stella girl.

When he'd first agreed to act as an agent for Makoto along with his father, Nicol had never thought he'd end up effectively spying on his own friends, but that's what he was doing. For their own sakes, they had to be kept in the dark about Nicol's duties as a spy. Likewise, he'd never realized he'd end up as a fount of information even greater than his father was.

It was clear to Nicol that the _Minerva_ was at the heart of the war—or at least, that's how Durandal wanted it. Meer Campbell, the _Minerva_, and its pilots, particularly Shinn whose ego Nicol had noticed Durandal stoking, all seemed like a poor imitation of Lacus, the _Archangel_, and its pilots, particularly Kira, from the last war. Fighting for them, genuinely, would be more difficult from here on out, because Nicol's innate sense of right and wrong told him that ZAFT most definitely represented the 'wrong' here… as did the Earth Forces.

The green-haired Coordinator sighed. Why did it seem like neither side could actually ever be the 'good guys'? Was it because they readily went to war, no matter how much they tried to appear to the contrary, while the 'good guys' were the people who did everything they could to protect the world and bring about peace? That did sound like a good answer.

Nicol knew there wasn't any more he could do, either. He'd just have to maintain his cover, something he knew he'd greatly risked when he hijacked the videoconference signal with Durandal to allow Makoto to watch it aboard the _Archangel_. Most likely, he wouldn't be caught, but he knew that he wasn't a programmer, and Faith could only provide so much aid without being there directly. If Saul or another experienced programmer or hacker checked it out, they'd know someone had been in the supposedly secure signal, and the crew would be on the lookout for the spy responsible.

He opened up his compact computer—a gift from Makoto—and idly wondered when his next 'musical correspondence' with Lady Setsuna would be. After all, hidden in those musical notes were Makoto's orders to him and Nicol's reports to her, a code that almost no one would ever catch.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_, Rear Observation Deck

An hour later

Kira stared out at the oceanic depths, his mind reeling from everything he'd learned. Chris, alive? Yzak and Dearka as well? And what about Mu? How were the others, especially Flay, Liz and Mir feeling about this? And what should they do now? Rescuing Chris was impossible as things were, just as Makoto had said. So how…?

He heard the door open behind him, accompanied a second later by an angelic voice.

"Kira?" said Lacus, walking up to him. He turned to face her.

"Hi Lacus," he said, smiling at her.

"I thought I might find you hear," she said, walking to stand beside him and sounding somewhat downcast as Haro rolled around her feet, mocking Kira for being so easily found. "It's beautiful here," she continued, looking out the window. "Earth is an amazing place." She leaned against him lightly.

"Yes, it is," he said, wrapping his arm around her.

"Haro! Hello!" chirped Haro, bouncing up from the floor onto the windowsill.

"Thinking about Chris?" said Lacus softly, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes," said Kira, letting out a faint sigh. "Chris was my best friend during our time on the _Archangel_. And he really was like a brother to me as time went on. We all thought him dead. Only now, he…"

"I see your point," said Lacus.

"And then, there's also what Athrun said," continued Kira. "Right now, I want to believe that what he said is true, for Chris's sake. But if I believe that, then what are we doing here?"

Lacus was quiet for a moment. "What we feel is right," she said. There was sudden determination in her voice as she turned to Kira. "I'm going back. Back to space. I'll find out more about the situation in the PLANTs, and oversee our projects."

"Lacus!" said Kira, his objection obvious.

"I know we promised," she said. "And it is for the sake of that promise that I must go. It's even more important now than ever before that we nurture our Legacy. And the situation is changing quickly—we need one of us up there, and you and Makoto can do more good down here than I can."

"But Lacus…"

"I love you Kira," she said. "And it's because I love you that I have to go. And…" The songstress hesitated for a second before continuing. "And also, because you and Makoto need time."

Kira tensed slightly.

"Liz, Louisa and I know," said Lacus. "We never tried to hide it. We don't doubt… how the two of you feel about each of us. But you two can't keep running from each other. Or nothing will change."

"Lacus…" Kira looked away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she replied. "I love both of you, Makoto as my sister and you as the most important person in the world to me. And it's because of who you are that this was inevitable. I wouldn't want to change it, though, because if things weren't like that, then you and I wouldn't be here right now."

"I just don't want to do something I'll regret," said Kira. Lacus frowned. "And I'm afraid that that's exactly what will happen if… well…"

"I see," said Lacus. "But you need to…"

"Kira! Lacus!" came Makoto's voice suddenly, the redhead bursting into the observation deck and startling them both. "You need to see this." She handed them a set of papers in her hand. "I just got this report from Yuri."

The eyes of the other two Terminal leaders were wide as they read the report. Although the evidence had now been destroyed, Yuri had discovered something unexpected… and feared.

The papers fell from Kira's hands to the floor, and Haro rolled over the report of Yuri's discovery that Durandal had supplied the insurgents who set Junius Seven on course for Earth, as well as evidence that a newly-promoted FAITH agent led the Armory One thieves right to their stolen Gundams.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Two days later

Andy sat in the command chair, currently the only person in the bridge, watching the various news reports. More than a few crewmen had been 'elusive' since the surprise return from the dead of several friends thought long lost.

Being honest with himself, Andy somehow wasn't surprised. If there was one thing he'd learned about Gundams, it was that they protected their own and, in a strange way, his own Gundam sealed Erik's fate.

It was a funny thing, really. The Freedom, Faith and Justice all had distinct similarities to their predecessors—such that, looking at them from a particular angle, it wouldn't be hard to mistake them for their past selves.

The Conviction, though, was of an altogether different model. It had taken the same base frame as the Providence, then packed enough armor on it that only the high-power weapons of its brethren could hope to inflict any real damage, and it may even have repelled most of them, as the only weapons ever observed inflicting any true damage on the Conviction were the superior melee weapons of the Faith.

But everyone else who'd piloted those original machines—and, indeed, kept true to their old selves with their newer developments—had survived, with the only still-possible exception being Mu La Flaga. Yet, even though he had not originally been among those pilots, Andy suspected he was alive, for if nothing else, he believed the universe had a strange way of balancing itself out for the better. It was humanity that kept turning back the clock, and it was the universe that would generally come along and, one way or another, bite them in the ass for it.

And so, unlike the others who were going through shock from the return of their dead friends (and terror of false hope, in Murrue's case), Andy's only concern was how to get those same friends _back_.

… of course, an unrelated concern had also cropped itself up. They needed to get Lacus back up into space, where she'd run things from the Terminal directly. Although she shared leadership with Kira and Makoto, both of them deferred to her in the grand scheme, making her the true leader of Terminal. Since she couldn't pilot a mobile suit like those two could either (though, they found she was actually rather adept at handling them, she just wouldn't fight), it wasn't harmful to their current 'operations' either.

When the problem had first come up, Natarle had immediately suggested disguising her as a passenger on one of the shuttles to Izanami, but Shizuka had shot down the idea almost as quickly. Although the activity at Izanami proper was well hidden, and no one actually knew what it was just yet, the space around Taiyonoha Territory was being watched like a hawk by both sides. It'd be hard slipping a shuttle through undetected even with Mirage Colloid; so getting Lacus from L3 to the Terminal would prove next to impossible if they went on that route.

Therefore, they had to find an alternative method.

At that moment, a new broadcast came up. It was that fake Lacus, singing and showing herself off on the hand of that pink ZAKU. Andy turned the volume up, wondering what the news was on that subject.

"_Tomorrow is the final day of the Lacus Clyne Comfort Tour,_" he said. "_In the last month, the tour has hit all the major ZAFT bases around the world._" Andy eyed the broadcast, a part of him noting that they were only showing footage of her better performances, and none of those where people got riled up. But the larger part of his mind had noted the opening announcement, and was already running calculations to exploit it. Yes… yes, this could work.

Smirking, he pressed a button on the wrist of the chair, alerting Faith that he wanted to see her, and the AI materialized almost immediately.

"Yes? Is something up?" she asked curiously. Still smirking, Andy motioned to the continuing broadcast.

"The tour ends tomorrow," he explained. "I think we may have our ticket to the stars, first class and pre-paid by the Chairman himself."

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Diocuia Base

The next day

"You're certain everything's prepared?" asked Andy, checking his disguise one last time.

"Completely," replied Makoto as the limo continued towards their destination. They had maybe a minute before they got there. "We couldn't risk arriving any earlier, though. Campbell's on her way, and won't be too far behind you. Also, make sure that data gets to Takehira."

"I will," said Lacus as Makoto handed two disks to her.

"And be careful with that second disk," added the redhead. "We won't be able to chance making any more."

"Don't worry, I'll protect it," said Lacus. Makoto smiled and nodded as they started to slow down.

"They have no idea that there are two of you running around," said Makoto. "They'll be surprised, but it's doubtful anyone will have enough guts to question your credibility."

At that moment, the limo stopped. A ZAFT soldier who'd been waiting for the arrival of 'Lacus Clyne' opened the door right next to Andy. In addition, there was a large gathered crowd and a single news camera girl nearby, at just the right angle to see Makoto, though she seemed to be of a small-time network that simply got lucky. Andy had to strangle down the urge to send a small smile Mir's way as she started recording.

"Hello, hello," called Andy cheerfully, stepping out of the limo in his disguise as Meer Campbell's manager, King Takeda, and directing his words towards everyone present. On the other side of the limo, Terrance Grissom stepped out, wearing a suit similar to Andy's, playing the role of Lacus's bodyguard. "Thank you, thank you and thank you." His last words were directed at the ZAFT soldier who'd opened the door.

"I want to say hello to all my fans," added Lacus with equal cheer as she stepped out, waving to everyone. "Thank you so much for coming!"

Makoto gave a small smile as Lacus began to walk away, shifting slightly and glancing in Mir's direction, making sure the camera caught the image of her in the elaborate dress of the Taiyonoha Noblewomen, before the door was closed and the limo pulled away.

"Miss Lacus, it's an honor and a pleasure to serve you ma'am," said a young ZAFT officer, stepping up to her and saluting her.

"You are too kind," said Lacus with a smile before Andy stepped up.

"I'd hate to rush you son, but we're in a bit of a hurry, got a schedule to keep you know, how about you bring that shuttle around quick-like?" he said—in a single, quick breath. People couldn't help but admire the man's ability to pull that off.

"Ah, of course," said the officer. "We're not really ready yet because you arrived a little earlier than expected."

"We got here early because we're in a hurry," said Andy. "That's why I'm telling _you_ to hurry."

"Ah, yes sir, right away sir," said the officer.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later

"_Miss Lacus's shuttle will leave earlier than scheduled,_" came the announcement over the PA as Lacus signed autographs for her fans. "_It will takeoff as soon as it is ready. All staff are to accommodate this decision and give it their top priority. I repeat…_"

Among those to receive autographs was the news camera girl who'd seen Lacus arrive. Lacus gave the young woman a gentle, encouraging smile as she walked away to allow others closer.

Although Mir wasn't fully over the matter with Dearka, she'd been more than happy to pull the stunt that Makoto required of her today. If nothing else, then it could be very helpful in protecting Dearka from the likes of Durandal in the long run, leaving them only Blue Cosmos to worry about.

Heading towards the entrance, Mir's eyes widened as she saw a pink car pull up front, which she immediately started recording. She glanced back momentarily, confirming that Andy and Lacus were now on the move. They had only a minute or two left.

**

* * *

**

The shuttle

"Sorry about this," said Lacus to the two shuttle pilots.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Andy and Grissom drew tranquilizer guns and shot both pilots, knocking them out instantly.

"That oughta keep them down," said Andy, pulling off his wig and sunglasses. "That stuff could put Kira down for eight hours or more."

"Let's hurry," said Grissom, pulling off his overcoat along with Andy, both soldiers quite happy to be out of the things. "We're probably already out of time."

"Yeah, I know," said Andy, taking the pilot's seat while Grissom took the co-pilot's seat, and Lacus sat down in an auxiliary chair. And, just as predicted, at that moment, a voice came over the radio.

"_Stop that shuttle! Don't let it takeoff!_" said the voice. Andy only smirked as a video of the control tower, including both Meer and the real King Takeda, appeared on the shuttle's display screen.

"Sorry," he said. "Nice try. But you're a little too late." He turned his head to face Lacus. "You ready? I think it's time we made our exit."

"All set," said Lacus. Andy nodded, and as they started to forward, he heard the tower commander ordering mobile suits to be deployed.

However, the shuttle had already lifted off. Now they just had to hope they could outrun the numerous mobile suits.

As they shot through the sky, dozens of BABIs and GaZuOOTs fired on the shuttle with missiles and beam cannons. Lacus gasped as she saw the countless missiles approaching quickly on the radar, the missile lock warning alarm sounding.

"Damn it, get up there!" shouted Andy.

But it seemed hopeless—the missiles were just too much faster than the unmaneuverable shuttle.

Then, as the missiles were seconds from impact, the Freedom shot out of the clouds and, not even pausing long enough to get a target lock, fired its Balaena and Xiphias cannons, destroying the entire barrage instantly.

"What the–?" gasped a BABI pilot, shifting his machine from cruising mode to mobile suit mode as he stared at where the missiles had exploded before turning towards the source of those blasts… just in time to see the Freedom flying through the air, beam saber flashing and severing limbs and the heads of his BABI and the one next to him. Two other BABI pilots saw this, and fired on the Freedom, but the White Angel easily evaded the shots and retorted with his own cannons, once again disabling his opponents without hurting the pilots.

Kira flitted quickly through the sky, using the Freedom's immense power to drive him about too quickly for the BABI pilots to react, allowing him to cut all of them down in seconds. He didn't like relying on that raw power rather than his own skill, but every second those BABIs remained in the air was another second that they could put Lacus in danger.

"_Bastard!_" "_This is nuts!_" "_N-no way!_"

Kira soared down towards the Diocuia base. GaZuOOTs fired their entire arsenal at him, but while the artillery mobile suits could inflict a great deal of damage against their intended targets, the Freedom was too fast for their slow weapons.

Kira shifted to firing position, using his rifle to quickly snipe off the legs of the GaZuOOTs, completely throwing off their ability to aim, and fired his railguns at several strategic targets to hamper the base's operations with minimal risk of injury, much less loss of life.

Then, deciding to get a closer look at Lacus's imposter personally, Kira did a blindingly quick flyby of the control tower, focusing on the image of Meer Campbell. He had to suppress a snort—he could tell, from her outfit, her posture and her expression that she was _nothing_ like Lacus. Even for people who focused on appearances (something he hated), Meer's figure clearly did not match Lacus's at all, especially apparent with the way she so readily put it on display, though when Kira thought about it, he supposed most people wouldn't actually _know_ that.

After buzzing the tower, he pulled the Freedom up alongside the shuttle, easily able to keep pace with it, for now at least.

"Lacus," he said over the radio, establishing a video feed as well.

"_Kira,_" she replied, smiling.

"_Thanks kid,_" added Andy. "_Glad you could make it… again._"

"_You people with your bold plans,_" said Grissom. "_Well… I suppose it worked out okay, right?_"

"Yeah, but I'm still worried about this, Lacus," said Kira. "Please… be careful. And don't forget…"

"_Where you go, I will go,_" she said, smiling warmly.

"And where I go, I will take you with me," he replied. That promise was _theirs_. No one could take it, claim it, or destroy it. "Stay safe."

"_I won't break that promise,_" said Lacus reassuringly. "_I'll come back. I will return._"

"I know," said Kira, but he couldn't completely bite down his worry. "Take care of yourself. I mean it."

"_Kira…_"

Though he hated to do so, Kira cut the transmission and pulled away. A moment more, and he wouldn't have cared—he'd have gone with her. Parting with Lacus, even for a moment, was always the hardest thing Kira ever had to face. He could stand against the might of a thousand nuclear warheads, a hundred GENESIS lasers, an endless legion of enemy soldiers, and even the dark secret of Chris's fate and his fear of his feelings for Makoto, and he always knew that, when asked, he'd tell everyone it was easier than parting with Lacus.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Makoto smirked as she saw the shuttle shoot off towards space and the Freedom pull away. For a moment there, she'd thought he was going to try and go with them, but it was a good thing he didn't—Makoto did _not_ need to be pulling Kira's weight as well. She was having enough trouble with her own, especially with the intelligence flares that had started up.

"Makoto!" came Mir's voice, drawing the redhead's attention away from the sky as the brunette ran over to her.

"Mir," replied Makoto, smiling. "Did you get it?"

"Everything," said Mir, smirking as she held up her camera. "I won't need long to get everything processed."

"Mmm, I imagine this is stuff the people will find most _interesting_," said Makoto evenly. "Durandal will want it down, and the Alliance will want it up. Oh, this will be so entertaining."

Makoto picked up the leather jacket and second helm off the bike standing next to her, handing them to Mir, who put away her camera to take them and slip them on while Makoto donned her own helmet.

"Let's get going," she said, getting on the bike. As soon as Mir had gotten on behind her and wrapped her arms safely around the redhead, Makoto started up the bike. "And don't worry. We _will_ get him back. We'll get all of them back. I promise."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Some of you saw it. Some of you didn't. Some of you are going to want to smack me. Some of you might behave like when Makoto returned and want to kiss me. Some of you might express similar feelings to me to what you did to Akatsuki Leader13 over Chris in the last chapter. If so, I'm glad, because I have won, and gotten my reactions out of all of you. Congratulations to me!**

**On a more serious note: No, there is no Kira-Harem. I will never, _ever_ write a Kira-Harem fic. Wrap your minds around it already.**

**So anyways, let's skip over details and drive you all up a wall once again! The truth of the matter is that I've been planning almost all of this right from the beginning. As Lacus notes, the situation is starting to change very quickly. Next chapter will be loaded down with reflection... and maybe a surprise or two. That's up to my discretion at this point. This chapter is rather long, as well, so I hope that makes up for the long absence. As to the cause, I think Death decided to kill all my free time (probably on my mother's payroll...).**

**Well, I'm not big on giving things away unnecessarily. So let's just leave all of this here for now, let the story tell you what's going on, allow you to devise it for yourselves... oh, and also get to reviewing the chapter. ^_^**

**Truthfully, I had this whole rant thought up, but when it finally came time to get to it, it slipped my mind. I'm probably in far too cheerful a mood. So, please leave a review, and I hope to see you soon!**

**Ja ne!  
**


	25. Phase 25: The Truth

**This is one of those chapters that pretty well wrote itself, and I'm quite pleased with the results. While I could on about this chapter more directly, I figure I'll instead focus my attention elsewhere.**

**First off, while some people have been pleased with the return of dead characters, others have not. Allow me to address this a little: Mu surviving got to me as well. The idea of the Strike being destroyed and him surviving was okay, but taking a Lohengrin? No. It's why I implemented the cockpit modifications: to make it more reasonable for Mu and the others to survive. I will, someday, write a one-shot to provide further detail to their survival and capture by Blue Cosmos.**

**Another subject I feel the need to address is my OCs. A lot of people seem to keep perceiving them as "perfect", but a lot of people are also ignoring details that mark this as untrue. To start, Makoto and the Cosmic SEED at the end of the previous fic: at least one writer has seen this as her taking Kira's spotlight; in fact, the only real effect of this was to turn the three Druggie pilots against Blue Cosmos and let her defeat Erik (who, to note, she has only beaten by "cheating" when he was going all out), though it does have significance to the overall plot and could not simply be discarded. And as head of Terminal Intelligence? Given the way the overall story played out, Makoto could've filled any of the three fields, but not as well as Kira and Lacus filled theirs. Additionally, a lot of people seem to see her as the one responsible for all Intelligence's accomplishments, like she's the entire web, when, in fact, she's just the center that recruits agents and receives the information. _Most_ of what people are crediting her with there is actually owed to Nicol and his father. Finally, to address the lack of apparent flaws: other than in combat, Makoto has received comparatively little screentime, and most of those times she has appeared, it wasn't in a position to actually show her flaws. But, like the others, that's about to change.**

**For Suiren: slapping Talia seems to be the big one. I won't say too much on their past together (I've made it obvious there is one), but to start, the Tannhauser is not only radically opposed to her own morals, but unlike in canon, would likely have done more harm than genuine good, as stated with her comments about Orb and the Gundams. Additionally, she is not a superior officer to the other FAITH agents--she's on the same level as them, neither superior nor inferior in rank. Regarding her calming Stella in the last chapter: Stella first "sensed" her rather than "saw" her, and in her senses, Suiren at first appeared to be Hotaru, someone Stella trusts and even loves in the same way she does Neo, and thus, she feels she can trust Suiren. And, regarding her objection: some people think I should've had Talia speak up, but the simple fact is that Suiren is the _only_ person who would actually interrupt Durandal, thus why she spoke up before anyone else had the chance to. But, to once again assure you, Suiren has her own flaws which will become more apparent as time goes on.**

**Finally, Hotaru: likewise. Also, because the above bit on Makoto was getting big: the SEED data extraction that crippled global computer systems would've gone the same even if it was taken from someone who would never awaken the SEED (i.e. Murrue, Mir, etc.). It was simply easier to find in Makoto because of the enhancements made to her.**

**Anyways, enough on trying to reason with people. I'll finish by putting this bluntly: it is only very rarely that an OC can be something more than "worthless" as a protagonist without people seeing it like a Mary Sue. This is because OCs are generally an "unknown", and people focus on them more than everything else, with the net result of the OC appearing much more prominent than it would otherwise be. As an example, in the early stages of the story, Chris and Makoto didn't change the playing field too much, because they were balanced by equal enemies. The first big complaints for both come when they start to become a little more than something to balance out extra enemy forces, such as Chris taking over for Kira in returning Lacus (which made sense, story and character-wise), and Makoto becoming the mobile suit wing commander (again, made sense, given all the circumstances). Now, Chris is a very real exception to this rule most of the time, managing to avoid being viewed as a Mary Sue without being made worthless. But as a character writer, I'm inferior to Akatsuki Leader13. I do what I can, and tend to focus more on the emotions of the characters then how "perfect" or "not perfect" they are, along with the story, which tends to be my strong point.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Five: The Truth

November 18th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_ Hanger

"So, the repairs and maintenance are complete?" asked Talia, looking over the report presented to her by Aves.

"Yes ma'am," said Aves. "Fortunately, the Earth Forces didn't mess with the Gaia or Specter's systems any, so there wasn't too much to do there beyond routine maintenance and repairing the damage to Gaia's cockpit."

"Yes, well, you still pulled off an impressive feat," said Talia quietly, glancing over the various machines, amazed that Aves and his mechanics had gotten all of them back in order so quickly.

"What'll happen to them now?" asked Aves. "The Gaia and the Specter, I mean."

"We'll be keeping the Specter till we reach Gibraltar," said Talia. "The Gaia is being transferred to another ship for transportation to Carpentaria, though it won't launch until after we have. Nothing and no one is getting out of the Tarcuius area until we've drawn the attention of the Earth Forces."

"You're referring to those two pilots, right?" questioned Aves. "So you really think the Earth Forces are that intent on keeping us from learning more?"

"Almost beyond doubt," said Talia. "Certainly, if I were them, I wouldn't want the enemy to find out anymore than they already had."

"Yeah… yeah, I guess your right," he agreed. "So, why the different destinations?"

"Well, it seems the Gaia's original pilot is currently stationed at Carpentaria," explained Talia. "Right now, its power could be very useful in defending the base. And Commander Dante was supposed to be the pilot of the Specter, so we're gonna deliver it to him. Since he's presently operating out of Gibraltar, he'll also be well-placed to defend that base from any subsequent attacks."

**

* * *

**

Infirmary

"How many times is it now?" asked Suiren as Treize was forced back into unconsciousness. Grant shook his head, sighing.

"Three," he said. "Since we successfully cut back his drug feed, he's not a threat to us, but who knows what sort of damage he might do to himself struggling like that. His body's on a much lower feed than normal, so it's extremely fragile right now."

"Mmm." Suiren turned away from Treize and sat down next to Stella. She'd been discharged earlier, but had decided to continue watching over the young blonde for a little while longer.

Things were hectic and stressful for the crew at the moment. Of the pilots, the most active by far were Nicol and Aleksi, the former also becoming a regular visitor to the infirmary, along with Athrun and Shinn.

Shiho hadn't been seen since the debriefing two days prior. As far as anyone knew, she'd locked herself in her room, only allowing Nicol to visit her, and only after a lot of work convincing her to talk to him.

Saul, meanwhile, had done much the same. Nicol and Athrun would occasionally visit him, but they were the only ones he allowed in, and neither would talk about how he was doing.

Shinn, according to Rey, spent most of his time brooding in their quarters. He only came out, it seemed, to visit Stella, and oddly, he always seemed to be absent when she was awake.

Jessie had reported that Tristan was much the same. Just as Suiren had feared, the _Minerva_'s pilots, by and large, had been reduced to emotional wrecks that were in no condition to be flying.

"Next time… will you call me when he wakes up rather than knock him back out?" asked Suiren. Grant looked confused, but nodded lightly, and Suiren stood up and left the infirmary.

After a few minutes, she ran into Arthur.

"Ah, Commander Kyusai," he said, throwing a quick salute that she returned mildly. "Dr. Grant finally allowed you to leave, then?"

"Yes," said Suiren, pausing. "Arthur, what's the status on those reinforcements the Captain requested?"

"So far, not much," admitted the XO. "The Kyusai Team are all more than ready to come to our aid, particularly Commander Dante. It seems trying to find other forces that can be safely withdrawn from the frontlines, though, has been difficult."

"I see," said Suiren. "Please keep me informed."

"Ma'am," replied Arthur affirmatively, saluting again before the two parted ways.

**

* * *

**

Upper Deck

Lunamaria stared out over the ocean, suppressing the urge to sigh. Her report hadn't been handed in just yet, what with all the other stuff the captain was dealing with right now. But Heine had kept her busy. Worried about everyone's emotional condition, and not ready to chance them not being attacked in port, he'd had all the pilots in condition to do so—himself, Nicol, Luna, Rey, Aleksi and Jessie—working almost around the clock in the simulators, and the FAITH pilot was nothing short of brutal during those sessions.

"Is something the matter?" came a voice suddenly. Lunamaria spun around to see Heine emerge from the ship, stepping out onto the deck and walking over to stand next to her. The young Redcoat looked back out at the sea.

"It's nothing," she replied.

"…" Heine looked Luna over critically, and the young Redcoat started to shift nervously. "Must be a pretty impressive 'nothing'. Now stop lying."

The young woman was quiet for a moment.

"… alright," said Luna, letting out a faint sigh. "Heine… have you ever been in love?"

"That's a rather personal question," commented Heine. "But… to tell you the truth, yes. Once."

"I see," murmured Luna. "I'm… I don't know. I think I'm in love, but… he's… the enemy… I think… I… I just don't know anymore."

"Is that so?" said Heine.

"And also… there's someone else… he's already…" Luna couldn't go on.

"Well, then the natural answer would seem to be to just forget about him," said Heine. Shocked, Luna turned to face the FAITH agent, who continued to look out at the sea. "But nothing is ever that simple." He looked at her. "As a soldier of ZAFT, you have a duty to fight in the defense of the PLANTs. But as a human being, you also have a duty to your own happiness. It's a fine line to be treading at times, and you're treading it now."

"I'm sorry," whispered Luna. Heine shook his head.

"Don't be," he said. "You have nothing to apologize for. Just… do what you believe is right."

"But I don't even know what right and wrong are anymore," replied Luna, voice still soft and low.

Heine was silent for a moment.

"That's… something you have to find for yourself," he admitted. "To be honest, I'm still looking for my own answers. For now, I just… follow orders. Do my duty."

The two were quiet for several minutes, the silence disturbed only by the crashing of the waves.

"Heine?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to the person you loved?" asked Luna.

"More personal questions," commented Heine. But, he decided to answer them. Maybe it would help her. "We met back in the Academy. Her name was Sheena Vashti, the older sister of Shizuru Vashti, one of the Kyusai Team pilots. She was good… good enough that she was eventually recruited to the Alaric Team. But she died in battle… killed by the Relentless at Panama."

Luna gasped.

"My greatest regret… always… was that I never told her how I feel," said Heine, turning to leave. He placed a comforting hand on Luna's shoulder. "You need to find it. Some opportunity. Don't let yourself suffer from my regrets. Even if he really is the enemy, and already taken, you should tell this Kira Yamato how you feel." Luna gasped, spinning to face the FAITH agent as Heine walked away. How… how had he known?

As Heine stepped through the door and started walking down the corridors, Suiren appeared at his side, almost out of nowhere.

"I'm surprised," she said as he took a quick glance at her. "You spoke about that rather openly with her."

"Like I said, I don't want her to make the same mistake I did," answered Heine readily. "I felt that she needed it."

The corners of Suiren's mouth pulled up into a slight smile.

"You're a good man Heine," she said. Heine grunted slightly in response. "Keep them at the simulators. I've got a feeling we're gonna need all the help we can get."

**

* * *

**

Later

Suiren's sixth sense was remarkably powerful. It had directed her to the infirmary during one of the doctor's breaks, and she stepped through the door just in time for Treize's eyes to open once again.

"Are you going to struggle this time as well?" she questioned, stepping into his line of sight. The last few times, Treize had struggled with all his might to break free. This time, however, he only gave a slight tug on the ropes that bound his arms and shifting slightly under his other bindings before giving up.

"I won't tell you anything," he hissed.

"I don't want military information from you," replied Suiren, eyes narrowing dangerously as she stepped closer to him. "You intrigue me. A man of several names and two faces… faces that are like a mirror image. Is that why you wear that mask? I wonder if the others do as well."

Treize remained silent.

"I'm told you name yourself Treize Zabiarov," continued Suiren. "Are you aware of your birth name, Coordinator?"

_That_ got a reaction from Treize.

"Don't you _dare_ compare me to you Patchworkers," he growled out lowly. Suiren chuckled dangerously.

"Really now?" Suiren raised an eyebrow, somehow making the gesture mocking. "_You're_ the one pieced together from the parts of different individuals, like the Frankenstein's Monster." She was not surprised when he failed to realize what she meant by her final words. "You're a hypocrite, just like Blue Cosmos. In that way, you're the perfect personification of their ignorant, warmongering ways."

Again, Treize was silent, not intending to give her _any_ fuel to burn him with.

"You know, the others want different things from you," she continued. "Gil no doubt would take a lot of pleasure in cutting you open, some way, and using you to fuel his political counterattack against that Blue Cosmos puppet, Serena Ryker. Athrun and his fellow TSA pilots want to try and recover the man behind you, the one who was brainwashed into becoming EX-C1304. Do you know what I want? It's a secret." Suiren leaned closer, mouth practically right next to his ear, ready to pull back in an instant if he tried anything. "I want you to escape. I want you to break free and make a run for it. That way… I'll have an excuse to put a bullet in your head. Your kind are the abominations. You… your brothers… your sisters… all the Children, all of them need to die. For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

Suiren pulled back, biting out a scathing laugh as a confused Treize watched her wearily.

"Well… that's how I was raised," she continued. "To actually achieve the 'preservation' Blue Cosmos spouts, we'd have to cleanse humanity from the face of the Earth. Foolish, isn't it? Just like you. Just like my father. Just like everyone I've ever known." Her laughter died down, and she stared icily into Treize's eyes, two mismatched pairs tinted with frost and darkness locking in a battle of wills.

They both backed down at the same time.

"You're more than a parasite," commented Suiren. "You have as much right as your former self does… or did, as the case may be. Well… this has been a 'pleasant' conversation, Treize Zabiarov… EX-C1304… Christopher Dante. Though I can't say whether it was beneficial or not."

The two continued to stare at each other, locking into another battle of wills, this time clashing in presence as well. At first, Treize seemed to be winning, overwhelming Suiren with sheer power and darkness, but soon, his weakened condition caused him to falter… and suddenly, Treize was the one who bent to her will.

The EX-C's eyes drifted closed. Panting, Suiren turned and walked away, glancing around when she reached the hall, making sure no one saw her as she limped, exhausted, towards her quarters.

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

Three days later

"_Yesterday, at ZAFT's Diocuia Base, their appeared an apparent imposter of Lacus Clyne,_" said the newscaster. "_Her goal was apparently to hijack a shuttle and reach space, which she did with apparent success, thanks to the help of the White Angel of Freedom, who was a known supporter of Lacus Clyne in the last war._" The image switched to the Freedom crushing the Diocuia Base BABIs as they attempted to get at the shuttle. Durandal's eyes narrowed—how did this independent newsgroup obtain this footage? "_One must question why the legendary war hero would provide aid to an imposter. Other evidence, however, suggests this may not be the case._" Suddenly, the image changed to the supposed imposter as she got out of her limo. The angle shifted slightly, focusing on an individual still sitting inside the limo, and Durandal's eyes widened at the sight of the redhead in the silken silver dress.

"_This footage, taken by an freelance camera girl who was lucky enough to be present clearly shows that Lady Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha, formerly of the Orb Union, was with the supposed imposter._" Durandal cursed—this was being broadcast worldwide, including at the PLANTs! It was the first media information to come out on the incident, so almost everyone was watching it, and he couldn't even try to cut it off to the PLANTs, or he'd confirm that _his_ Lacus was the real imposter!

"_Lady Setsuna is known for being a strong peace advocate since the previous war,_" continued the newscaster. "_And in the wake of the Invasion of Orb by the Atlantic Federation during the last war, is known to have served aboard the __**Eternal**__ as part of the Three Ships Alliance, along with her mother and aunt, Ladies Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha and Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha, and according to rumor, with her cousin, Makoto Michiru Arata, reportedly the Dauntless Angel of Faith herself. It therefore seems unlikely that she would be taken in by a mere imposter. Taken together with the appearance of the White Angel, one must wonder if the hijacker really was an imposter, and not the true Lacus Clyne._"

Durandal muted the broadcast. He didn't need to hear anymore. Even though they were probably just looking to draw more attention with their rather bold statements, they were more or less right on the money with everything they said. He could work around this, though, so instead, he focused on the newly rearranged chessboard in front of him, and moved the White Queen several spaces forward, frowning as he reviewed the changes.

Although the White Queen had moved away from the protection of two of her Knights and one of her rooks, and into potentially dangerous territory that Durandal's black pieces largely dominated, those three pieces could easily move to protect their Queen, but more notably, the second White Rook was in position to aid her and crush most anything sent against her.

The White Queen symbolized Lacus Clyne, while the rooks represented the _Archangel_ and the Taiyonoha Fleet. The Knights, however, were the White Queen's most dangerous pieces, representing Kira Yamato and Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha—or, to be more precise, Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha. Durandal fingered another piece, one he'd been looking to nab for a while.

This third White Knight, previously the Black Knight before Durandal rearranged the pieces as the board became clearer, had originally been a mere pawn that he'd planned to strike down with the first of his Knights, Shinn Asuka. But that pawn had slipped through while Durandal was looking elsewhere, and managed a promotion to Knight before beating a hasty retreat back to the first White Bishop, Logos.

Meanwhile, as the board started to really get moving, he put a pawn promoted to a Black Bishop into place to pin the White Queen and the first White Bishop all at once. However, the second White Bishop had escaped notice, and instead Serena Ryker had been the one to pin Meer Campbell.

The final White Knight had maneuvered relentlessly after the Black Queen alongside the Logos-Bishop before a lucky break saw the Ryker-Bishop leave an opening for the Meer-Bishop to escape in.

That opening was Lodonia and the Extended. Although the Bronze Knight—one of two pieces that was only positioned to help its side at the moment and may yet switch—had destroyed Lodonia and most of its data, they had still pinned down the Chris-Knight and one of the Extended pawns. Now, he just had to finish the capture—bringing them to Gibraltar—and he'd be able to destroy the Ryker-Bishop that had been such a thorn in his side.

He idly glanced over the board, eyes eventually falling on the White King: Orb. He'd expected one of his opponents opening moves to be Castling with either the _Archangel_-Rook or the Taiyonoha-Rook, like he'd done with his own Black King and the Black Rook representing Messiah—and Neo-GENESIS. Instead, both pieces moved out independently, and the King sat protectively in the rear.

Durandal frowned as he took another look. The White pieces were spreading out, placing themselves at strategic points. They looked vulnerable at first, but they were moving very dangerously. In contrast, most of his own pieces were currently clustered protectively around his Black Queen, including the Gold Knight—the second piece that moved of its own volition and which he could not truly control. Other significant pieces were his Black Knights, including Athrun Zala. He wondered if that Knight would go turncoat and become yet another White Knight. He hoped not, but in the meantime, he considered which pawn to promote if that happened.

There was, of course, Heine Westenfluss. An ideal candidate, but so were Aleksi Shimizu and Lunamaria Hawke. Rey was out, instead acting as one of his Bishops, due to his knowledge and the genetic flaws that made being a true Knight impossible. The other pawns—Tristan Palleon and Jessie Vandermeer—didn't make the cut either. He fingered the pawns…

Well, he'd wait and see how events played out, particularly with the way the White Queen and second White Knight—Makoto—were now positioned to take his Meer-Bishop.

That was a bold move, but Durandal suspected it was only a ploy, a feint. He studied the board even more intently, but could not see what their real objective could be. What were they up too…?

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_ Lounge

Luna could not believe it. Only five days since she learned her crush, the White Angel, was the boyfriend of Lacus Clyne, and now she saw this?

"_Lady Setsuna herself could not be reached for comment,_" continued the newscaster, who seemed quite pleased with the story he'd been handed on a silver platter. "_According to Lady Serenity, her daughter was paying a final visit to an old friend before the two would be going their separate ways. Presumably, after seeing Lacus Clyne off, Lady Setsuna returned to Orb and launched for L3, where the followers of the Taiyonoha have been gathering since the House's withdrawal from the Union._"

Well… wasn't that convenient? Luna was sharp when she really wanted to be. With everything that had happened, everything she learned… so that was it. The _Archangel_ left Orb, after kidnapping Lady Cagalli, in order to protect Lacus from further assassination attempts. The Dauntless Angel, also targeted, had gone with them, likely shedding what Luna suspected had been a false identity as 'Lady Setsuna' and becoming Makoto Arata once more.

The other pilots, for the most part, were bewildered. Although it had been several days since the debriefing, most of them remained aloof, only leaving their rooms for meals and, in Shinn's case, to visit Stella in the infirmary. At the very least, he was now visiting her when she was conscious, which was certainly progress.

Luna knew that the other pilots had a lot of respect for the Angels and for Lady Setsuna. After all, the woman had come to save them during that battle outside of Orb, even cutting down one of those deadly mobile armors. As such, this would cause everyone to question which Lacus was the real one, which was likely their goal. Luna, of course, already knew, but she also had information the others lacked.

Jessie whistled slightly.

"Wow…" he muttered. "That's pretty intense."

"Yeah," agreed Aleksi, switching on the mute as the news finally started turning to other subjects. "I'd think it was more Alliance propaganda and doctored evidence, but this newsgroup is an independent one that's been reporting facts whenever they can get them."

Suiren snorted. "An honest newsgroup? That's a laugh," she murmured. "No matter how true it may be."

"Sometimes, fact actually does beat fiction," said Heine. "Whatever gets the ratings, right?"

"Maybe its just some elaborate Alliance mock-up?" suggested Vino. "This seems like the sort of thing they'd do."

"You're forgetting something," said Luna, frowning.

"Huh?"

"Yeah," agreed Heine. "You forgot: Lady Setsuna really was with the imposter. Lady Serenity's words… it can't be a coincidence, and I doubt the Taiyonoha would let themselves get exploited by the Alliance. They'd have lashed out if the Alliance had pulled the stunt you're suggesting, and no one with two brain cells to rub together wants to antagonize the Taiyonoha right now."

"Even if they just open Morgenroete contacts to one side, the war's over right there," commented Suiren. "Imagine how the armed forces of ZAFT or the Alliance would change with Morgenroete technology added in? You've all seen what they're capable of." The others all shuddered slightly. Especially in Alliance hands, such technology would be terrifying.

"What about the prisoner?" questioned Yolant curiously. "That Treize guy. I heard you've been visiting him and that girl a lot."

Suiren shrugged. "Stella needs looking after," she answered. "The calmer she remains, the longer she'll last. I don't want her to die—not as a victim of the Alliance."

"And the other guy?" questioned Jessie. "Treize… Chris… whatever his name is?"

"You might've forgotten that detail from Diocuia," said Suiren. "My second goes by the same name now. They used to be best friends, and during the latter half of the war, they were the worst of enemies."

"Really?" questioned Luna, turning to face her. "… can you tell us more?"

Suiren eyed her quizzically. "You just want to know more about the Three Ships Alliance, don't you?"

Luna blushed, and Suiren chuckled.

"Alright, I'll tell you a little of what I know on the subject," she said. Suiren then started to tell her fellow ZAFT soldiers about the _Archangel_'s battles, in space and on Earth. However, she left out a few particular details—Lacus's encounter with the _Archangel_ being particularly prominent among the details she kept to herself.

**

* * *

**

Captain's Office

Several hours later

"The report you asked for, ma'am," said Luna, handing the folder to Talia. "I apologize for the delay in getting it to you."

"That's fine," said Talia. "It's my own fault as well. There was so much going on that, to be honest, I wouldn't have had much time to look at it anyway." She opened the folder to see several pictures held in place in on one side and disk on the other. "I'm sorry for the assignment. I realize you were more or less spying on him."

"It's alright captain," replied Luna. "After all, you're a member of FAITH. And I'm pretty sure I understand why you had me do this."

Talia glanced at her curiously for a moment before smiling and looking back to the folder, about to pick out the pictures to take a closer look.

"But…" started Luna again, drawing Talia's attention back to her. "I, uh…" Luna hesitated for a second, then barreled on. "With your permission ma'am, I have some questions I'd like to ask you about this mission."

"I guess that's only natural," said Talia after a moment, setting down the folder and turning to face Luna fully. "Very well. I'll answer whatever questions I'm able to." Luna sighed with relief and smiled slightly.

"Thank you very much ma'am," she said. "Everybody knows that Athrun Zala left ZAFT during the final stages of the last war. And, he allied himself with the _Archangel_, the Earth Forces ship that had left its own military, apparently deciding he was gonna fight against both sides."

"Yes, that's correct," said Talia. "And Athrun has made no attempt to hide these facts either."

"However…" continued Luna. "It seems that not only has Chairman Durandal forgiven his past actions, but taken him back into the military and made him a member of ZAFT."

"Yes," answered Talia slowly.

"About this… last assignment," said Luna. "Well ma'am… it wasn't ordered because there was some lingering doubts about Athrun… about his loyalty?" Talia was silent. "Almost all of us have followed his orders without question because he's a member of FAITH and because he seems to have the Chairman's confidence. But if there are any doubts…"

"That's not what this is about Lunamaria," said Talia, cutting her off. "I don't blame you for thinking that way. But I believe acquiring information on the _Archangel_ was the sole objective of your surveillance mission. I have no doubt whatsoever that he is an honest man with a strong sense of justice. I can't see Athrun being a spy or actually betraying us. And I don't think anyone else can see it either." Talia's tone hardened slightly. "But no one knows anything… when it comes to that ship, the _Archangel_."

Luna gasped at the contempt in her superior's tone.

"It's true that in the last war, that ship worked along with Lacus Clyne to stop both sides from spiraling out of control and end the fighting," continued Talia. "But… what about now? It suddenly reappears and kidnaps Orb's Chief Representative, just as that country is about to join the Alliance. Then there's what happened the other day."

"Yes ma'am," said Luna.

"I have no idea what they're thinking about, nor what they're trying to accomplish," finished Talia. "Wouldn't you agree we need to find out more about that ship?"

"Yes ma'am," agreed Luna without hesitation.

"Athrun said more or less the same thing when he left," said Talia. She sighed. "But he still believes in that ship's crew, and he also believes in Orb. I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is fight against them. So… I hope this makes things a little clear for you. Alright?"

Luna smiled. "Ma'am. Everything's clear now. Thank you," she said as Talia turned to look down at the open folder.

"In any case, thank you for this," she said, closing the folder. "This matter is now concluded. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Once you leave here, I want you to forget everything you saw and heard on your mission."

Luna strangled a slight gasp.

"Is there something else?"

The captain was sincere… a part of Luna wanted to fulfill her duty and tell Talia what she'd learned about Lacus Clyne and the assassinations. The 'proof' that the Lacus working with Durandal was nothing but an imposter.

"Lunamaria? Something wrong?"

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong ma'am," said Luna. "My orders are quite clear captain. Now, if you'll excuse me." She saluted, and once Talia returned the salute, left the captain's office.

She thought about what Heine had said to her. Right and wrong… Athrun had never seemed too much care for the fake Lacus. Did he have feelings for the real Lacus…? No. Luna thought about it. Athrun's romantic feelings were directed at Cagalli Yula Athha, a sentiment the blonde returned. That's why he believed so strongly in Orb and Cagalli. Did the Chairman know the girl he had now was an imposter?

Yes, Luna decided. If she really thought everything through, the lines became more blurred, yet the things that influenced those lines became clearer and clearer. Durandal was trying to take advantage of Lacus's influence. Why? And also… Kira had said he was a saboteur of 'Divinity', and responsible for sending someone named 'Canard' to kill Kira. But what was Divinity?

Deciding there were too many holes to get a clear picture, Luna put it out of her mind. She hoped that Kira would listen to Athrun and try to get Orb out of the Alliance. That way, she'd never chance having to fight the _Archangel_ or its pilots.

Because while she didn't know if ZAFT was 'wrong' here, she realized that the _Archangel_ was almost undoubtedly 'right'.

**

* * *

**

December 10th, C.E. 73

Three weeks. It had now been _three_ _weeks_ since Lodonia. The war had ground to something of a standstill. There was still a lot of fighting on Earth, two major skirmishes in space, and a third that was cut short when the combatants drifted into the wide region around L3 that the Taiyonoha Fleet claimed as its own. A single warning shot and both sides had retreated.

_Why was I one of the chosen ones?  
Until the fight I could not see  
The magic and the strength of my power  
It was beyond my wildest dreams_

Aboard the _John Paul Jones_, the Extended pilots were growing increasingly tense, as was the entire fleet. They'd been given specific orders to make sure the _Minerva_ and any other ZAFT forces attempting to leave the Tarcuius area were obliterated. Although Treize and Stella were written off as losses, they still couldn't let them be taken to Gibraltar, or anywhere that they could be transported to space.

_Dark wings they are descending  
See shadows gathering around  
One by one they are falling  
Every time they try to strike us down_

The combined Alliance-Orb fleet wasn't the only place to be tense, either. Tensions were rising aboard the _Archangel_ as the crew continued to draw in data and search for solutions to the problems that were cropping up. Of course, that wasn't the worst of it.

_Don't you die on me  
You haven't made your peace  
Live life, breathe, breathe  
Don't you die on me  
You haven't made your peace  
Live life, breathe, breathe_

The _Minerva_ crew had also grown restless. The pilots had been given approval to return to active duty, and so, the only thing they were waiting for was the escort team(s). The pilots were also all mentally preparing themselves for the battle that was now approaching like a silent storm.

_Dark wings they are descending  
See shadows gathering around  
One by one they are falling  
Every time they try to strike us down_

In her quarters, Luna continued to listen to the song that Setsuna—_Makoto_—had released just a few days before the _Minerva_'s launch from the Orb Union. Now that she knew who the woman really was, Luna found that she could understand her songs better, and had listened to almost every release, searching for the hidden meaning behind them.

And she believed she'd started to really find them.

_As they took your soul away  
The night turned into the day  
Blinded by your rays of life  
Gave us the strength we needed_

But regardless of this pastime, Luna was worried. There was a gut feeling telling her something was going to break soon, but she didn't know what. She sighed.

"Get a grip Luna, your losing it," she muttered to herself. She glanced at the clock and let out another sigh.

It was 2:36 AM. What was she even doing awake?

_Dark wings they are descending  
See shadows gathering around  
One by one they are falling  
Every time they try to stri–_

Luna switched off the music. It was a good thing Meyrin was on-duty, or she'd have been bugging Luna to turn it off much sooner.

The good news was that the escort fleet would be arriving tomorrow… or rather, later that morning. Deciding to at least _try_ and give a good impression to whoever was coming, she stood up and began took off her overcoat and skirt so she could get to sleep.

**

* * *

**

The Infirmary

His time was up. Treize knew that. That damn _voice_ wouldn't stop reminding him and it was driving him insane! Anything, even death, even telling the Patchworkers _everything_ was better than what was happening to him now! Treize's threshold was approaching—that voice wouldn't let him forget that either! In only an hour, he'd no longer be able to function, and most likely would only be able to hold it in for another hour before he started screaming.

And that _voice_! That damnable, accursed Patchworker's voice!

Suddenly, Treize's vision swam, and he saw Lodonia…

EX-C1304 grit his teeth, pushing down the memory of Lodonia. He shifted his right arm slightly; he'd been subtly damaging this thing for over a week now, wrapping the somewhat loosened restraint around his wrist. The Patchworkers were lax because of the damage to his system, but he could admit that it wasn't without some good reason. Grabbing the restraint, grinding his teeth together and preparing himself for the pain, he pulled.

The restraint snapped free, and Treize suppressed a howl of pain. His vision swam again, this time showing him the crippled _Dominion_ and _Archangel_, but he bit this one down as well.

Shifting his now free arm, twisting it ever so slightly and ignoring the increasing pain this brought him, Treize started to remove the restraints on his body. After a good five minutes, the EX-C was standing up, free at last.

As he stood, his vision swam, and the infirmary door suddenly opened.

His vision was of a mechanical bird right in front of his eyes. It shifted suddenly, the bird disappeared, and on a bed next to him, he saw a brunet laughing lightly. Again, he bit this vision down, and his vision ceased to swim entirely. For the moment.

Nurse Roberts, who'd been present when the two Extended were brought in and was coming to check up on them, was caught completely by surprise—and horror—when she saw the male Extended standing up, free of his restraints. Her mouth opened to scream…

But Treize saw her, and even with his drugs as they were, he reacted faster than her, rushing forward, clapping a hand over her mouth before slamming a fist into that pretty little Patchworker's face. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she crumpled to the floor as Treize hissed in pain.

He glanced, briefly, at Stella. But no—useful as she was, she'd ultimately become a liability that had led to this situation. And he was in no condition to escape with her, nor did she seem to be in any condition to escape on her own. Deciding to leave her, Treize dragged the nurse into the infirmary and stepped out into the corridor, glancing around.

When he confirmed that no one was around, likely all sleeping, he started to silently rush down the corridor in a direction intuition said would ultimately lead him to the hangar, and a machine on which he could escape.

**

* * *

**

Suiren's Quarters

Finally, the crew was getting some measure of a break. Even with all the new information they'd been 'smacked' with, the crew had finally gotten some real rest. Suiren was confident that they'd be fine for quite awhile now.

However, after getting used to a routine of being almost always battle-ready, the calm could get a little boring. After awhile, Suiren had started to study all battle records, accumulating and calculating every fraction of data she could.

Right now, though, she'd more or less finished. In just a few hours, the escort fleet would be arriving, and less than a day later, they'd launch for Gibraltar, leaving behind a single _Vosgulov_-class submarine that would launch for Carpentaria once they'd engaged the Earth Forces in battle, with the purpose of transporting the Gaia there.

The Gaia was actually the reason Suiren was still up, dressed in only a thin, fine silk nightgown with her hair tied up in a side braid, eyes glued to the monitor. She'd already been through the Specter's computers, checking it over for Zane, noting only a few data glitches here or there. She'd now decided to go ahead and check over the Gaia, searching through every tiny fraction of its computer.

But there was something wrong. The database… no… no this couldn't be right. There was no way this glitch, this hole, was present in _both_ Gundams…

But after checking things over, she found that the evidence was irrefutable, and she almost physically recoiled from what she discovered.

"A spy in ZAFT's upper echelons?" she whispered. "No… Gil, you couldn't have done this, right?"

At that instant, something flashed across her senses. An erratic presence, but there was a familiar darkness attached to it as she instinctively shot to her feet and grabbed her gun.

"Oh no…" she whispered a moment later, realizing what she'd felt. Grabbing a few ammo clips, she rushed out of the room, forgetting to raise the alarm in her panic.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Things were getting worse for Treize. His vision was constantly swimming between the _Minerva_ and Lodonia. He wasn't certain which he was at anymore, wasn't sure who he was anymore, but it didn't matter either way: he just needed to escape.

Unable to evade everyone in the corridors, Treize had climbed into the ventilation, and was now literally crawling through the walls of Lodonia… no, the _Minerva_, following the direction that sense had told him to go.

All of a sudden, his danger sense went off, and Treize pulled back as the sound of a gunshot cracked through the corridors and a bullet pierced the ventilation shaft. For a moment, he was aboard the _Minerva_, but in the next instant, he was back at Lodonia.

Chris busted through a vent, rolling into the janitorial closet. He saw the one who'd shot at him: a woman with blonde hair and mismatched eyes, a gun aimed in his direction. Eyes widening and breath quickening with fear, Chris leapt aside as she fired at him again, somehow reaching the door and rolling into the corridor.

"You know," she said. "I wasn't really expecting you to escape. I was half-joking when I said I hoped you would so that I could have an excuse." A gunshot sounded again, Chris somehow managing to avoid being hit through his pain. He started running. He wasn't certain if it was his imagination or not, but as he rushed through Lodonia's halls, he thought he heard her call out sadistically.

"Yes, run! Run Christopher Dante! The hunt makes it so much more fun!"

Another gunshot. Then, a voice.

"I heard gunfire! What's going on?!" Chris rounded a corner and ran into a young redhead holding a gun. His head throbbed with pain when he saw her, and his eyes widened.

Chris snatched the gun from her hands and grabbed her arm, dragging her down the hallway.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed as the woman continued to chase him.

"W-what?" gasped the redhead as he continued to drag her.

"Run!" he said, spinning about and firing as the woman rounded the corner before continuing to run, still dragging the girl, unable to understand why she was struggling. Unable to understand why the gunfire had stopped.

He rounded a corner and there were two more people, both men. They looked surprised, and reached for guns that weren't there.

"Let her go!" shouted one of them. Chris pulled her safely back. He wouldn't let them hurt her!

He rushed in the opposite direction, dragging the still struggling girl with him. It became a game of cat-and-mouse as he steadily proceeded towards the place he instinctively knew was the exit. He had to get out, he had to keep her away from these monsters!

After several minutes, he rounded another corner, and found two more people, a man and a young woman, both holding guns. The woman looked panicked.

"Meyrin!" she cried, dropping her gun in horror. As it impacted with the floor, a gunshot rang out, and Chris dragged the girl back down the corridor, away from his pursuers, looking for another exit.

"Let her go!" demanded the man, giving chase and aiming his gun at them, but not firing.

Chris fired over his shoulder, not looking back, not stopping his run for even a moment.

"No!" he roared back. "I won't let you take her from me!"

He heard those people rushing after him, and turned a corner. Another one, looking surprised, holding a gun. It was instinctively raised, but he didn't pull the trigger.

"Chris!" he cried out as Chris dragged the redhead down another corridor. Despite the twists and turns, he was getting closer, he could feel it!

Then, three more people appeared in front of him, once again armed with guns. As the redhead screamed, he raised the gun and fired wildly.

"I'm not going back!" he roared. "I'll kill you all before that happens!" The three in front of him hesitated, and he emptied his clip as he shot, hitting all of them at least once.

A flash of pain—for a second, he was rational again, but then irrationality and confusion took hold, and he knew only one thing: escape, and get her away from these monsters!

Grabbing the fallen gun of one of the three he'd just shot at, Chris ran past them, dragging the girl with him.

"Let me go!" she cried. "Please, let me go!"

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what they do to people?!" he shouted, rounding another bend as heard his pursuers coming after him again.

"Let her go, you bastard!" Chris's only response was to fire backwards.

Then, they were there. The girl whose arm he held screamed as he dragged her into the hangar. Instinctively, he hit the console next to the door, shutting it behind him before shooting it twice, hoping it would slow his pursuers.

"Commander!" cried the girl. Chris spun around… and saw that first woman who'd shot at him standing there, her gun aimed at him. How had she beaten him here?

"Well, 'Chris'," she sneered. "It seems this is the end for you."

Chris glanced around, looking for something, _anything_! That was when he saw it.

The Specter.

Another flash of pain, but Treize bit it down, tightened his grip on the redhead's arm, and slammed her against his chest, pressing the barrel of his gun into her chin as she screamed in fear.

"I can pull this trigger faster than you can," he warned. "I'm not staying on a ship filled with Patchworkers."

"I thought I already told you: you are a patchworker—even more literally than I am," retorted Suiren. "You're _not_ leaving."

"C-commander?" stuttered Meyrin fearfully.

"Bitch," snarled Treize, pressing the gun closer into her chin. "I guess maybe you're strong enough to realize what must be done, unlike your spineless companions. Guess I'll have to kill you before leaving." Another flash of pain, but Treize held tightly onto the image of the Specter, anchoring himself, controlling himself.

Meanwhile, unwilling to try and force the door open, Athrun and the other pursuers had all begun looking for another entrance, while Jessie and Tristan raised the alarm.

None of the occupants of the otherwise deserted hangar reacted to the alarm going off, other than the tightening of hands on the guns two of them held.

"You want to kill me?" questioned Suiren, laughing bitterly, surprising Treize and Meyrin. "Of course you do. Anything to run away. That's all you people ever do: run. Run from the debt you owe me. Run from the debt of your father, a man who was so arrogant and greedy that he couldn't even accompany his children when he sent them away from Junius Seven." The last words came out as a sneer.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" demanded Treize, instinctively stepping back slightly, grip on the gun tightening to the point that he would almost certainly pull the trigger by accident. "Who are you?"

"I have been known by many names," she answered with a snarl. "My current name is Suiren Kyusai. I've also been called the Golden Rose of War." Shinn and Rey had just rushed into the hangar, both unarmed, and heard what Suiren said. A floor above, Athrun found his way in with Nicol, Saul, Shiho, Heine and Luna. "Back then, I'd used my longest standing name. Reine En Creuset, the daughter of Rau Le Creuset."

The former Le Creuset Team veterans gasped in shock, as did Heine, grips on their guns loosening. Suiren was the daughter of Le Creuset?! But that meant… so many things. Things Athrun and his friends could barely get their heads around.

"But to truly answer your question," continued Suiren, acting as though Meyrin and the others weren't there—if she even noticed them at all. "The name I was born under. I was the first, the eldest. The forerunner to all others."

"What?"

"I am Misuumi Hino Kamakura, First Child of Divinity!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: I've been waiting for this. It is a truth that has been sitting around since before I even started writing _Gundam SEED Dauntless_.**

**Well, in any event, please leave a review, and I'll see you all soon. ^_^  
**


	26. Phase 26: Unfulfilled Feelings

**Sometimes, a chapter writes itself. The last one is an excellent example. Sometimes, my muse is working overtime on a story. And sometimes, both are happening at once. That is the case with this chapter, and the reason it came out so quickly.**

**Now, to start, I thought you might be interested in Suiren's real world origins. She was, originally, two separate characters: Misuumi Kamakura and her twin sister, Suiren Kamakura. Misuumi had no connection to Mendel, but had been Rau's wingman during the Bloody Valentine, and actually faked her death in the incident and ran away from the war. She assumed the identity of Mayu Viana on Heliopolis, where she ended up working as an assistant in the development of the Gundams, and became the pilot of the GAT-X108. In other words, she was the protagonist for my first rehash of _Gundam SEED: A Retelling_, and Suiren would've become her nemesis. That story was discarded because the combination of Mayu and the X108, despite the early flaws I introduced, would've unbalanced the story too much to work out, and so, _Gundam SEED Dauntless_ was born as a replacement.**

**... and, to be perfectly honest, I was actually expecting a lot more people to realize who Suiren really was. So I was surprised by how many people seemed to have been caught off-guard. Now, I won't bore you with undiscussed details from the last few chapters, just wanted to get out that bit on where Suiren/Misuumi originally came from.**

**Disclaimer: Must I repeat myself?  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Six: Unfulfilled Feelings

December 10th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Early morning

"I am Misuumi Hino Kamakura, First Child of Divinity!"

There was no deception in the blonde's voice. Suiren… Reine… Misuumi… had voiced nothing but the absolute truth.

A truth that Athrun knew to be impossible.

"ARGH!" cried Treize, dropping the gun and releasing Meyrin, tossing her at Suiren as his hands shot to and clutched at his skull.

"_MISUUMI!"_

Realizing even through his pain that he needed to escape, Treize rushed past Suiren and Meyrin and grabbed hold of the Specter's zipline. Most of the others realized what he was doing, and several gunshots echoed as Heine, Rey and Shinn fired at him. Suiren, meanwhile, detangled herself from Meyrin and ran to the Rose's zipline, grabbing hold of it and beginning an ascent.

Treize, meanwhile, threw himself into the cockpit of his machine and immediately closed it. The pain was growing more unbearable by the second. Most likely, the administrator was completely empty, and soon, the remaining drugs would burn up in his system. He switched the Specter on, grateful for the lack of new security. He activated the VPS armor, and on a monitor, saw the other _Minerva_ pilots. He turned and fired the CIWS at them, but they saw him and ducked behind whatever cover they could find. That was fine, though, since he'd only been looking to deter them. Swinging the Specter's arm around, ignoring the strain the controls put on him as he did so, he knocked over several other machines, but saw one of them, the one belonging to that blonde bitch, already active with its VPS armor.

Knowing he had no other choice, Treize turned towards the nearest catapult and busted through the relatively weak airlock doors and into the catapult proper. He raised the Specter's cannon and fired, blowing the hatch open.

Then, he rushed out.

A moment later, though, and the Rose had also emerged. Treize tried activating the verniers, but the pain in his body flared unbearably and his vision started to turn black, forcing him to deactivate the boosters. His body couldn't handle them right now, even with the aid of the inertial dampeners.

And the Rose was on top of him, a beam sword descending to cut him apart. Treize spun about, raising his shield in defense, and was sent flying towards the ground by the blow, crying in pain as his controls jerked from the movement.

Suiren snatched up her rifle and took aim, ready to finish off the Specter. But her danger sense suddenly went off, and she pulled away just as a large beam cut the air where she'd been.

From the forest across the Tarcuius Bay, the Astarte, which had been hidden there for three weeks as Hotaru searched for a method of rescuing the Extended abandoned by the Alliance—something she could do, as a mercenary rather than a soldier—flew into the air. It had already formed the Hakai Suru, and took aim at the _Minerva_, while its Takusan attacked the ship's catapults, inflicting critical damage, particularly on the open port catapult and the vulnerable central one.

"_Cease combat, or I'll obliterate your ship,_" came the voice of the Astarte's pilot—Haruka, if Suiren recalled right.

Suiren hesitated, uncertain what to do. But then, she raised her rifle, trying to gauge this woman—would she really fire while Stella was on board?

Hotaru responded by shifting her aim from the _Minerva_ to the dock, and slightly above.

"Allow us to withdraw," she said. "Or I turn Tarcuius into a crater."

Silence met her statement at first, but then, the Rose's rifle lowered somewhat.

"_You're bluffing,_" said the pilot.

"Are we worth that risk?" countered Hotaru, though both of them realized that Suiren was right. No answer at first…

Then, the Rose pulled back towards the _Minerva_, touching down there. Treize, panting heavily, brought the Specter up alongside the Astarte.

"Come on," said Hotaru, pulling back, but keeping the Hakai Suru aimed at the dock and the _Minerva_, Treize alongside her at first, then overtaking her. Once at a sufficient distance, she disconnected the Daini and Hitotsu, and turned about, pulling back up alongside Treize. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"_My…_" Treize coughed. "_My drugs… I'm…_" Another cough. "_I'm empty…_" Several more coughs, then the Specter suddenly started falling. Hotaru caught it, and punched her thrusters up to max.

"Damn," she murmured. "You better not be out too long this time, you lazy bum. I've been shouldering half your responsibility, and you know what? I'm tired of it. I'm only supposed to be a mercenary, some extra hired muscle! Besides, Maia's ready to start killing the other Extended at this point, and even I can't seem to calm her very much."

Hotaru shook her head slightly, a fond smile starting to form on her lips. Treize was different now. The _Minerva_ had changed him, irrevocably, and not even Andras would be able to undo the good it had done for him.

No… not quite true. But he was close to that. She could feel it.

"You're a good man, Treize Zabiarov," she murmured. "Or rather, you will be. But only once you decide that you're more than just another Extended. That you're human, not a piece of equipment." Her smile took on even more warmth. "Yeah… you're worthy… of my loyalty."

**

* * *

**

Tarcuius

Because of the mess Treize had left in the hangar during his escape and the damage to the catapults, Suiren landed the Rose on the dock next to the _Minerva_. Although it wasn't even three AM, all of the _Minerva_'s crewmen were almost certainly awake. With all the commotion on the _Minerva_, like the crash of machines in the hangar—to say nothing of the Specter blasting its way out of the catapult—a lot of people throughout the lower regions of Tarcuius were likely awake.

Suiren's sole concern was with the pilots who'd rushed from the ship as she stepped off the Rose's zipline. And as expected, the first one to speak up was Athrun, grabbing the front of her gown furiously.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, ignoring the objections of the others. "What you said back there, was it true?"

"Every word," said Suiren, her tone scathing. "Now let go of me." Athrun did so, but his eyes were still locked with hers.

"Are you serious?" question Shiho as Nicol slipped back just a little, almost nervously. "You were in Orb for two weeks. Do you know how long they've been looking for you?"

"As of now, eighteen years, six months and seven days," answered Suiren easily. The other pilots—those who did not have ties to the Three Ships Alliance—were growing increasingly confused.

"Wait, what exactly are you talking about?" asked Shinn.

"I am Misuumi Hino Kamakura, daughter of Yushiro Kamakura and Ami Meiou Taiyonoha," answered Suiren. The name Taiyonoha drew even more gasps. "I am a now former Orb Princess."

"No way…" murmured Shinn, unable to believe what he heard. Most of the others were stunned into silence.

"And what about him?" questioned Heine after a moment.

"That Haruka woman showed up and blasted the catapults," said Suiren. "She was threatening to attack Tarcuius as well. I'm sure she was bluffing, but it just wasn't worth the risk."

Heine glanced at the others. Shinn, Jessie and Tristan were stunned silent, Luna was eyeing Suiren uncertainly—something about it made Heine think she might know something she shouldn't—Meyrin was clinging to her sister, Shiho and Saul were eyeing his commander dangerously, Nicol seemed contemplative, and Athrun was staring at Suiren, as though hoping she would provide answers to all his questions.

"So… what now?" asked Heine.

"I'm tired," admitted Suiren. "Stella will likely be further secured, but that's all that's really coming to mind. So, if no one has any problems, I'll be getting to bed." The others continued to watch her as she started to walk past them, and she paused briefly next to Heine, glancing at him. "Please look after the Rose. And… tell Aleksi for me."

"Yes ma'am," said Heine. As Suiren headed back for the _Minerva_, Heine glanced around, at the pilots and at the crowd gathering. "Alright, the rest of you should rest as well. I'll deal with things here."

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Half an hour later

Neo, Matthews, Leon and all the remaining Extended could not believe what they were seeing. Maia was smiling brightly, and Silber and Rache both seemed somewhat pleased, but hid it well. Most of the rest of the crew was simply stunned motionless as the Astarte landed on the _Jones_' deck, carefully settling the Specter down next to it. Then, the Astarte's hatch popped open almost violently, and the mercenary rushed towards the Specter's cockpit.

"Get the doctors!" she called, pulling the hatch release. "His drugs have gone completely dry!"

"You heard the lady!" called Neo. The crew snapped to attention, and several ran off to get the doctors while the various pilots rushed over to the Specter as Hotaru pulled the unconscious Treize from the cockpit, laying him gently on the ground. The EX-C was very pale and thin, looking extremely malnourished. Maia's eyes narrowed angrily.

"So, this is what you've been up too, is it?" questioned Leon.

"I'm licensed to do as I please so long as I fight battles for the Earth Forces," answered Hotaru, studying Treize as she waited for the doctors. "Even if it is looking for so-called 'equipment' that's been written off as a loss."

Several moments later, and several doctors, including Mikhail Andras, rushed onto the deck. Andras immediately rushed over to Treize, visually examining him in seconds as the pilots all pulled back. The other doctors showed up with a stretcher, onto which they placed Treize before rushing him off the deck. Neo turned to Hotaru.

"Well, I'd say this sort of work deserves a reward," he commented. "But… what about Stella?"

"Treize would know more," said Hotaru. "He escaped on his own. I just made sure the enemy wouldn't pursue him."

"You still got him back for us," said Neo. "You've done well, and proven your worth once again."

"Too much worth," she muttered, almost too quietly to be heard.

**

* * *

**

Port of Tarcuius

Several hours later

No less than fourteen _Vosgulov_-class submarine carriers had surfaced just outside Tarcuius. Each carried six standard or aerial mobile suits, primarily BABIs, and eight marine combat mobile suits, primarily ZnOs. It was an impressive force, one that should easily be able to drive a hole through the EA-Orb fleet blocking their path to Gibraltar, especially if the Kyusai Team really did manage to come up and attack from behind.

One of the submarines, the _Everest_, put in at the docks, and Talia, along with the other senior officers of the _Minerva_, including Nicol and Shiho, were waiting for the leader of this escort fleet to depart the ship.

Talia shifted slightly. She'd heard from Heine that Suiren had revealed her past to the others. Talia had, of course, known about this—in the past, she'd treated the girl like a niece, but it had been so many years, and so many changes, that at first, Talia hadn't realized that Suiren was Reine.

However, the other tidbit Heine had revealed—the source, in fact, of the tension between Suiren and those who'd once been under her father's command—was something that Talia had not been aware of, and the implications of it concerned her.

The side hatch of the _Everest_ opened, and a woman in a ZAFT white uniform wearing a FAITH badge stepped out. She had shortcut reddish-brown hair and hard, depthless brown eyes, and her features were as striking as most anyone the Captain had ever met. Talia felt Athrun stiffen the instant that woman came into sight, and she wasn't sure she could blame him—there was something about that woman that made Talia distinctly uncomfortable as she approached.

"I am Captain Talia Gladys, commander of the _Minerva_," said Talia, offering a salute, as did most of the others, except for, oddly enough, Athrun.

The other woman returned the salute, but her eyes shifted from Talia to Athrun, and she let the salute drop.

"It's been a long time, Athrun Zala," she said. The others shifted slightly, wondering how Athrun knew this woman.

"It has…" replied Athrun slowly. "I never expected to see you again… Nabiki Ombre."

Nabiki smirked coldly.

"When I heard about what was going on, I figured I'd lend a hand," she said, looking back to Talia. "Captain Gladys, from here to Gibraltar, the _Minerva_ will be under the guard of the Ombre, Jackson, and Lasara Teams."

"Your escort is greatly appreciated," said Talia. Nabiki looked over the damaged catapults of the _Minerva_.

"I thought your ship was fully repaired," she said. "Care to explain this?"

"One of the prisoners managed to escape," explained Talia. "He launched in the Specter and Commander Kyusai pursued him. But another enemy machine has apparently been waiting in the area, and attacked the catapults immediately afterwards, then threatened to attack Tarcuius if they were not allowed to leave."

"I see," said Nabiki, frowning slightly. "Then it becomes even more imperative that we launch as soon as possible. How long before repairs are complete?"

"Well, the catapults themselves are operational," said Talia. "Though only minimally. My chief mechanic says he can have the repairs done by this evening."

"Then we'll launch first thing in the morning," replied Nabiki. "I don't want to face an Earth Forces ambush in the middle of the night just after launch. We'll get your ship to Gibraltar, Captain Gladys. I promise."

"Thank you, Commander Ombre," said Talia.

**

* * *

**

Crewquarters

Saul nodded slightly to the others, and all three relaxed.

They were in Nicol's quarters, just after the meeting with Nabiki, and Saul had just run a complete check for any listening devices. They wanted to keep this matter private.

"So, Athrun, why don't you start," said Shiho as Saul sat down on the bed. "Who is Nabiki Ombre?"

"She's Erik's younger sister," he replied immediately. The others all gasped in shock. "Last I saw her, she was in the care of the Clyne Faction. I never really worried too much about what happened to her afterwards."

"And what do we do about Suiren?" asked Saul, sighing as he pressed a hand against his forehead. "You all heard her back in the hangar. She sounded half-insane."

"I'm not sure if there's anything we _can_ do about her," said Nicol. "She's got just about every possible advantage she can over us. The captain trusts her, the Chairman trusts her, and in a fight…" He shook his head, thinking back to that night in Orb, when they learned that Makoto had survived Athrun's desperate final maneuver with the Aegis. "But truthfully, I don't think she's a genuine threat. Remember what Erik said back then? Nabiki has some tie to Suiren. I'm pretty sure she rejected Le Creuset's views."

"In contrast to the prick?" questioned Saul, thinking back as well. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"She also saved Makoto's life at Jachin," added Shiho. "I think… her behavior was because of Chris. In spite of what she said before, about stepping away from revenge, she hates Chris for what his father did to her. She wants him dead."

Athrun nodded. "That does sound plausible," he said. Then, he sighed. "Kira once asked me if everything really came back to Divinity. And I'm honestly starting to think the answer is 'yes', because everything really does seem to."

"Yeah," murmured Saul. "Alright, we'll tread lightly, around Suiren, around Nabiki, and around Heine as well."

Athrun shifted somewhat uncertainly when Saul said to be careful of Heine. Then, a thought started to form in his mind. Of what Zane had said. Of who Suiren was most closely associated with.

"We need to be careful of Rey and Aleksi as well," he said. "Like Heine, they have a past with Suiren."

"Alright, we'll keep that in mind, but we really should just try and put this out of our minds," said Saul. He glanced around. "So, are we agreed? We're done with what really needs to be talked about?"

The others nodded.

"Good, then I'm gonna head out to Tarcuius. Relax while I can, because there's gonna be hell to pay once we launch."

**

* * *

**

Suiren's Quarters

Suiren stared almost lifelessly at the ceiling of her room, lying limp on her bed. She'd shed all her clothes and washed away all make-up, revealing nineteen scars adorning her right arm, as well as several other scars that had almost fully faded over the years. Most of them would be gone within the year.

Amongst Coordinators, her true oddity was that she never scarred permanently. The shallow cuts on her arms were renewed every year, as that was how long it took for them to fade. But she would renew them no longer, for the purpose of the scars was to mark how many years she'd hidden who she was.

Before today, only four people had known who she was, and one of them, her father, had died at Jachin Due. But Meyrin and all the pilots now knew, and information like that would spread through the _Minerva_ like wildfire.

And, inevitably, it would reach the ears of the Taiyonoha.

Suiren's hand idly reached back and stroked the crescent moon birthmark adorning her shoulder blade. She'd always thought of it as the mark of who she was by blood. For this reason, she'd hated it during her life as Reine.

Reine had always hated her blood family. They'd abandoned her at Mendel—abandoned her to be found by Rau. A man who she'd absolutely adored.

Until she saw his ambition. His insanity. Something that she feared may have infected her as well.

Official records would show that Reine En Creuset, the Golden Rose of War, had died at the Battle of Nova. She was most often referred to by her nickname, and so, very few people knew of the connection between two of ZAFT's early war heroes.

After discarding her old self, she had reforged her identity. Anyone who bothered to check would find that Suiren's war records were perfectly matched to Reine's, a dead giveaway as to the person she'd once been.

She'd also begun to work past her old hatred. By and large, she'd forgiven her family, but she refused to simply return to them. If they wanted Misuumi back, they'd have to drag her, kicking and screaming all the way.

However, there was one thing she'd never been able to let go of. One shred of vengeance against which, for all her belief in its futility, she'd never been able to escape from.

And that was her deep-seated hatred of David Dante and what he'd done to her. The screams of children dying, with and without the Newtype enhancements, the clones of Al Da Flaga, and the inhumane experiments conducted by Mikhail Andras, Asher Hyata and their people right under the noses of the other Divinity Project workers, all of it clear as day to the fragile mind of an infant.

And with David Dante deceased, his 'debt' to her had been given over to his children, most especially his son, Suiren's 'brother'. When he'd died, at the hands of her father of all people, she'd thought she'd put it behind her. That she'd let go.

But he wasn't dead. He'd come back. He was her enemy. And trying to shoot him had been deliciously satisfying.

And against everything Suiren had believed.

There were now two people, two hearts, two minds, warring within Suiren: her own, and that of her past self, Reine. And no matter how she tried to fight against it, Suiren was losing.

She was slipping back into Reine En Creuset. It had been that _other entity_ that had been the reason she was able to so boldly proclaim all of who she was without fear. And now that she'd retaken her grip on herself, Suiren was very, _very_ afraid.

Never before had she lost control like that. Did she truly hate Chris that much? Was there really that much contempt for the gift that had given her so many friends? The gift that had given her a new family in the form of the second Kyusai Team?

The gift that had brought her to Sakura?

Why?

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Faith could not believe it. No… within the _Archangel_'s computer systems, the powerful AI practically recoiled from the information that had just been delivered, marked as Priority-Omega—the highest within Terminal Intelligence, and a priority level that had never been used before today. Curiosity had gotten the better of her.

For that reason, though she was certain she would regret it, Faith called all people relevant without bothering to consult Makoto.

"Faith? What's going on?" questioned Makoto.

"Please wait," the AI replied softly. She could see Makoto's confusion, and manifested her image in the briefing room. After several tense moments, Kira, Flay and Shizuka had arrived, the only ones other than Makoto she felt needed to hear this right now.

"First," said Faith. "We've just received an Priority-Omega report from our agent on the _Minerva_." The others all gasped. Makoto's eyes narrowed. Why hadn't she been told about this immediately?

"And?" she questioned slowly.

"Chris has escaped the _Minerva_," said Faith. Flay's eyes widened in horror. "He's returned to the Earth Forces. This is probably a good thing, since it seems his drug supply was running dangerously low—perhaps completely empty."

Kira nodded. "I don't like it," he said. "But I guess it's better than staying where he was."

"This is important," said Shizuka. "But that doesn't seem like it would be Omega level. Faith… what else is there?"

Faith's image flickered briefly, catching her companions off-guard.

"During the escape, new information regarding Suiren Kyusai came to light," said Faith softly. "She was raised by Rau Le Creuset under the name of Reine En Creuset."

"You're kidding," said Makoto. "That maniac's daughter?"

"Yes," said Faith nodding. "But… that's… not the important part." Faith's image flickered again. "Her real name is Misuumi Hino Kamakura. Your cousin."

The reactions were instantaneous and about what Faith expected. Kira's eyes narrowed, Flay gasped in surprise, Shizuka's eyes widened and she started to shake her head, and Makoto…

"What?" gasped Makoto softly. The redhead stepped back, shaking her head. "No… no that's impossible. Misuumi… Misuumi couldn't have been…"

"I used my connections to check her records and all data available," said Faith. "There's no doubt about it. Suiren Kyusai, Reine En Creuset and Misuumi Hino Kamakura are all one and the same."

Makoto stumbled back into one of the chairs, nearly tripping and grabbing the back of it to steady herself. The redhead was growing paler by the minute.

"No…" she whispered. It was then that Faith saw the tears running down her cheek, though her expression didn't change from its disbelieving horror. "No…"

Finally, Makoto's grip loosened, and she fell to the floor, sobbing. Faith did not know if they tears of joy, fear, pain, or horror.

Perhaps a little of each.

**

* * *

**

Later

"How is she doing?" asked Kira as Shizuka stepped onto the bridge.

"Not much better," said the brunette. "She alternates between happiness, fear and regret."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" questioned Natarle. Shizuka shifted slightly.

"I… suspected," she admitted. "I shared my suspicions with Serenity, but we discarded the notion and didn't worry about it. There aren't that many girls around that age with blonde hair and mismatched red and green eyes."

"But the truth is, Makoto's cousin is aboard that ship," said Murrue sadly. "That's got to have a serious effect on her."

"We thought they were dead for so long," said Shizuka softly. "And now, Misuumi just turns up, alive, well…"

"And the one who saved Makoto's life at Jachin," added Kira. "She has to have known about Makoto even then. So why did she never tell anyone?"

"Our agent doesn't know," said Faith who, with Makoto absent, was taking over the redhead's place distilling the information gathered by Terminal's agents. "Apparently, Misuumi wouldn't talk about it. There's something else. The ZAFT escort fleet has arrived. They'll be departing first thing in the morning. At present, we're unsure how the Earth Forces will respond."

"And we can't simply move into the _Minerva_'s shadow again," said Murrue, frowning. "Not with all those submarines they'll have escorting them."

"Thirteen all total," supplied Faith. "The last one will be transporting the Gaia to Carpentaria. With your permission, Kira, I'll send a request to Canard to intercept the sub and capture the Gaia."

"Yes, that would be appreciated," said Kira. Faith nodded, and began processing the orders. "He's not gonna be happy to know that he ended up failing Makoto."

"With her tracks covered like this, it would be next to impossible to find this information unless you were specifically looking for it," commented Faith. "He has nothing to be disappointed about."

"Faith, you've learned a lot, but you still don't seem to fully grasp human emotion," said Cagalli, smiling thinly. However, her smile was quick to fade. "So, not one, but two of our current enemies are… them?"

"So it would seem," said John. "Things are gonna get hectic now, and it seems Makoto's stunt when Lacus launched to space has only slowed the Chairman down."

"Speaking of Lacus, is there any news up there?" questioned Victor, sipping idly at his coffee.

"Progress on the machines has started to move ahead of schedule," said Faith, tilting her head slightly as she processed the information. "Which is good, since Mr. Secret Military Commander here ordered several new machines into development."

"Oh?" questioned Murrue, turning to Kira with a raised brow. The White Angel shifted slightly.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I'm hoping we can get them back. All of them. So I added two rough designs to the Sentinels."

"And orders for development of a machine based on our accumulated data," added Faith. "Oh. It seems they're having difficulty with that one. It's been broken down to three machines." Kira sighed.

"So… what do we do now?" asked Cagalli. "Try to stop this battle too?"

"Is that what you want?" asked Shani. Cagalli shook her head.

"Yes… and no," she admitted. "I want to stop it, but… it's all so futile. I keep thinking we should've listened to Athrun and returned to Orb."

"Probably not the best idea," said Clotho, causing the others to turn to him in surprise. He shrugged. "Well, when I think about it, right now, it's probably best that we've kept ourselves hidden. Right now, we know we've got a lot of enemies, but we're not entirely certain who they are. But I don't doubt for a second that the Seirans are among them."

"The Seirans are the dogs of Blue Cosmos," said Natarle. Mir snorted.

"Please, don't complement them," she said. The others all chuckled lightly. Kira straightened up.

"I'm gonna go talk to Makoto," he said, turning to walk out when Shizuka spoke up.

"I wouldn't bother," she said. "She's not even letting Liz or Louisa in to see her." Kira glanced back and shook his head.

"Then I guess I'll just have to knock some sense into her," he said before continuing on.

**

* * *

**

Makoto's Quarters

"Makoto? I'm coming in," came Kira's voice, just before the door opened. Makoto knew that Liz and Louisa were trying to get a peek of her in the darkened room before Kira closed the door behind him and switched on the lights.

"How'd you get in?" she murmured.

"I practically designed the security for this ship," he said. "I can override any lock you can put in place."

"I see." Makoto shifted, lifting herself slightly. Even after having quite a bit of time, she still hadn't cried herself dry. Her eyes and cheeks were red and puffy from the endless stream of tears, and the sheets of her bed where her head had been were soaked. Her hair and clothes were in a total state of disarray. "You must think me foolish."

"Not at all," said Kira, sitting down next to her and pulling her into a hug. "Just overwhelmed."

"She's alive," whispered Makoto. "She's been alive and right in front of me this whole time." She lifted her head slightly to look at Kira. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"I don't know," said Kira. For the first time in a long time, there was no emotional tension between them. Right now, Makoto needed Kira to be a brother to her. "But she must've had her reasons for it, right?"

"She saved my life," said Makoto. She buried her face in Kira's chest again, whispering "why?" over and over again as Kira stroked her hair gently.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Alright everyone, this'll be the last sim run before we return to the battlefield," said Heine. "Are you all ready?"

"_Yes sir._"

"Good, then let's get started," said Heine, initiating the simulator.

Almost all of the veterans were sitting the sim runs out. Heine, managing the practice sessions, was the only one to be present at all of them, though Aleksi often participated as well, and they were the only two participating in this particular run. No one had seen hide nor hair of Suiren since the meeting with Nabiki, and the Le Creuset Team veterans had all headed out to Tarcuius, likely to discuss the revelation of who Suiren truly was away from potential prying ears.

Although the details were not widely known, Rau Le Creuset was a war criminal, and Heine couldn't help but wonder what sort of reaction Suiren's association with the man would have.

Shaking his head, Heine focused himself on the simulation. The setting was a destroyed cityscape, filled with craters, fallen buildings, gouged buildings, skyscrapers and dozens of other types of structures, and each participant would start off in a different location.

The setting had been almost constantly changed. At times, the simulation had been of the Battle of Endymion—where Heine forced them to tangle with the legendary Hawk of Endymion himself, and using GINNs instead of their more advanced current machines. Aleksi, Tristan and Jessie had adapted a lot better than the other Redcoats had, as the differences between the GuAIZ and GINN were considerably smaller than those between the GINN and ZAKU.

For most, though, Heine had put them in their own machines, like the simulation of the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Setting them up as ZAFT defenders, the goal was to defeat both the Earth Forces and the Three Ships Alliance, protecting GENESIS and Jachin Due itself.

It was, inevitably, a no-win scenario. The only 'win' was simple survival. And in over two dozen sim runs, only Aleksi and Heine himself had managed to survive—every time. Shinn's survival rate in the early runs was abysmal, as he often came up against the enemy Gundams. While he'd done well against some of them—the original Heliopolis mobile suits, the Supremacy and Calamity—the others, most often the Twilight, had torn him apart. The simulation did not include the Angels or Knights, as it hadn't taken a genius to realize they simply couldn't create a program that could properly emulate pilots capable of taking on several hundred mobile suits without the enemy even touching them.

The current sim, though, was a 'free for all'. The only participants were the pilots of the _Minerva_. Though, Heine wouldn't be surprised if one of those currently absent were to join in out of the blue.

Heine maneuvered his GOUF through the buildings at a sedate pace. While he could've taken to the air to get a bead on the others, he knew that that was just like painting a giant bulls-eye on his forehead—something Shinn had learned first hand the first time they'd run this simulation. Needless to say, he never repeated that particular mistake.

"_What the? Aleksi? Where did you–_" The transmission from Jessie cut to static, and Heine snorted.

Aleksi… her improvement over the past three weeks had been phenomenal. The others had improved, especially Shinn, but Aleksi had outpaced them. Heine suspected that the reality was simply that Aleksi had always been this good from the start—but psychologically, she'd been held back by her own belief that she only an average pilot. He'd looked at her academy scores—average across the board except in relation to leadership skills. Being a leader meant being intelligent and being able to learn things in seconds. Aleksi's tactical and strategic scores had practically been off the charts, though, which should've been enough to qualify her as a Redcoat right there.

It was for this reason that Heine suspected Aleksi's mindset had held back her full potential. Her 'promotion' had perhaps encouraged her, and now, she was growing in full to the pilot she should've been all along.

Heine's instinctive danger sense caused him to pause at the next building. Crouching down behind it, he peaked out…

And saw the Sword Impulse, it's back turned to him, walking along the road, constantly looking to the side. Good, Shinn was being cautious.

But not cautious enough.

Heine fired up the GOUF's thrusters and soared around the building. Shinn heard him and spun about, raising his rifle, but the Slayer Whip heat rod was already moving, coiling around the rifle. Shinn, knowing better than to wait, released the rifle and fired up the Impulse's thrusters, grabbing and throwing both Flash Edge. Heine dodged these while pulling back the Slayer Whip without releasing the electric burst, instead grabbing the Impulse's rifle and firing at Shinn, who defended with his shield.

"You need to stop throwing both boomerangs simultaneously," said Heine. "That's a weakness, not a strength."

* * *

Meanwhile

Rey simply could not believe it. He was now bunkered down, along with Luna and Tristan, trying to outdo Aleksi. She wasn't as accurate as Luna and Rey were, but she was more than clever enough to make up for it.

"_Rey, behind you!_" cried Luna. Rey spun about, firing his rifle, but the gold GuAIZ was already on top of him, blocking the fire with its shield and placing the barrel of its rifle right on top of the ZAKU's cockpit.

Then, Aleksi squeezed the trigger, and Rey's simulator shut down. He shook his head as he opened the hatch and stepped out of his ZAKU. In an open field, they could still beat Aleksi, if they teamed up or got lucky. But in the cityscape, even Heine, for all his added brutality in the sims, lost one in every three confrontations with her. It supported her use of pure cunning over skill perfectly.

In a way, Aleksi sharply contrasted Shinn. Shinn was remarkably talented, and growing more skilled as time passed, but while he could devise some strong on-the-fly strategies, he was more a pilot of instinct than one of intellect.

Aleksi, on the other hand, was only average as a pilot, her skills growing more slowly than Shinn's, but her pure intellect and ability to devise battle-turning tactics in mere seconds—while under severe pressure, no less—made up for it in spades, and allowed her to compensate for her slow growth in skill by learning everything possible to improve herself.

The hatch to Tristan's GuAIZ R popped open. Rey walked over to him.

"She got you too, huh?" he commented with a faint smile that Tristan returned.

"Yeah," he said. "All of sudden, there's this shadow on top of me. I shoot upwards, only to realize she'd thrown a small slab of concrete. Arrestors grab me, slam me into a wall, and next thing I know, there are beam claws buried to the hilt in my machine's chest."

Rey shook his head slightly in amusement.

A moment later, and the cockpit of the Core Splendor and ZAKU Warrior opened. Shinn and Lunamaria exchanged brief glances before wandering over to join the rest of the rookie pilots at the table where they were about to start a game of poker.

"So, now it's just Heine and Aleksi, huh?" said Tristan, shuffling the deck while Jessie got out some chips for Shinn and Luna.

"Aleksi's got him beat," said Shinn. "I almost had him, but one of the buildings we'd damaged broke and crushed the Impulse. He won't take her with his GOUF in that condition. Not on this battlefield."

"That sucks," said Jessie. "Being that close and then some outside factor just swoops in and steals your victory."

Shinn shrugged. "I learn," he said. "Now I know to keep an eye on such things, and the lesson didn't cost me my life." As Tristan started to deal the cards, Jessie glanced at Shinn and sighed. The Impulse pilot had been rather mellow, and didn't really react to Jessie's attempts to rile him up. Much as the two bickered, Jessie considered Shinn to be a valued friend, and really hoped for the best for him.

"What about Aleksi?" asked Rey, picking up his cards. "What condition did you leave her in?"

"I got her rifle and arrestors," said Luna. "… and then she stole my cannon and shot me with it." Jessie and Tristan both chuckled lightly at this.

A moment later and the GOUF and GuAIZ cockpits opened. As the five pilots at the table turned their attention upwards to the two war veterans, Aleksi shot a glare at Heine.

"I can't believe you got me there!"

Heine chuckled. "When you've watched the Impulse get crushed by a falling building, you get a few ideas of how to use it to save your own ass," he replied.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Treize felt almost lethargic as he leaned against the rails and stared out at the ocean. Unlike when he overdosed during his battle with the Freedom, withdrawal was easily remedied simply through the reapplication of drugs. It had taken hours, just to be certain the sudden influx didn't cause any damage, and by the time he'd woken back up, the process was done, and he'd left as soon as Andras allowed him too—which, it turned out, had required an order from Neo, as Andras wanted to make sure the Coordinators hadn't done anything to his 'precious weapon'.

The thought of what Andras had called him turned Treize's stomach for reasons he couldn't even comprehend.

"Is there something on your mind?" came a voice suddenly. Treize glanced back to see Hotaru standing there, looking at him curiously. He sighed and looked back to the ocean.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Hotaru chuckled lightly as she stepped up next to him.

"I felt a great deal of turmoil," she said softly. "Which probably explains why you're here. It's beautiful, isn't it? The tranquility, the depth, the harmony… the power."

"Yes," agreed Treize. He'd never really thought about it before, but she was right.

"Treize, I'm your friend," said Hotaru. "Please, tell me what's wrong. We need you at your best."

"Friend?" questioned Treize. "I'm a weapon, remember? I am fully functional once again. There is _nothing_ wrong."

"Oh, I think there is," said Hotaru as the two turned to face each other. They were out of earshot of anyone else on deck. "A weapon doesn't feel emotion."

Treize snapped.

"That's just it!" he exclaimed, slamming a fist into the railing, snapping it. "I am feeling emotion! Confusion over what happened on that ship, anger at my own failure and weakness in getting captured, regret over my decision to leave Stella behind, doubt as to who I really am… are you happy? I admitted it!"

"Yes, I am," snapped Hotaru. Treize's eyes narrowed and—regardless of any rationale—he prepared himself for a fight with this dangerous mercenary. "Now, tell me: who are you? The weapon designated EX-C1304 or the _man_, the _soldier_ Treize Zabiarov?"

Her words caused Treize to calm somewhat. He frowned.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. Hotaru eyed him before turning around.

"I thought about it," she said. "During those weeks watching the _Minerva_. Looking, hoping that one or both of you would escape. And an idea occurred to me. Please, follow me."

Treize did so, and within moments, the two had reached Hotaru's quarters. She led him inside, stepping up to the mirror outside her bathroom.

"Now, listen to me very closely," she said. "I want you to look into that mirror… and take off that mask."

Treize's gaze snapped to her in shock.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what that does to us?"

"Yes, I do," she said. "And while people like Andras might challenge my theory, given what I know of you, it seems likely that the reason is because you're not people—you're weapons. Now, look into the mirror, and takeoff that mask."

Something—he didn't know what, exactly—compelled Treize to listen to her. He looked at the mirror and gently reached up, grabbing his mask… and peeled it away, allowing it to drop to the floor.

Instantly, pain beyond even that generated by his block command scorched through Treize's body, but he didn't lose contact with his own eyes in the mirror, and suddenly, the pain became secondary, numbing to a dull ache as a man with dark brown-hair, gray-green eyes and his features stared back at him.

"Kill me," said Chris. "It's better than being you."

Treize's eyes widened. That was the first time the voice had said something other than that mantra—_kill_.

"No," growled Treize, forgetting Hotaru's presence as he leaned forward, ignoring any and all pain, putting a hand against the mirror, Chris mimicking his actions. "I have a task to complete."

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world?" mocked Chris. "I hate that line."

"The damage your kind have inflicted…"

"_Our_ kind," hissed Chris. "Can't you feel remorse?"

"I'm a weapon," growled Treize. "I'm not supposed to feel remorse." Pain suddenly lanced through him.

"I'm going back to them!" shouted Chris. The pain rose to unbearable levels. "I'm not going to be you anymore!"

"You never were me!" roared Treize right back, leaning closer, slamming his other hand against the mirror.

"_You_ are just a corrupted illusion!" said Chris.

"_You're_ the illusion! You're nothing but a mirror, a forgotten past!" retorted Treize. "_You're dead!_"

"You're not even real!" said Chris. "That's _my_ body! I'm not giving it over to some Extended murderer!"

"No!" exclaimed Treize. "You're not taking this from me! _I'm_ real."

"You're an offshoot!" retorted the image in the mirror as the pain flared even more. Treize somehow held on against passing out. "I'm going back! Back to them! Back to Flay! You won't hurt her!"

"We won't," growled Treize. "This is my body. And _I_ am _not_ just some weapon. I am not you. Not Chris Dante. And not EX-C1304." He had his answer. "I am Treize Zabiarov of the Earth Alliance Forces! I have every bit as much right to life as anyone else!"

The pain faded slightly. Chris looked confused. Then, there was a flicker in his eyes. Treize didn't know what it was.

But in the next instant, the pain was gone, like it had never been there, and the face staring back at him was his own.

_His_ own. Not the reflection of the masked weapon EX-C1304, nor the visage of Chris Dante. It was Treize's own face that stared back at him.

He turned to Hotaru in surprise, and she gave him a slight nod, smiling thinly.

"It's over," she said. "Just like you said. You're Treize Zabiarov. Your own person."

Treize's surprise was evident as he bent down and picked up his mask, staring at it in shock. Hotaru herself could not truly believe what she'd just done—she'd made this weapon confront all that it was, and transformed it from a weapon into an individual. Now… she'd have to wait and see the results.

Treize's hand clenched into a fist, twisting and shifting his fingers, tearing the cloth mask. Then, he tossed it to the floor, discarding all of the weapon save for the drug administrator resting on his chest.

**

* * *

**

Early the next morning

"I wonder if we spooked them?" commented Hotaru, staring at her machine.

"Doubtful," said Treize. "More than likely, they were simply waiting for some sort of reinforcements, meaning that had been my last chance. Good thing I took it."

Everyone, most especially Andras, had been shocked to discover Treize had overcome the 'glitch' in the programming that triggered when the EX-Cs saw their own faces. What Treize and Hotaru had both come to realize is that the flaw in the program was that it _was_ a program. Treize had become more than that, now—the next time Andras attempted 'maintenance' on him, he'd be in for a serious surprise.

"So, another bout," commented Hotaru. "I'm looking forward to it. If I don't have a good enough performance, my employers will switch my pay to a commission-basis just because it would be considerably cheaper than by-the-hour."

"Heh." Treize turned to face her. "Make sure you get that bitch's machine today. I'll be taking the White Devil."

"Not the Crimson Knight? That's a surprise," commented Hotaru.

"He'll be next."

"Well then, I'll look forward to seeing it all," said Hotaru. "Before the day is done, the _Minerva_ and whatever pitiful escorts Durandal has assembled will be sinking to the bottom of the Mediterranean in pieces."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Makoto did not look to be in particularly good condition, but she was at least fit to return to more 'active' duty.

"It seems the EA-Orb fleet is gathering at Crete," explained Faith. "And according to our agent on the _Minerva_, they will pass Crete en route to Gibraltar. That can't be a coincidence."

"Damn it," murmured Cagalli.

"How long until the two forces meet?" asked Natarle.

"Approximately one and a half hours," answered Faith. "About two hours from our current position."

"So… what do we do? Sit here and watch this happen?" questioned John. "Or try to lend a hand?"

"But what can we really do?" whispered Louisa softly. Makoto shifted. "And remember whose fighting in that battle."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Kira… I need to ask a favor of you," said Makoto, turning to him.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Please… let me borrow the Freedom."

Everyone present gasped in shock.

"Why?" questioned Kira, straightening up.

"The situation's… changed," said Makoto. "Listen, I understand that… I'm not the only one who's important here. And I know that all of us have someone important out there. And that's why… I don't want to just drag you all along. But I have to… I need to go there." Makoto's eyes practically glowed with determination. "I need to talk to her. I need to hear the words from her directly."

"You idiot!" cried Cagalli, rushing forward and slapping Makoto, who did nothing to defend against it. "You say you're not the only one who's important, and then ask us to let you do something so selfish?"

"I know that!" cried Makoto. "Cagalli, what would you do if you'd just found out that it was Kira out there? What if it was Ami?" That last name gave both Kira _and_ Cagalli pause, leaving everyone else but Liz, Shizuka and Faith confused.

Ami… she was one person whose existence had not been shared beyond those who knew the entire story of Divinity, from start to finish.

"Makoto's right!" said Flay. "Going there is something that's personal… if Kira will lend Makoto the Freedom, I'll take the Sincerity. I need to talk to Chris."

"I'm not staying behind either," said Liz. "That's _my_ brother out there."

"My father's responsible," added Shani. "I'm going as well."

"We're _all_ going," assured Kira. "Maybe not all participating, but I need to go as well. Chris… and Athrun."

"Do you think Clotho and I would stay behind?" questioned Louisa. "Besides, you'll need someone to keep Hotaru off your back, Makoto."

"Everyone…" murmured Makoto.

"All systems are ready," said Faith. "We can launch anytime."

"Then let's get going," said Murrue, smiling as she took the captain's chair. "Arnold, Jeff, I want us within spitting distance of Crete in less than two hours."

"We'll get you there in one," said Jeff, smirking.

"Alright, then why don't we all get ready?" said Tolle. "Um… how should we deploy ourselves?"

"We should keep most of our forces for the defense of the _Archangel_," said Cagalli. She then turned to Clotho, Shani and Tolle. "Think you guys can handle that?"

"Pfft. What, do you think we're that reckless?" questioned Clotho, smirking along with his teammates.

The others just gave them a pointed stare before answering in near-unison.

"Yes."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Eighty minutes later

Suiren stepped into the pilot's lounge to find Shinn waiting in his pilot suit. She sighed as she sat down across from him.

"You think it'll be soon as well, huh?" she said, drawing Shinn's attention. He frowned.

"Commander…" he said. "Why did you hide it all? Who you were, I mean."

Suiren shrugged. "That is, frankly, none of your damn business," she said, tone gentle despite the harshness apparent in her words. "Misuumi Hino Kamakura and Reine En Creuset are _dead_. It's as simple as that." Shinn's hands clenched together. "Is that a problem for you?"

"No, it's just… my sister is…"

"Don't," said Suiren. "Don't think about it. Or you'll lose all grip on your own sanity."

**

* * *

**

Orb Naval Carrier _Takemikazuchi_

"Ship silhouettes detected," announced the sensor operator. "Distance, 60 at eleven o' clock."

Todaka nodded, hitting the intercom switch located next to him. "All hands, prepare for battle," he ordered. "I repeat, all hands, prepare for battle." He released the intercom. "What exactly are we dealing with, other than the _Minerva_?"

"Sir. The _Minerva_ is being escorted by… thirteen _Vosgulov_-class submarine carriers," said the sensor operator.

"Thirteen submarines?" questioned Todaka.

"So what?" said Yuna. "It won't make any difference."

"But ZAFT does have an advantage in mobile suits at sea," commented Todaka. "And _Vosgulov_-class can carry eight aquatic suits, along with six standard machines. More than that, with the right modifications."

"We'll still crush them," said Yuna confidently.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Leon and the Extended all quickly rushed to their machines, the EX-Cs boarding theirs first, Leon boarding the _Valiant_ a moment later. As Auel and Sting rushed to their machines, though, Auel paused, glancing curiously at an empty space.

"What's wrong?" asked Sting, glancing back.

"Uh, nothing," said Auel. "Something about right here…"

"What?"

Overhearing this, Treize, who had yet to board the Specter, glanced at Hotaru. "Their memories of Stella were erased then?" he asked. She nodded.

"Neo thought it was for the best," she answered softly.

"Sorry I couldn't get her out."

"Not your fault," said Hotaru. "Truthfully, I'm more sad about having to sink the _Minerva_ with her still aboard."

"But its better than letting Durandal get his hands on her?"

"I hope so."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The two pilots in the lounge were moving the instant the alarm sounded. By the time any of the other pilots arrived, Shinn was already in the Core Splendor, and Suiren had boarded the Rose.

Talia's orders came through just before Athrun boarded the Saviour, instructing the Impulse, Saviour and Rose to launch first. Meanwhile, below the surface, each ZAFT submarine opened all four of its dry tubes, releasing a pair of aquatic mobile suits from each. Unlike the _Nyiragongo_ that had escorted the _Minerva_ from Carpentaria, these subs only had a few GOOhNs between them, and were primarily packed to the gills with ZnOs that would be very effective at fighting the Abyss and crushing enemy naval vessels. On top of that, there were even a few ASHs among them.

Unlike the last few sea battles the _Minerva_ had been in, the ZAFT forces were almost equally matched to their enemies, rather than overwhelmingly outnumbered.

**

* * *

**

The _Takemikazuchi_

"Distance 40 until we enter firing range," announced the sensor officer.

"Is there any sign of mobile suits from the _Minerva_ yet?" asked Todaka.

"Not yet sir."

"Great! We win!" said Yuna, leaning forward eagerly. "We'll greet them with a shower of Type-8 fragmentation shells." Todaka suppressed a snort—any amateur who was aware of those would know to use them. Yuna's egotism was making it much harder to concentrate on his duties.

"Gunners, prepare a barrage of Type-8 shells," he ordered. As soon as he was certain they were ready, he continued. "Fire!"

Immediately, the Orb vessels that received the command launched the barrage. Aboard the _Minerva_, Bart turned to Talia.

"They've opened fire ma'am," he said. Arthur gasped lightly in surprise, not expecting them to fire at this long of a range. Talia instantly suspected what might be going on, and internally cursed.

"Tell the mobile suits not to launch yet," she said. "Intercept them! Evasive maneuvers!"

Cruising along the surface of the water, the _Minerva_ began to shift, trying to evade while its CIWS guns opened fire, hitting one of the five shells launched their way. But an instant later, the remaining shells exploded as well, and from all five, dozens of tiny fragments rained down on the _Minerva_ and the surrounding ocean, gouging hundreds of tiny holes in the ship's armor, and making the ship look like it hadn't been repaired in weeks. Fortunately, the water absorbed almost all the impact of the fragments that missed the _Minerva_, and so only lightly pinged against the submarines closest to the surface, inflicting no damage to them.

However, the shrapnel then exploded, inflicting even more damage on the _Minerva_, causing the ship to spew several large columns of smoke.

"Shrapnel has penetrated the upper armor down to the second level ma'am," said Bart, giving a damage report.

"Damn it!" cursed Arthur. "It's a shower of fragmentation shells!"

"Damage control report!" ordered Talia. "Another ten to starboard!"

As Malik carried out her orders, Bart spoke up again.

"Three more Orb ships at nine o' clock ma'am," he reported. Talia and Arthur both gasped.

"From above, two o' clock," said Meyrin. "Nine Orb Murasames ma'am!"

"Send out our mobile suits immediately!" ordered Talia. "Aim the Tristan and Isolde at the fleet on our port side!"

"Yes ma'am!" said Arthur.

"That carrier's around here somewhere, hurry up and find it!" she added.

"Yes ma'am!" replied Bart.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

_I know you're not here to take revenge Stella_, thought Neo. _But today… we send that ship to hell. I just hope you're not on it._

The _John Paul Jones_ hangar decks opened, and its wide array of Gundams stepped out.

"Treize Zabiarov, Specter, launching!" called Treize before shooting off into the air.

"Haruka Tsukino, Astarte, taking off!" added Hotaru before shooting off after him.

Meanwhile, the Core Splendor launched from the _Minerva_'s central catapult, quickly followed by the Blast Silhouette, the Chest Flyer and the Leg Flyer. As Shinn formed up the Blast Impulse, the Saviour and Rose shot forth from the two primary catapults, and they were soon followed by the GOUF Ignited, ZAKU Blitz, ZAKU Surge and ZAKU Duel Arms.

Meanwhile, the _Everest_ had led the ZAFT submarines to the surface, behind the _Minerva_, to deploy their vertical catapults. Nabiki's machine would be the first to launch.

"The first true test is here, Umbra," she murmured. "I'm looking forward to it." She received approval for launch. "Nabiki Ombre, Blast GOUF Ignited, taking off!"

In the water, the number of aquatic mobile suits waiting for him surprised Auel, but he smirked confidently. This was the environment in which his machine specialized, and if it could produce the pounding he'd unleashed at Armory One where he wasn't at his best, surely these equally old models would fall without effort?

But as the Abyss closed in with blinding speed on the first ZnO, its clawed lashed out to block his lance, and the phonon maser fired, breaking the handle instantly.

Meanwhile, in the skies overhead, dozens of Murasames started firing missiles at the _Minerva_, while the Gundams off of the _John Paul Jones_ intercepted the machines previously launched by the ZAFT battleship.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

While not as fast as promised, Arnold and Jeff had indeed gotten the ship there much quicker than could've been expected. The _Archangel_ broke the surface of the water; within moments, they'd join the battle. The _Archangel_'s catapults deployed…

"Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, Sincerity, let's go!"

"Kira Yamato, Freedom, let's do it!"

Simultaneously, the Sincerity and Freedom shot forth and took to the skies.

* * *

**Author's Notes: This is a moment I've been looking forward to for a long, _long_ time. The return of Nabiki Ombre-that's right, she wasn't one of those characters that appeared only once with no real impact on the story. Nabiki's return is something that I planned from the moment I conceived her. To note, I also took aspects of another character who would've served as an antagonist in the sequel to _The White Queen_, before I decided not to write one for that story. And yes, I plan to get back to that one eventually, but as I said at the top, my muse is working overtime on this story.**

**Additionally, Treize and Hotaru have clearly become an even more dangerous duo. Fortunately, it seems Shinn and Aleksi have both seen a phenomenal improvement, and that will hopefully balance the scales somewhat, especially given Aleksi's intellect. And Shinn-enthusiasts, please, don't rag on me on saying that Shinn was a pilot of instinct over intellect-it's the truth, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.**

**I also provide good reason for the _Archangel_ to once again intervene, even though they realize stopping the battle is, in essence, impossible because of Yuna. The next battle will encompass the entire next chapter, and very possibly at least half of the one after that-there's a lot to be covering, with the EX-Cs now out in the open, along with Suiren, who seems to be dealing with her own struggles. Not to mention things like Kira vs. Athrun (there is one thing that I truly loved about that episode, and it was Athrun finally decisively getting his ass kicked. While the Saviour's complete obliteration I could've done without, we've seen Kira get his ass kicked numerous times, and it was high time Athrun actually got _his_ ass handed to him), the Kyusai Team, the extra ZAFT forces, Nabiki, etc. etc. etc.**

**So, yeah, you can expect quite a bit of action coming up. Battles tend to be more difficult than chapters like this though (which is dialogue, something I tend to be overly fond of), and so, it could be awhile. Please bear with me, and in the meantime, I'll hope to get some other stuff done.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!**


	27. Phase 27: The Fallen Angels

**Only two weeks since the last update. Given some of my other stories and other lengthy delays, that's actually not bad.**

**Anyways, as I predicted, this battle is going to encompass a lot more than one chapter-even by the end of this one, I'm still no more than halfway done. There's a _lot_ going on at this point in the story, and a lot of it boils over in this particular battle. Within the context of chapters, this will be probably be the longest battle I've pulled out since Second Jachin at the end of _SEED Dauntless_.**

**I won't keep you all any longer. As always, there'll be more at the bottom, to avoid spoilers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. I use a variety of OCs from other authors, to many to be bothered with listing it all (however, if they request I do so again, I will). I do own Makoto, Suiren, Hotaru, Aleksi, Jessie, most of the Kyusai Team pilots, Miguel, Shizuka, Nabiki, Faith, Sakura, the Sincerity, Rose, Astarte, Viola Surge, Divina Guardian and I swear I am missing more, but I don't think anyone cares... or is even still reading this... if they even started. Why did I bother?  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Seven: The Fallen Angels

December 11th, C.E. 73

* * *

The Coast of Crete

The last time the _Minerva_ had fought in a battle, it had been a confusing one, but no more chaotic than a normal, localized battle.

This time, though, things were different. Earth Forces Windams, Orb Murasames and M1 Astray Shrikes, and ZAFT BABIs filled the skies while the Abyss fought alone against dozens of ZnOs under the surface.

The desperation of this battle readily apparent, the _Minerva_ began launching its remaining mobile suits—the ZAKUs and GuAIZs—while the ship's already launched machines engaged the Earth Forces Gundams.

"Mayu!" cried Shinn, spotting the Strike Noir. He immediately started to fly towards it, hovering along the water with the Blast Impulse's jet thrusters, but a beam suddenly lanced down from the sky. Shinn pulled back, glancing up to see the Specter descending his way.

"All right, White Devil!" said Treize, drawing his beam sword. "It's time for me to finish you off, once and for all!"

"Shinn!" cried Athrun, seeing the Specter charging at the Impulse. He turned to help, but a pair of cannon blasts cut him off. He turned to face them and saw the Divina Guardian soaring his way.

"_Not this time, Patchworker!_" screamed the pilot—Ayaka. "_You're not getting away this time!_"

A barrage of missiles was shot Athrun's way, and he opened up with his CIWS. Suddenly, another set of CIWS joined in, annihilating the missiles. Both pilots turned to the source in surprise, and saw a Guul-riding GuAIZ R flying towards them.

"_Ayaka!_" called Tristan.

"_What did you call me, Patchworker?_" roared Ayaka, turning the Divina Guardian on Tristan and firing. However, somehow, Tristan managed to dodge the twin blasts and returned fire with his beam rifle, aiming for the cannons, only for Ayaka to pull away.

"_Athrun, please, let me handle her!_" said Tristan.

"Tristan, I know how you feel!" said Athrun, shooting down a Windam that had started attacking him. "But in this situation…"

"_Please Athrun!_" said Tristan. "_Even if I just dodge her attacks, I'll keep her busy. But I don't think Shinn can say the same with your old friend!_"

He was right—the difference between Tristan and Ayaka was marginal compared to the difference between the current Chris and Shinn. Fearing he was condemning the young man to death, Athrun nevertheless turned to assist Shinn in battle with the Specter.

Meanwhile, Aleksi once again found herself doggedly pursued by the Rosso Aegis.

"What is this guy's problem?" questioned Aleksi, dodging Gyunei's wild fire with apparent ease. She aimed her rifle, pulled the trigger, and immediately shifted her aim slightly to the right, pulling the trigger the instant the adjustment was done.

The Rosso Aegis dodged to the left, away from the beam… and flew right into the second shot, taking a direct hit to one of the claws, which detonated.

"Argh!" screamed Gyunei as the Rosso Aegis tumbled from the sky before he regained control.

"What is this…?" murmured Aleksi. "I don't understand it."

Nearby, the ZAKU Surge and ZAKU Duel Arms immediately headed for the Verde Buster and Blu Duel. The four pilots exchanged shots, none of which connected, and broke apart as they passed one another. The Duel Arms shot after the Blu Duel, and the Surge shot off after the Verde Buster.

"Yzak!" called Shiho. "Yzak, it's me! Shiho! Please, tell me you can hear me!"

"_Yzak?_" questioned a voice—not Yzak's, but deeper, more arrogant, and far, far crueler. "_My name is Silber Messa! Remember it, abomination!_"

The Blu Duel fired its shield-mounted railgun at her. Shiho narrowly evaded, and in the interim, the Blu Duel closed to melee range, drawing a beam saber, and bringing it down on the ZAKU Duel Arms. Shiho barely managed to bring one of her shields up to block, and aimed her Memoria railguns. She hesitated for half a second… then started firing both weapons on the Blu Duel's head.

Meanwhile, Saul came up against Dearka.

"_You got something against me?_" asked Dearka. Like with Yzak and Silber, the voice was different, but it was much easier to recognize Dearka's voice within that of the EX-C.

"You bastard," said Saul, dodging a shot from the Verde Buster and closing in with his beam tomahawk. The pilot deflected the assault with his bayonets. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt her?"

"_What? What the hell are you talking about?_" he demanded.

"I'm talking Mir!" said Saul as the two broke apart. "Miriallia Haw! Did you forget all about her, Dearka?"

"_My name is Rache Packard! And I've never met anyone named 'Miriallia'!_" Rache shot back. "_Now, be a good little Coordinator and die!_" With that, Rache fired his gun-launcher, beam cannon and both beam rifles. Saul fired up the ZAKU Surge's thrusters and pulled away as quickly as he could, returning fire with his beam revolvers, aiming for the Verde Buster's weapons.

Under the water, Auel shifted to mobile armor mode and swiftly pulled away from the ZAFT mobile suits as they began firing their phonon masers at him. He cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake, and when the battle had only just begun no less! One of his most significant advantages over these machines was the Abyss's superior melee combat ability, but he'd been overconfident and lost it in an instant.

Now, he had to rely on the speed and agility of the Abyss underwater, and fight using his torpedoes and cannons—the ammo would not last forever, especially against a total of at least eighty aquatic mobile suits. Now that he had the chance to see just how many there actually were, he realized how much trouble the fleet was in.

Knowing that, he shot off towards the _John Paul Jones_, firing his cannons to deter pursuit, if only a little. They had a single replacement lance aboard, but more importantly, he needed to warn them of just how many enemies they were really dealing with.

In the air, the Earth Forces had the advantage. But underwater, the scales were tipped even more unfavorably towards ZAFT.

Shinn's javelin barely caught the Specter's beam sword, and Treize continued to push Shinn back, causing the Impulse's legs to submerge in the water even as Shinn fired his thrusters at full.

"_You're head is mine today White Devil!_" said Treize, pushing his verniers further. The Impulse sank to its waist. A little further, and his thrusters would be rendered practically useless, and under the water, the Specter could easily outmatch the Impulse.

"_Chris, stop it!_" cried Athrun, firing the Saviour's beam rifle at the verniers. Treize pulled back, allowing Shinn to pull the Impulse completely above the water again.

"I really wish you would stop calling me that, Athrun," said Treize, tone almost mild as he drew a revolver and fired at the Saviour. "I'm not your old friend!" Athrun dodged the shot, transforming to mobile suit mode and returning fire with his rifle, aiming for the Specter's revolver, but Treize lifted the arm out of the way. Meanwhile, Shinn tried firing a spread of missiles, but Treize activated the verniers, shooting up and behind the missiles. His beam sword descended on the Impulse as he appeared in front of it. Shinn managed to dodge back, but his beam javelin was cut apart.

"_Shinn, leave him to me!_" said Athrun. "_Go and defend the __**Minerva**__!_"

Shinn was all too willing to get away from the Specter—he had to find Mayu, after all. Even still…

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" asked Shinn.

"_I'll be fine._"

"… okay," said Shinn, pulling away.

"So, you want to fight me one-on-one, Crimson Knight?" questioned Treize. He chuckled mirthlessly. "I nearly beat down your friend, the Angel, when we fought. Are you really sure you can handle me?"

"_I can't beat you,_" admitted Athrun. Then, the Saviour drew a beam saber and charged at the Specter. "_But I can guarantee you won't be able to worry about anything but me! I'll stop you Chris, I swear!_"

"If Chris could hear you, he'd probably be laughing at your inability to accept the truth," commented Treize, intercepting the Saviour's beam saber with his bayonet, then stabbing his sword forward, Athrun barely angling it away with his shield. "You know what he used to whisper? Kill. Kill. Like a mantra. He wants to die. Are you ready to grant his wish?"

* * *

Elsewhere

"Hahahahahaha!" laughed Maia, shooting down a pair of BABIs with her beam rifles. "Yes, yes, yes! That's it! That sound!" A Gunner ZAKU Warrior riding a Guul fired its Orthros at her. Maia dodged and shot the Guul with her rifle, then hit the ZAKU three times in rapid succession. "The music of dying Coordinators! It's exhilarating!"

Maia's mental stability had always been by far the most questionable of all the EX-Cs. While Treize, Silber, Rache and Nanai were all remarkably stable, Miguel was merely 'touchy', and Gyunei lacked self-control, Maia was almost always on the verge of instability, with Treize the only thing that held it off. Three weeks of separation had caused this to degrade to almost nothing, however. It took Treize, Hotaru (who Maia admired greatly), Neo and maintenance almost twice as frequent as the other EX-Cs to maintain her stability under ordinary conditions.

And the present conditions were a fair bit more extreme than what the Extended had gotten used too.

"_Mayu!_" cried a voice suddenly. Maia turned towards it, and saw the Impulse coming at her, hovering along the surface of the water. "_Mayu, it's me! Shinn!_"

Maia didn't know who he was calling out to, nor did it matter. There he was! The White Devil! That supreme dance partner that her big brother had wanted to finish so badly! But even if Treize wanted the White Devil for himself, Maia wouldn't miss this opportunity. Not now!

"Yes! Finally!" she cried, soaring down at the Impulse, exchanging one of her rifles for a beam blade instead. "Now dance with me! Make it enjoyable, Patchworker and you might survive a little longer!"

Her beam blade descended. Shinn, seeing no alternative, blocked it with his remaining javelin, then deflected a shot from the Shorty beam rifle with his shield.

"Mayu!" he called again. "Mayu, it's me! Shinn! You're brother!"

"_Are you talking to me, Patchworker?_" screamed Mayu right back. There was nothing of the real Mayu recognizable in that voice. "_Shut up! I'm not related to any of you filthy, rotten Coordinators!_" The Strike Noir suddenly lashed out at the Blast Impulse with a kick. "_Forget the dance! You deserve to die for even implying something so __**disgusting**__!_"

"Mayu, please!" said Shinn, aiming his cannons at the Strike Noir. But he didn't pull the trigger—he couldn't. That was Mayu! His sister! He couldn't… he couldn't possibly attack her!

"_**Shut up!**_" roared Maia, attacking the Impulse with an almost all-too clear insanity.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Damn it!" shouted Jessie, firing at the Viola Surge, but completely unable to track the high-speed Gundam. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with this guy?"

"You pest! Go down already!" cried Miguel, firing back with his beam rifle. Jessie narrowly evaded the beam, firing his railguns into the path of the Viola Surge, only for Miguel to shoot past them.

"He can't last long zipping around like that," said Jessie. "If I can just outlast him… and as long as he's focused on me, he can't do any harm elsewhere. Yeah… that'll work…"

Not far away, Heine was currently tangling with the Chaos.

"_Why the hell are you so damn persistent?_" demanded Sting, saber locked with the GOUF Ignited's sword.

"I could ask you the same thing!" retorted Heine as the two struggled to overpower one another. "After all, you're the ones who keep coming after us!"

Sting's only reply was to activate the beam claw in the Chaos's left foot and swing it at Heine. The FAITH pilot pulled his machine down beneath the swing, disengaging from the Chaos, and saw an opportunity he did not miss, left hand snapping out and grabbing hold of the Chaos's rifle.

"_What the–?_" exclaimed Sting. Heine smirked as he pulled back, taking a shot at the Chaos with his stolen rifle.

Nearby, Nicol swung his Falx G9 through the body of a Windam. Although all mass-produced Earth Forces mobile suits other than the initial GAT-01 Strike Dagger were made with laminated armor for protection against beams, it only worked as a defense against ranged weapons. A melee beam weapon had too much focus and lasted for more than the split second of most ranged weapons. Since Nicol, unlike most pilots, preferred close combat, the armor served as no deterrent for him.

An alarm sounded, and within half a second, the ZAKU Blitz had pulled clear of a shot by the Valiant's beam rifle.

Nicol's eyes narrowed, and he prepared himself for another confrontation with this increasingly dangerous pilot.

"_Alright, Grim Reaper, I refuse to fall short this time!_" said Leon, taking hold of his anti-ship sword. "_One way or another, I __**will**__ claim victory today!_" He swung it wildly, and Nicol easily evaded, but a sudden burst of thrusters, and Leon was repositioned for his real attack, anti-ship sword swinging upwards. Nicol, realizing what was about to happen, threw all power into a quick thruster burst to push himself back, then cut thrusters, sending him tumbling backwards and downwards, the maneuver allowing him to evade by a few inches.

Leon was surprised. Of course, the Grim Reaper was good—in fact, with information on the Crimson Knight largely clamped down upon, he was considered the premier ace of ZAFT. But to be able to pull off that maneuver… it was something Leon had believed only berserkers capable of.

The ZAKU Blitz fired its Hydra gatlings up at the Valiant, forcing Leon to pull away.

"Damn, the Reaper really is something else… that was brilliant," said Leon. "Even _he_ can't pull off maneuvers like that without going berserk… so how the hell did the _Reaper_ pull that off…?"

Suddenly, a barrage of missiles cut across the space between them and crashed into an Orb Murasame. A black GOUF Ignited with a green mono-eye, white joints, and dark green trimming flew past, the familiar Blast Silhouette of the Impulse mounted on its back.

"What was that?" questioned Nicol.

Leon, on the other hand, simply sighed lightly. "Well, I'll be damned," he murmured. "I don't know whether that suit's trying to pick a fight or whether the Reaper and I just happened to be in the way…"

A single Orb Murasame had managed to evade Nabiki's assault. Relentlessly though, she pressed on, drawing a beam javelin and piercing it straight through the back of the fighter-like mobile armor as the Orb pilot desperately tried to evade.

Withdrawing the javelin, she shot off, looking for her next victim. Spotting a pair of Shrike Astrays accompanied by a single Windam, she took aim with her railguns and beam cannons and fired.

* * *

Elsewhere

The sounds of swords crashing together echoed across the skies. The Rose and Astarte battled, Haretsu Suru against twin Tempest, twisting, tilting and spinning like dancers.

The Haretsu Suru soared in at the Rose's side. Suiren's sword came down to deflect it, angling it slightly down as the Rose pulled up, swinging its second sword at the Astarte. Hotaru pulled back the Haretsu Suru, quick as a flash, and blocked this attack.

Then, they saw reinforcements. Several Jet Windams approached, intent on aiding Astarte. A Blaze ZAKU Phantom, a DINN, a pair of BABIs and, of all things, a GOUF Ignited rushed forward to aid the Rose.

Both pilots broke apart. The Rose's weapons snapped into position and lit the sky. Two Jet Windams exploded, and a third went tumbling through the air. Suiren fired her Orca on this one again, destroying it this time. The two remaining Windams fired their rifles, and she deflected with her shields, rushing forward. One drew a beam saber and tried to cut her, but the Rose suddenly curled up, rising above the attack, spun over the Windam, and uncurled, stabbing both swords into its back.

Suiren turned to the remaining Windam. It also drew a beam saber and rushed forward, shield at the ready. Suiren charged as well. She swung a sword, the Windam blocking with its shield and retaliating with its saber. Suiren brought her second blade upwards, knocking the saber wide, then spun the Tempest into a reverse grip and stabbed it into the Windam's neck. Finally, she rolled her second sword over the shield and stabbed it through the Windam's body.

Meanwhile, Hotaru launched her Takusan, which surrounded and assaulted the BABIs from all sides. The ZAFT pilots desperately tried to shoot them down, but the small DRAGOON units were far too fast, their profile smaller than even most Coordinators could get a good bead on, and both machines exploded. As this happened, the DINN was caught in a blast from the Daini, and the Hitotsu burned a hole straight through the cockpit of the ZAKU.

The GOUF Ignited flew in, swinging its Slayer Whip. Hotaru shot the heat rod with the Takusan, destroying it before recalling the units. She then flew in, raising the Haretsu Suru in a clumsy, overhead swing that could be easily blocked. Desperately, the ZAFT pilot drew his sword and used it to block the mega sword.

But the sheer mass and power of the Haretsu Suru and Astarte meant that this counted for little. The sword continued on, crushing the Tempest against the GOUF's head, crushed the GOUF's body, and split the leftovers in two.

Suiren and Hotaru turned to face each other once again. Twin Tempest beam swords met Haretsu Suru mega sword. The two struggled for dominance, the Rose and Astarte staring into each other's eyes over their swords, each set glowing with intensity, one a mismatched red and green, the other a light, grayish-blue.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Initially, Rey and Lunamaria had been on Guuls, the same as Tristan and Jessie. However, holding close to the _Minerva_, they ended up receiving the brunt of the mobile suit assault, and had both lost their Guuls, along with two other ZAKUs from the escort fleet, and all were now atop the _Minerva_, acting as extra guns for the badly worn battleship.

In the skies around the _Minerva_, dozens of mobile suits clashed in an insane melee. The battleship had to hold its CIWS for the missiles alone, leaving their allies with only minimal support against their numerically superior foe. The _Minerva_'s Tristan and Isolde cannons were being turned on any vessel that got too close, and had destroyed one Orb cruiser already.

The subs had resubmerged, and were now firing torpedoes at enemy vessels, and the damage being inflicted was simply devastating. The Earth Forces obviously hadn't anticipated that sort of attack, and it was providing ZAFT with a critical advantage in this battle.

"Keep it up," ordered Talia as the _Minerva_ moved slowly but steadily forward. "We need to break through as soon as possible."

"Ma'am! More enemy vessels approaching astern!" announced Bart. "Five _Arkansas_-class cruisers and three _Kuraokami_-class destroyers."

"What?" gasped Arthur.

"Their firing missiles!"

"Intercept them!" ordered Talia. "Malik, I'll leave the evasive maneuvers to you."

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

"Target is changing course to two-four-zero-zero," announced the sensor operator.

"Come on, have the second battlegroup move in closer," ordered Yuna irritably. "You've got to keep the pressure on!"

"The _Minerva_ still has full use of her weapons," countered Todaka coolly. "And over a dozen submarines for escort. We mustn't move hastily."

"What are the Murasame teams doing?" demanded Yuna, wondering why they hadn't dealt with those weapons yet. "What's taking them so long to dest–"

"A _real_ battle is far different from those _games_ you're so good at," snapped Todaka, finally fed up with this spoiled brat. "It's not as easy as you think."

Yuna grit his teeth, infuriated that someone was questioning his _ingenious_ orders.

Not far from the _Minerva_, eleven Murasames formed up around Lieutenant Baba.

"Forget about the mobile suits boys," he said. "We'll leave them to the Earth Forces. We're going after the _Minerva_."

"_Lieutenant Baba?_" questioned his wingman.

"Finish it off and this whole fight is over," he explained.

"_Yes sir!_" said the pilots around him. The Murasames, in mobile armor form, all tilted slightly, turning to head for the _Minerva_.

The _Minerva_ opened up with its CIWS, but the Murasames skillfully wove through the barrage of bullets. Spotting them, the four ZAKUs all turned and began to open fire on the Orb mobile suits. Once again, though, the Orb pilots, some of the best the country could field, wove through the attacks before firing a barrage of missiles and pulling away.

The missiles were too close to intercept with the ship's CIWS, nor could the ZAKUs possibly shoot them down.

Every last warhead hit its mark, inflicting tremendous damage on the ship. The left arm of Rey's ZAKU was blown clean off, and one of the ZAKUs from the subs was destroyed altogether.

"You're not getting another hit like that," said Luna through grit teeth, firing her Orthros. While she nearly hit several of them, shifting her cannon as she fired to spread it out more, the Murasames narrowly pulled aside.

Athrun, seeing what was happening, pulled away from the Specter and attempted to fire on the Murasames and disable them, but was suddenly tackled from behind.

"_Come now Athrun!_" said Treize mockingly. "_You should know better than to turn your back on an enemy, especially someone like me!_"

"Where are the Rose, Saviour and Impulse?" demanded Talia on the _Minerva_'s bridge.

"They're engaging the Astarte, Specter and Strike," said Meyrin.

"And the others?"

"Engaging the other enemy Gundams," said Meyrin, subconsciously using the nickname of those machines. Though briefly confused, Talia realized almost instantly what Meyrin was referring to, and decided she'd talk about if—_when_—they made it of this battle.

"This is it boys," said Baba. "Let's go!"

"_Yes sir._"

Once again, Baba led the squad of Murasames down on the _Minerva_.

The ZAFT pilots saw what was happening, but none of them could do anything to stop the Orb mobile suits, too busy dealing with other troubles more immediate to themselves.

The _Minerva_ turned suddenly to port and began to accelerate, desperately trying to pull away, its CIWS blazing while the ZAKUs all fired. Each of them managed to hit a single Windam, gunning it down, but the remainder plowed relentlessly onward.

Baba wove through the entire assault, shifting to mobile suit mode right in front of the _Minerva_'s bridge. He aimed his rifle at it, intending to finish this so that they could all go home.

And in the second he began to squeeze the trigger, the entire battle shifted.

From behind the Earth Forces lines, fifteen mobile suits, three GOUFs and a dozen ZAKUs, rushed forward after launching from a pair of _Vosgulov_-class submarines that had just appeared from seemingly nowhere.

And a single beam lanced across the sky and obliterated Baba's beam rifle.

Baba turned towards the direction the beam had come from in shock. That shock only intensified when he saw two mobile suits approaching at high speed: the Sincerity and Freedom.

The Freedom drew its beam saber as it charged at Baba's Windam squad, slashing at several of them, severing wings and cutting into thrusters.

Everyone was caught off-guard by this, but many eyes also narrowed contemptuously at the site of the two mobile suits and the warship approaching behind them, screened by numerous additional machines.

"I'm gonna head down below," said Shani. "I don't like the idea of how much damage those submarines could inflict on the Orb fleet."

"_Understood, we can take care of things up here,_" said Murrue as the Forbidden dived into the ocean.

Meanwhile, the Sincerity rushed forward, ignoring everything else as it headed for one particular fight. Just as the Tempest and Haretsu Suru were about to meet once again, the Sincerity appeared between the Rose and Astarte, intercepting their weapons with its sword rifles.

"So… you're back," commented Treize, turning to face the White Angel along with the Saviour as the Freedom spread its wings.

"Kira…" murmured Athrun, teeth grit in frustration. While he was grateful for Kira saving the _Minerva_, how could his friend be so foolish as to try and interfere again?

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

The situation had taken a turn for the worse. The _Archangel_'s intervention had saved the _Minerva_ from that Murasame's attack, the Forbidden had moved underwater—which might actually be a good thing, depending on how many ZAFT machines they were willing to destroy—and ZAFT reinforcements—lots of them—had shown up right behind the fleet and were now bearing down on the _John Paul Jones_ and _Takemikazuchi_.

"Damn," cursed Neo.

"Now, now, not to worry," said Andras, standing next to him, smirking broadly. "EX-C1304 will be able to deal with them. All of them."

"You're a fool if you believe that," sneered Neo, fed up with the man's arrogance as he stoop up. "I'm launching. Matthews, you have the bridge."

"Yes sir," replied Matthews as Neo left. Andras snorted.

"He's doing something unnecessary," he commented. "EX-C1304 will deal with that ZAFT machine, the Angel, the White Devil and all those ZAFT reinforcements easily."

"Is there a screw loose in your head?" murmured Matthews under his breath. "We've lost this battle." Indeed, they had—the Earth Forces, even with Orb's aid, could not actually _win_ this battle. But their true objective, the destruction of the _Minerva_, could still be accomplished.

"Focus on the carriers and keeping yourselves in one piece," ordered Zane. "Aker, I'm leaving you in charge."

"_Yes sir._"

Zane nodded. "Good," he said before punching his thrusters to full and charging towards the desperate melee ahead, eyes hunting for the Specter.

* * *

Elsewhere

The Sincerity's sword rifles had intercepted the strikes of the Astarte and Rose, but both Gundams were quick to take a weapon in the off-hand and try to strike at each other, resulting in a tangled mess as each of the three Gundams struggled against the other two.

"So… you heard," said Suiren softly. Impossibly, the Sincerity started to push both machines back.

"Why…" said Makoto softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wouldn't have mattered," said Suiren. "Misuumi died at Mendel."

"Misuumi?" questioned Hotaru. Her eyes widened, and the three pushed off. "Misuumi Hino Kamakura?"

"That's right…" said Suiren, turning to face the Astarte. "And what about you? Stella said you and I are the same. She thought I was you. Why?"

Hotaru laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" she sneered. Suddenly, the Astarte rushed at the Sincerity, swinging the Haretsu Suru. Makoto parried with her swords.

"This isn't a coincidence," said Makoto. She'd begun to suspect, but… "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"I only knew about us!" said Hotaru, the Sincerity and Astarte breaking apart as the Rose fired its plasma cannons at them. The two fired at the Rose and each other, and Suiren responded in kind, all of them aiming solely for their opponent's weapons. "I didn't know about Misuumi!"

"This really isn't a coincidence!" said Suiren, closing to melee range with the Astarte and swinging her Tempest swords down on it. "You're dead!" The Daini fell into place and fired, forcing Suiren back.

"So are you!" retorted Hotaru. The two swung at each other, and were again intercepted by the Sincerity.

"And so am I!" said Makoto. "That's all we are: ghosts! So how did it come to this? You should know!" The Sincerity pushed against both, disengaging and swinging both swords at the Astarte, which dodged and pulled back, only to drop down and away as the Rose's Orca cannons lit the sky. "You knew! Why didn't _you_ tell me either?"

"Because I loathe everything about you Makoto!" roared Hotaru, rushing in with reckless abandon and swinging the Haretsu Suru just as recklessly. "Do you have any idea what it was like? They were right there and I couldn't be with them! I was overjoyed when they left you in Orb, and then you had to ruin it all by coming to Heliopolis and getting them killed!"

"That isn't true Minako!" screamed Makoto as the deaths of her adoptive parents—of Hotaru's… _Minako's_ parents—flashed through her mind.

"And you were both right there!" screamed her cousin, swinging the Astarte with enough force to throw the Sincerity back. Hotaru—Minako—fired her Daini cannon at the Sincerity, but Suiren flew in with the Rose and blocked it with her shield.

"You're insane!" snapped Suiren, rushing forward and swinging her Tempest swords in a flurry of strikes that Hotaru only barely deflected. "You'd kill your own cousin? Your _sister_?"

"Like you're any different Misuumi!" replied Hotaru furiously. She pulled back the Haretsu Suru and swung it with all her strength at the Rose. Suiren deflected, but like Makoto, was sent tumbling back through the air.

"If you hated me and Erik that much, why didn't you kill us?" demanded Makoto, soaring in and attacking with the Murakumo. "You had us both completely at your mercy!"

"Because I still needed the two of you!" sneered Hotaru. "But you're no longer necessary!" For just a moment, Makoto and Suiren saw a roiling wave of hatred and darkness in place of the Astarte. They gasped at the feel of it, but the eyes of each also narrowed in suspicion. "I can finally have my own vengeance!"

"You'd add to the cycle of hatred for that?" cried Suiren, rushing in and swinging her Tempest. Hotaru drew a Sashikizu beam saber and deflected both Tempest with a series of lightning fast parries, disengaging from the Sincerity as she did so.

"And what about you?" retorted Hotaru. "Treize told me all about his encounter with you, though he left out that last little detail, Misuumi!"

"You think I want to be like that, Minako?" shouted Suiren, dodging fire from the Astarte. "Why? Why do you revel in this?"

"Surely you don't think so little of your own dear, sweet cousin!" said Hotaru, dodging a swing by Makoto.

"You could've come out in the open! Why didn't you?" said Makoto. Suddenly, the Rose and Sincerity fired at each other. "And what about you? When you saved my life at Jachin Due, when you were in Orb… why didn't you tell me? This all… it hurts so much. Why are we even fighting each other like this?"

"Because that's what war is!" screamed Hotaru, launching the Takusan and assaulting Suiren with them as she rushed forward and repeatedly swung the Haretsu Suru full force at the Sincerity. "It's cold and cruel and brutal! War is suffering and death and sorrow! This is the real world! Nothing a sheltered, pampered, _spoiled_ little Orb princess could ever understand!"

"You sound like my father!" said Suiren, dodging the Takusan and trying to shoot them down, with no luck.

"Coming from you, that might even be a compliment!" sneered Hotaru. "But you shouldn't compare me to that fool! He was right about so much, and blinded to the one critical area where he was wrong: humanity is far too cowardly to wipe itself out without some maniac pulling the strings!" She recalled the Takusan and shot at both of her foes with her Renpatsujū. "And what about Makoto? She's your enemy, Misuumi! She's here to drag you back home, in denial of your freedom, and lash out against the cause you've chosen to fight for!"

"I know that!" screamed Suiren, rushing forward along with both of her opponents. The three locked swords once again. "Do you think I don't realize that Makoto is my enemy? But that doesn't mean I'm going to kill her!"

* * *

Meanwhile

Another three-way battle was taking place, the Freedom, Specter and Saviour all squaring off viciously. Athrun fired the Saviour's cannons, looking to disable both his friends, but they were too fast, zipping out of the line of fire without effort. Both Kira and Treize possessed super-Coordinator reflexes and an acute danger sense that made them impossibly strong foes. But Athrun knew that he couldn't allow Kira to continue sowing confusion on the battlefield like this, nor could he allow Chris to continue fighting for the Earth Forces.

"Kira!" called Athrun furiously, drawing his beam saber and rushing forward. Kira responded in kind, sabers crashing against shields. Treize, in spite of himself, backed off for a moment, quite curious about this clash between the two legendary war heroes. "Why are you doing this? I told you to go back to Orb!"

"_And I told you that if it were that simple, we wouldn't have left!_" retorted Kira. The two pushed off, and Treize, knowing what was about to come, tightened his grip on his sword and pulled right, dodging a blast from each opposing machine.

"_Kira!_" "_Athrun!_" cried two voices in unison. Two more mobile suits rushed forward, the origin of the transmissions: the Strike Raven and a distinctive red GOUF Ignited with black ravens cresting its shoulders.

All five pilots knew what would happen next. Although Athrun lacked the keen, almost supernatural intuition and awareness the others possessed, even that wasn't necessary.

The Specter's shield intercepted a shot aimed at its head by the Strike Raven, though it would only have grazed the top anyway, and its sword was used to intercept the sword of the GOUF Ignited.

As the Specter and GOUF tangled, the Strike Raven suddenly slammed into both of them, sending them tumbling away from the Freedom and Saviour. The Angel and Knight stared at each other, old friends, old enemies, new friends, and bitter enemies once more, the two charged at one another, sabers locking as Athrun fought to overpower the Freedom.

"_Chris, it's me, Flay!_" cried the female voice. A distinctly familiar voice. Flay Allster… _that_ was who Chris had thought that girl on the _Minerva_ was. A flash of pain cut across Treize's mind.

"_Flay!"_

"Shut up," murmured Treize to himself, to softly to be heard over the radio. Then, he raised his voice to be heard. "You really shouldn't be making mistakes that cost you your life, you spoiled little brat!" The Specter's shield lifted slightly, then slammed into the Strike Raven, sending Flay tumbling away with a scream.

"_You bastard!_" came the voice of the GOUF pilot. _Zane_. "_All this time, everyone thought you were dead and now you turn up like __**this**__?_" Treize threw the GOUF off.

"This is really starting to bug me," he said. "Chris, Chris, Chris! I'm getting tired of hearing that name!" Treize switched his beam sword out for a revolver. He fired at the GOUF as Zane recovered and came at him. Flay also flew forward, beam saber in hand, but she was too hesitant. He easily avoided her as he fought against Zane. "My name is Treize Zabiarov! And if I hear 'Chris' one more time, I swear I'm going to etch my name right onto your slowly rotting corpse!"

"_But that's who you are!_" objected Flay. "_Please! Stop this! It's not who you really are!_"

"_She's right!_" said Zane, swinging his sword at the Specter, Treize barely blocking with his bayonet. "_Everything you're doing now is in opposition to all of your beliefs! I know that! We were friends, and even as enemies, that was enough to save my life!_"

"A mistake I'll be fixing momentarily!" said Treize, pulling back, dodging a shot from the Strike Raven in the process. He fired his revolver at the GOUF, but Zane dodged and returned fire with his Draupnir beam guns. "You won't win this time, you fool!"

* * *

The _John Paul Jones_

Neo lifted off in his Windam, eyes immediately darting about, searching for the highest priority targets. Spotting a Blaze ZAKU Warrior firing missiles on the _Jones_, Neo flew in to intercept with his CIWS, and fired at the ZAKU. The pilot pulled out of the way, however, and returned fire with the ZAKU's own beam rifle, Neo only narrowly dodging.

"Not bad," he complimented, charging forward. "But not good enough!" His rifle fired three more times in quick succession. The ZAKU dodged the first shot and blocked the other two with its shield, but when the barrier was removed, it saw a pair of missiles crash into it.

"_Chihiro!_" cried a voice. Neo pulled aside as a white Blaze ZAKU Phantom with red and gold trimming opened fire on him. He returned fire, but the ZAKU easily evaded his shots. The pilot was remarkable. "_You bastard!_"

"Hmph." The Windam and ZAKU soon discarded their rifles, instead switching over to saber and tomahawk, charging one another fiercely.

Underwater, Auel, armed with his spare lance, was fighting a desperate battle against dozens of enemy machines. ASHs and GOOhN fired their torpedoes and phonon masers at a safe distance while ZnOs wove through the fire, shooting off their own torpedoes occasionally, and closing in too close combat with the Abyss.

Being much more careful now, Auel swung his lance, cleaving one ZnO in half. But an instant later, a barrage of torpedoes struck the side fin of the Abyss, sending Auel tumbling through the water. A ZnO appeared on top of him, wrapping its claws around the Abyss's head, charging its phonon maser. Gritting his teeth, Auel kneed the ZnO and shifted to mobile armor mode, rushing away and firing back with his cannons. He hit one machine, but the rest of them dodged and returned fire.

Suddenly, an ASH appeared in front of him, firing its cannons. Auel twisted aside, firing torpedoes as he did so. Auel managed to dodge, but fortunately for him, his target was not so lucky, and the ASH took four torpedoes right in the torso.

Thankful for a momentary reprieve—he was a fair bit faster than any of these other machines, after all—Auel took stock of the situation, and it was not good.

While more than a dozen machines were pursuing and harassing Auel, who was able to deal with them in quick, isolated skirmishes, the bulk of the enemy marine force had turned its attention on the fleet, and Auel could see the wreckage of two ships already sinking to the ocean floor.

Just as the ASHs managed to cut him off again, he saw something he never would've thought he'd be thankful for: the Forbidden had appeared, cut an ASH in half with its scythe, and took out a ZnO and GOOhN with its railguns before proceeding to attack the rest, leaving Auel to worry about only the machines directly confronting him.

* * *

Elsewhere

The Strike Noir rained blow after blow furiously upon the Blast Impulse. Shinn tried, desperately, to evade, but many of the strikes were coming far too close for comfort. Mayu was determined to kill him, and Shinn couldn't find it in himself to fight back.

"Mayu, please stop this!" cried Shinn, feeling tears forming in his eyes. Neither of them had even registered the arrival of the _Archangel_ and its mobile suits.

"_**SHUT UP!**_" roared Maia, fury like nothing she had ever felt filling her veins as a surge of pain, love, hatred, sorrow and rage cut across her body repeatedly, with each utterance of that name in that _disgusting_ voice and with each blow she tried to rain upon the filthy Patchworker. And with each surge, her grip on herself, on sanity, on reality, all slipped just a little further into the abyss Andras had created when he tortured Mayu Asuka as part of the cruel, twisted process of programming her into EX-C1004.

It was terribly ironic that, in his desperate efforts to reach his sister, Shinn was pushing her further and further from his grasp.

Tristan was in a similar predicament to Shinn, though not quite so bad. Perhaps it was the level of difference in the power of their machines that erased most of his fears of hurting Ayaka. Perhaps it was that, as important as she was to him, Tristan had never felt her loss as poignantly as Shinn had felt Mayu's. Whatever the case, Tristan was able to fire back, though he focused primarily on the Divina Guardian's weapons.

However, Tristan was not nearly as good a marksman as Athrun, Heine or Suiren, and Ayaka easily evaded his somewhat clumsy shots. Nanai, however, was growing increasingly frustrated with this pesky GuAIZ R. Her machine was far superior to that outdated piece of junk, her piloting abilities even farther superior to her opponent.

Yet no matter how precise her aim, she never managed anything more than scorching the armor. No matter which way she turned to break away with superior speed, the GuAIZ R was somehow in front of her. When she tried closing in for melee combat, she was hit by several missiles, her strikes deflected by the beam saber before the GuAIZ R pulled back.

If asked, Tristan would never have been able to answer how he was doing what he was doing. Some primal _need_ to keep her from fighting the others, from hurting the others, kept Tristan in her path, allowed him to keep himself just barely alive, and just enough of a problem that there might be some faint hope of capturing her.

Tristan fired at the Divina Guardian's cannons again. Nanai shifted to mobile suit mode, readied everything she had, and fired on the GuAIZ R.

To the astonishment of both pilots, Tristan fired his Guul's missiles, his railguns and his CIWS, destroying all the incoming missiles. He pulled beneath the shot from the forehead cannon, twisted his waist away from the shot of the left rifle, and blocked the second rifle's shot with his shield.

Then, as though guided by some supernatural force—but almost certainly nothing more than simple determination—Tristan snapped off a shot with his beam rifle.

And the Divina Guardian's left rifle exploded in its hand.

The Blu Duel's saber connected with the Duel Arms' sword, Silber and Shiho struggling for dominance, the first seeking to destroy, the second seeking to capture. However, while Silber had improved quite a bit since their last confrontation, Shiho was far more determined than him, and the Duel Arms was slowly but surely pushing the Blu Duel back.

Two years ago, this first-rate jackass had broken her heart, charging recklessly into the sights of the Calamity's weapons in order to bring the artillery mobile suit down. It had been hard, it had been painful, but Shiho had moved on.

And then, he came back and shattered her heart again. So now, Shiho was driven by many emotions, all of them fueling her determination to beat down the Blu Duel, drag Yzak out of it, and beat the Extended programming right out of him.

The Blu Duel twisted its wrist, firing the beam guns mounted in its wrist. Shiho disengaged her sword from Silber's saber, pulling down and slightly out of the way, spinning to provide momentum for a kick to the Blu Duel's torso that sent it tumbling away. However, Silber recovered almost instantly, firing both beam guns on the Duel Arms, forcing Shiho to bring her Laurus in front of her to defend. She shifted slightly, giving her a window in which to fire her Memoria in retaliation.

Nearby, Rache crossed his bayonets, intercepting the ZAKU Surge's Falx G7. The two struggled briefly, before Rache fired off his missiles. Saul took half a second to curse the ZAKU's lack of CIWS, then fired his own missiles as the two pilots disengaged, tumbling away while their projectiles connected with each other and detonated in a series of small fireballs.

Snatching up his revolver, Saul opened fire on the Verde Buster. Although Rache managed to dodge several shots, soon enough, one caught him in the leg.

"Bastard," he murmured as the leg detonated, sending the Verde Buster tumbling out of control. As he righted himself, a barrage of missiles flew his way. Taking half a second to likewise curse the Verde Buster's lack of CIWS, he fired his beam rifles, holding the trigger to maintain the beam a little longer and dragging the rifles to the side, destroying the entire barrage.

Then, from the smoke, the ZAKU Surge shot out, beam tomahawks in each hand.

"What?" gasped Rache, attempting to defend. But Saul was too close, and the tomahawks cleaved through the right missile pod and left rifle. "Damn!"

Before Saul could deliver a truly crippling blow, Rache lashed out with his remaining leg, kicking the ZAKU Surge away, and getting him the distance to fire his remaining weapons on his opponent, his cannon shearing away the left shield and missile launcher, while his missiles and gun-launcher knocked the beam tomahawks from the ZAKU's hands, and his rifle shot off one of the dark green mobile suit's legs, evening the playing field once more.

* * *

The _Archangel_

Liz and Louisa desperately wanted to go and help Makoto. However, aside from herself, Kira and Shani, Makoto had wanted everyone to remain behind and defend the _Archangel_.

As such, the two, along with everyone else, were only seeing minimal action—certainly nothing they couldn't handle. In many respects, though, this was far harder, as they sat back, watching, doing nothing to intervene.

And for Cagalli, this was especially hard. She wanted to speak up, but didn't really know what to say. The Strike Rouge floated in front of the _Archangel_, a part of the warship's defensive screen. Against Earth Forces or ZAFT mobile suits, she had shown no hesitation, but whenever an Orb mobile suit moved in to attack, she found herself unable to pull the trigger, forcing John or Victor to disable the mobile suit instead.

This was her fault. Her mistake. But of course, hindsight was 20-20. Her grip on the Rouge's controls tightened. What path should she take? What was the right thing, truly, for Orb? Was Athrun right? Should they return to Orb and try to remove the Seirans from power? But if they did, how much danger would they be putting themselves into?

* * *

Elsewhere

Aleksi fired her rifle, destroying the Rosso Aegis's rifle. Unlike the other Extended, Gyunei had not really improved since the last battle, in opposition to Aleksi. With a roar, he charged forward, activating a beam saber. The Rosso Aegis was faster than the Guul-mounted GuAIZ, and Aleksi wasn't able to react before Gyunei was on top of her.

She deflected the saber with her beam claws, the two spinning about each other slightly before Aleksi leapt off her Guul to evade a slash from one of the foot mounted sabers. The GuAIZ's feet slammed into the Rosso Aegis's shoulders, knocking Gyunei down, and Aleksi pushed off, landing on the Guul once again. As Gyunei righted himself, she shot off her extensional arrestors, grappling the Rosso Aegis's right shoulder and left hip, severing the remaining arm.

With a roar of fury, Gyunei shifted to mobile armor mode and rushed forward, firing his Scylla II indiscriminately, destroying a Murasame in his reckless abandon as Aleksi evaded his shots.

Meanwhile, Jessie evaded a shot from the Viola Surge's beam rifle, returning fire with his own rifle and railguns. But as ever, the Viola Surge was simply far too fast for him to hit, and he ended up wasting more ammo. Miguel spun his machine over and charged, deploying wings and drawing beam sabers. Jessie grit his teeth and readied himself for what was about to come, shield in front of him, rifle in hand, waiting, ready.

The Viola Surge was on top of him. Quickly, Jessie swung the shield mounted beam saber into his opponent's right saber, then pulled in the opposite direction, using the shield to bludgeon away the left saber. The Viola Surge crashed into his GuAIZ R, knocking him off his Guul, and he jammed his rifle barrel into its backpack, pulling the trigger.

A massive explosion rocked both machines sending them tumbling towards the ocean. Debris smashed into the GuAIZ R's main camera, damaging it, while the Viola Surge's back was charred and twisted by the destruction of its backpack and the highly experimental thrusters built in.

As the two separated, Jessie's machine crashed onto a vacant Guul. The sight of the ZAKU legs disturbed him somewhat, but Jessie got them out of his way and took position on the platform regardless.

Miguel also needed some added support. Swinging his saber through another ZAKU's body, he kicked it off and used what remaining thrusters he had to orient himself to land on the Guul. As Jessie turned back to him, Miguel fired one of his Hakenfaust.

Jessie spun to see the claw coming his way, and pulled to the side. However, he didn't quite make it, and the fast-moving claws cut into the GuAIZ R's torso… and one also cut right through the cockpit hatch.

"ARGH!" screamed Jessie in sudden, blinding pain, blood spitting from his mouth to splatter the visor of his helmet.

"_Jessie? Jessie, come in!_" cried Meyrin.

Jessie couldn't see. Through his pain, he reached up and tore off his helmet with his left arm so that the blood would no longer blind his vision, but he could feel some of it trickling down his forehead, and now saw that a part of his visor had shattered. He looked up to see his cockpit completely exposed to the sky. Looking down, he was greeted by the grisly sight of where the Hakenfaust had cut into his stomach and torn off his right arm.

"Heh… of all things…" he coughed out.

"_Jessie, please, return to the __**Minerva**__!_" called Meyrin. "_Please retreat!_"

"Sorry Meyrin," he choked. "But I'm already…" Another cough. "Already dead."

"_No, Jessie, please!_"

"Argh!" roared Jessie, controlling his machine with one arm and his feet, charging forward with reckless abandon, no concern at all for his safety, for with his guts literally spilling out into his lap, he had nothing more to fear.

The reckless charge caught Miguel off-guard. He brought one saber to bear, severing the motionless right arm of the GuAIZ R as it jumped off of its Guul and crashed into him, stabbing its shield-mounted saber into the Viola Surge's right shoulder.

Releasing the controls, Jessie slammed his hand onto a red switch, shattering the glass and releasing the safety locks on the next control. With a pained grin as his vision turned blurry and blood ran from his mouth, Jessie reached down, his only regret his inability to say goodbye to his family, and pulled the self-destruct trigger.

"Boom."

The GuAIZ R detonated, consuming the Viola Surge in the explosion.

"_JESSIE!_" screamed Aleksi in horror. Gyunei did not miss his chance, and rushed forward, slamming into the GuAIZ and gripping in its remaining claws. Gyunei prepared to fire the Scylla II, but Aleksi reacted first, slamming her beam claws furiously into the Rosso Aegis's body. The cut section detonated, and the two tumbled from the sky, closer to the _Minerva_ now. The Scylla II charged… then shorted out, exploding instead, further shaking the Rosso Aegis and scorching the GuAIZ's cockpit, warping it and collapsing it inward, shattering the screens within.

Furious, Gyunei began to squeeze with his claws, shattering parts of the GuAIZ, but Aleksi swung her shield again, cutting into the mobile armor's side with her claws, and she fired her rifle on its side several times, soon managing to break free.

Gyunei cursed as he studied the damage. His power was running low under all the damage as well. Left with no other choice, he was forced to retreat, while Aleksi's irreparably crippled GuAIZ slammed onto the deck of the _Minerva_ next to Rey's ZAKU.

* * *

Elsewhere

Treize ducked under a shot by the Strike Raven, spinning over to cut through its arms with his beam sword, aiming to disable it without hurting Flay. However, Flay managed to pull away, and he instead cut through the barrel of its rifle. Reacting quickly, he snatched up a revolver and shot it several times in rapid succession, hitting the Strike Raven's beam sabers and the left shoulder, severing power to that arm. He then spun over and kicked Flay off of her flight platform before shooting that as she crashed into the wreckage of a burning _Aegis_-class cruiser that had taken one too many torpedoes from the amphibious mobile suits down below and had been abandoned.

"_Chris!_" cried Flay. Treize ignored her, turning to the GOUF Ignited as it fired at him.

"And now it's just you!" said Treize, flying forward with his Tempest beam sword in hand. His sword connected with Zane's, the two struggling briefly before the superior power of the Specter began to push the GOUF back. Gritting his teeth, Zane disengaged, pulling back and firing his Draupnir guns at the Specter.

But Treize wove easily through the barrage and returned fire with his multi-phase beam cannon. Zane drove forward, raising his shield to block the blast, and swung his sword as he reentered melee range with the Specter. Treize dodged back, instantly switching back to his own sword, and swung it at Zane. The GOUF blocked with its sword, and used the momentum to pull back, switching to its Slayer Whip heat rod and swinging, coiling the weapon around the Specter's sword.

Shocked, Treize lost his grip as Zane yanked back, and caught the sword in his off-hand while redrawing his own.

Now armed with both swords, Zane drove relentlessly forward once again, determined to bring down the Specter. Treize drew both of his revolvers and deflected the swords with the bayonets, then immediately opened fire on the GOUF. Zane dodged these shots and fired back with his Draupnir… but suddenly, the Specter was gone.

"What?" gasped Zane. His danger sense went off and he spun about, but by then, it was too late.

The bayonets carved through both beam swords at the hilt, then two shots from each revolver destroyed the Draupnir and hit the Slayer Whips. Immediately, the Specter's verniers opened up and it was above the GOUF, firing on the backpack.

The GOUF Ignited fell from the sky, but unwilling to let it hit the ocean and give Zane any hope of escape, Treize rushed down and delivered a kick to the GOUF, sending it crashing onto the Orb cruiser next to the Strike Raven. Both his opponents were too hesitant to fight him. Like everyone so far but the White Angel, they were weak.

* * *

Meanwhile

The three way fight between the Sincerity, Rose and Astarte continued to intensify even as they witnessed the Specter beating down both the Strike Raven and GOUF Ignited. Not one of the Taiyonoha princesses was willing to back down, as the Rose's Orca cannons lit the sky in the direction of the Astarte. Hotaru intercepted the blast with her Haretsu Suru, and returned fire with the Daini before turning to fire on the Sincerity as well.

Makoto and Suiren dodged the blasts, and Makoto fired at the heads of the Rose and Astarte. Her cousins dodged the attacks, then returned fire, Makoto intercepting with her shields.

But then, the Astarte rushed forward, bludgeoning the Rose with the Haretsu Suru and sending Suiren tumbling away. Then, she fired the Daini on the Sincerity repeatedly.

"It's time to end this! To end everything!" said Hotaru rushing forward as one blast sent the Sincerity tumbling through the air.

"Minako!" cried Makoto, doing nothing to defend herself.

"Die!" roared Hotaru, the Haretsu Suru descending on the vulnerable Sincerity.

However, at that instant, the Rose reappeared, Tempest swords crossed to intercept the powerful mega sword. Both Makoto and Hotaru gasped in surprise.

"Misuumi…" murmured Makoto.

"Makoto… I'm not ready to come home," said Suiren, struggling against the Haretsu Suru. "I still have things to do. Now go! Please, stop him."

"… okay," said Makoto, rocketing away.

"How magnanimous of you," said Hotaru scathingly. The Takusan suddenly shot off, rushing towards the Sincerity, but Suiren kicked the Astarte in the chest, breaking away, threw one of her swords into the air, snatched up her rifle and, snapping into her machine's own version of the Freedom's legendary Full Burst Mode, fired all of the Rose's weapons.

Almost instantly, all eight Takusan had been shot down. Suiren holstered her rifle again, reached up to catch her sword, and raised both just in time to stop another attack by the Haretsu Suru.

"You've improved," commented Hotaru.

"I'm determined!" retorted Suiren.

* * *

"This is the end… for you," said Treize, aiming his cannon down at the red GOUF Ignited where it lay next to the Strike Raven.

"_No Chris! Don't!_" cried Flay. Treize grit his teeth in annoyance. He'd managed to cripple her machine without hurting her, but that was all. He still couldn't hurt her.

But Chris wasn't offering any resistance regarding his old friend, probably too focused on Flay.

Treize began to squeeze the trigger…

… and suddenly, he lit his verniers, shooting upwards as a beam crossed the air he'd just occupied. He turned his attention to the source and saw the Sincerity flying at him, Murakumo sword-rifle leveled his way.

He'd heard from Hotaru that, although this machine had been designed for the personal use of Setsuna Taiyonoha, it was piloted by Makoto Arata—the Dauntless Angel of Faith.

A worthy foe, and not one he would turn his back on, even to finish the crippled GOUF Ignited below.

The Murakumo shifted to sword mode and descended on the Specter. Treize released his cannon, grabbing one of his revolvers instead and activating the bayonet, intercepting the VPS sword. However, the Sincerity began to push back, and the revolver began to slip. The bayonet just couldn't deal with that large sword as effectively as it could a beam saber.

Suddenly, Treize fired up the Specter's verniers. As powerful as the Sincerity's thrusters were, they couldn't overcome the boosters, matching the Specter's speed via other technology instead, and Treize pushed her back, pushing against the Murakumo with enough force to send the Sincerity flying backward, though Makoto maintained control.

"I hear that you're the Dauntless Angel," said Treize. "Let's see if you're as good as in the simulators. Or better… let's see if you're as good as the White Angel!"

The Specter and Sincerity charged forward, revolver and sword-rifle blazing. Neither pilot bothered dodging to the side, instead tilting limbs or heads aside and deflecting other shots with their shields.

Then, they were back on top of one another, sword meeting bayonet as the two struggled for dominance.

"_No simulation…_" came the voice of the Dauntless Angel. "_Can duplicate the human element!_" Suddenly, the Specter was pushing up against nothing. A shadow fell over the black Gundam, and Treize looked up just in time to see the Sincerity shouldering the Specter, thrusters full, pushing it down. Makoto pulled away at the last instant, while Treize crashed into the wreckage of an Orb battleship.

He pulled himself up, and saw the Murakumo aimed straight at him. He knew that he couldn't react in time, but then, as the Sincerity landed on the wreckage, the sword-rifle shifted to standby mode. Treize stood the Specter up, staring at the Sincerity in surprise.

Suddenly, he understood.

"You're challenging me?" he murmured. "A duel?" Treize holstered his revolver. He'd accept this challenge from the Dauntless Angel—the legendary warrior pilot who destroyed more mobile suits and warships in a wrecked Gundam at the Second Battle of Jachin Due than anyone had ever managed to account for.

He raised the Specter's shield in front of him… and withdrew a beam saber from it, igniting the blade as he assumed a combat stance.

The Sincerity's right hand reached behind its back and withdrew a cylinder from its wing binders, twirling it in the fingers of its hand before igniting it into a beam saber, taking a similar stance to the Specter.

Simultaneously, the two uttered battle cries and charged forward, sabers clashing full force.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Several more of those moments I've been waiting awhile for.**

**To start, Hotaru: yes, I've been planning that since the beginning. Some of you had already caught on. I'm sure quite a few more-possibly everyone left-caught on when Suiren revealed her identity. To note, however, her obvious hatred for Makoto was originally going to be given to Suiren, but I later decided to switch that. And I honestly much prefer this presentation, of Suiren simply wanting to be _just_ Suiren and not Misuumi or Reine, and Hotaru really hating Makoto for everything that's been taken from her. Of course, there's one more thing that needs to be added: why it is that she previously felt Makoto was necessary. That'll be clarified... sooner or later (knowing me, it's already been done, but I won't write it clearly until much later... but then, I like being unpredictable in my "pacing").**

**Second: Jessie. This is a character that I haven't really gotten to flesh out. A part of the reason is that when I originally "drafted" the character, he was going to survive much longer. But somehow, I felt it necessary to kill one of our "protagonists" at this stage. Additionally, even I am uncertain which side he would've chosen in the end, and the "good guys" already have more than enough total support gunning for them. And so, I decided that someone needed to go, and Jessie was the only valid candidate, the only one whose life/death would not have an adverse affect on my plans for other characters in the future. Also, I guess a part of me figured I could probably get away with that more easily than some other kills. His death was brutal, yet the stubborn young man still fought on-idiotically, regardless of its effectiveness-and continued to be defiant of his enemies right to his last breath. And I like that.**

**Finally, Makoto and Treize. Specter vs. Sincerity. This is a match I've been waiting a very long time for. From the moment I knew about the fates of the characters I worked with, I knew I wanted Treize's confrontation with Kira to be followed up by a match with Makoto. He has now tied-more or less, since he would've lost in the long run-the White Angel of Freedom, and now, he must face the Dauntless Angel of Faith, who is Kira's polar opposite in terms of fighting; Makoto generally strikes to kill and is lethal in ranged combat, yet her true field of expertise is close combat, while Kira is the other way around, though he also tends to prefer close quarters. All total, the match between Makoto and Treize is about a page longer than the one between Kira and Treize, but that's not really the concern.**

**Anyways!**

**I'm growing increasingly excited and enthusiastic. A lot of the revelations of this story were always intended to come at this "mid point", which is why so many just seem to be getting spontaneously rushed out. The overall formula, I determined, was setup, twist/reveal, and build to a generally fiery conclusion. Of course, that's all a generalization.**

**For now, I shall speak no more. Please leave a review! Sayōnara, min'na!  
**


	28. Phase 28: Specter vs Sincerity

**Finally managed to get this one out. My mind's been all over, and I've been busy on several fronts for awhile now. It's getting harder and harder to work on fanfiction in general for me, but I'm determined to see things through.**

***Sigh* I'm feeling almost lethargic a lot of the time now. Of course, I've got all sorts of crazy ideas, but I'm not sure how progress with this story is gonna go from here on out.**

**At any rate, like the last chapter, this one is action, start to finish. This'll be the last time until the end that I have a battle with such a wide scope of focused POVs. Future battles will have far fewer POVs, and until the end of this fic, there won't be another instance of so many different "duels" going on at once. Even of those who lived through this fight, a lot of them are crippled. But I won't go into that right now.**

**In fact, I think I'll stop boring you altogether. Let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Credit goes to Kiiroi Senko for helping to edit the fight between Nicol and Leon, and credit also goes to Akatsuki Leader13 for critiquing this chapter.**

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* * *

Phase Twenty-Eight: Specter vs. Sincerity

December 11th, C.E. 73

* * *

The Coast of Crete

Saber met saber, then broke apart for half a second as the combatants tried to reposition themselves to get through one another's guard. Both knew that this would be their greatest challenge to date, as Treize faced the Dauntless Angel on her own terms, and Makoto faced a warrior twisted from the darkest parts of her brother's mind and enhanced beyond all previous scope.

The two pushed off. Nearby, on the _Aegis_-class cruiser, Zane used his crippled GOUF to help pull Flay's badly damaged Strike Raven from the hole it had punched on landing. Without speaking, both of them turned their attention to the clash between the Dauntless Angel of Faith and the Black Specter of Destruction.

Treize was the more aggressive of the two, his saber crashing against the Sincerity's shield. He pulled back and attacked again, with more force, but Makoto simply pulled back slightly, angling the saber away with her shield before stabbing her own in at the Specter's head. Treize quickly drew his saber up, deflecting Makoto's upwards. He continued with the momentum to pull the saber around and slash in a side arc, but the Sincerity pulled back to the edge of the battleship, settling down again. Treize smirked.

"Is that all you've got?" he questioned. He opened the verniers, and the Specter boosted forward blindingly fast. At the last instant, the Sincerity pulled to the side, flipping over to bring a downwards arcing kick on the Specter, sending it tumbling towards the ocean. Treize spun his machine over without deactivating the boosters, allowing them to propel him skywards again.

"This battle hasn't even begun," said Makoto, leaping off the sinking battleship. The Sincerity and Specter again charged at one another. Both beams of plasma came in at wide angles and were blocked by the opponent's shield. Suddenly, Treize reared the Specter's head back, and then slammed it into the Sincerity's. Makoto, though, turned this against Treize, using the force to help flip the Sincerity back and add momentum as she delivered a kick to her opponent's torso, sending Treize tumbling back as well.

Makoto recovered first, the Sincerity blazing into the Specter. Makoto knocked aside Treize's saber with her shield just before the bodies of the two machines connected, and they crashed into the wreckage of a ZAFT submarine.

* * *

Meanwhile

Lance fired his rifle at the purple Windam, but the obviously very skilled Earth Forces ace dodged the shot easily and returned fire, Lance only barely able to bring one of his shields to bear. He was one of the Kyusai Team's top pilots, but this Earth Forces veteran was better than he was.

But Lance couldn't back down. The young Redcoat had a duty to his fallen comrade. Chihiro was dead, thanks to this man. He couldn't run away.

Lance fired off another shot, but it was deflected, and he dodged the return fire. He sighed in frustration.

"This is getting nowhere," he said. Switching tacks, he shifted his rifle to his off-hand, and drew one of his tomahawks, charging forward.

Neo was surprised, but not truly caught off-guard. Instantly, he swapped out his rifle for his beam saber, blocking the tomahawk with his shield, and seizing the moment to cut apart the ZAKU's rifle with his saber.

Lance cursed at the loss of the weapon as the two broke off. His opponent wasn't just a good shot, but he was also pretty quick in close combat as well. Taking a brief moment to curse his need for a Guul as well, the blond Coordinator drew his second tomahawk before firing off his Firebee and Guul missiles.

What happened next caught Lance completely off-guard.

Rather than use his CIWS or attempt to evade the missiles, Neo drove straight towards them, raising his saber… and, in a single swing, cut through every missile in his path, slicing an opening straight to his opponent.

Lance brought his tomahawks to bear, deflecting the beam saber, but only barely… and then, Neo's CIWS shattered the ZAKU's main camera.

In the brief moment of blindness, Neo delivered a kick to one of the ZAKU's hands, throwing it out wide, and used the momentum to twist himself into position… and as Lance's secondary cameras came on, he saw the beam saber cut straight through the waist of his ZAKU.

Neo pulled away as the ZAFT mobile suit exploded. The pilot wasn't bad, but ultimately, no match for him. But a more worthy foe was quick to present itself, a black GOUF Ignited with a distinctive yellow mono-eye.

The GOUF's beam sword crashed against Neo's beam saber, the two struggling briefly for dominance before pushing back. Deciding to use the range limitations he'd previously observed against his opponent, Neo switched back to his rifle… but the GOUF's heat rod had already lashed out, and Neo barely pulled his weapon out of the way, spinning about and snapping off a shot. The GOUF dodged and swung its heat rod again. Neo dodged in turn, only to see a second heat rod lash out and coil itself around his rifle. The heat rod released a burst of electricity, and Neo released the rifle, pulling back and drawing a beam saber as it detonated.

"Sorry," said Murase Aker over the radio. "But you've now taken down two of my comrades. My Commander would never forgive if I didn't at least try to bring you down before you could hurt anyone else."

"_This is war,_" answered Neo.

"And that is the only reason I can forgive you for taking their lives," replied Murase. "Now, it's time to cut you down!" With that, the GOUF drew its beam sword once again and charged forward.

* * *

Elsewhere

"You're really pissing me off Patchworker!" roared Silber, firing his railgun at the ZAKU Duel Arms.

But Shiho gave no reply as she did the seemingly impossible and deflected the round with her Blizzard sword, keeping her grip tight, and charged forward. A part of her had always wondered what it was like for Seed-bearers when they went berserk, but she thought that her current state might be a good impression.

Shiho's focus on her target was absolute. She needed to beat him back. To cripple him, to capture him… and then beat sense back into that thick skull of his. Slowly… painfully… and in a way that would make ZAFT's best interrogators shudder.

But all that still required her to beat the Blu Duel first. To accomplish that, Shiho had shed all distractions. Anything Silber said was simply filed in some small part of her brain as something to beat him over when she was through.

The Blizzard sword crashed against the Blu Duel's shield. Silber drew a saber and swung it at the Duel Arms, but Shiho shifted, bringing one of her shields into position to block the saber. She then twisted her rifle into firing position as Silber did the same with one of the Blu Duel's beam guns. They fired at the same time, but Shiho managed to twist out of the way, and kept Silber from doing the same by slamming her machine's head into his. The rifle didn't hit the leg she'd originally targeted, but did gouge a hole in the machine's waist as the two tumbled apart.

"Damn it," snarled Silber. "I've had just about enough of you, bitch!" Without regard for his own safety, his mission, the consequences or the lack of wisdom in his decision, he slammed down the switch for maximum dosage, just as Treize had done in his fight with the Freedom weeks ago.

Red filled his vision, and the EX-C howled in pain, veins bulging as he began to attack the Duel Arms with blind fury.

The tables had turned—Shiho was now pressed harder than she'd ever been in her life as the Blu Duel swung its saber with wild, reckless abandon. There were no more attempts to fire weapons at the Duel Arms—Silber simply swung with all his strength, and Shiho was forced to pull back from the lightning quick attacks. Fortunately, the Duel Arms was faster than the Blu Duel, allowing Shiho to break away. For a moment, she considered how odd it was that he didn't try to use his railgun or beam guns, but then, she realized that he'd probably increased his drug dosage to improve performance, and it was more than he could properly control—or at least, Saul and the doctors had theorized the possibility.

With that in mind, once she'd reached a comfortable distance, Shiho spun about and fired her Laurus and Memoria at the Blu Duel. Silber didn't bother dodging, allowing his shield to be blown off while his armor absorbed the railgun rounds. Knowing better than to stick around, Shiho began to turn…

But the Blu Duel was already on top of her, saber swinging right through the left arm of Shiho's ZAKU. Simultaneously, Silber delivered a vicious kick to the ZAKU's torso, jarring her badly.

"Ahh!" screamed Shiho as she tumbled back through the air. When she opened her eyes, the Blu Duel was descending, saber ready to skewer her cockpit. Reacting on instinct, Shiho grabbed one of her swords, and stabbed forward, pulling to the side as best she could.

The Blu Duel's beam saber narrowly sheared off the hatch of Shiho's cockpit.

But the Duel Arms' sword stabbed into the gouge in its opponent's torso. That section of the waist exploded, driving the two apart with cries of pain as shrapnel shot through the ZAKU's cockpit and hit Shiho in the arm and shoulder, while several monitors in the Blu Duel detonated.

Then the two crashed into the ocean. Silber clutched at his face while Shiho desperately tried to get her machine back to the surface. Suddenly, the two shuddered, and were being carried away by a pair of damaged, retreating GOOhNs.

Fortunately for Silber, Auel was close enough to see his predicament, and immediately fired his cannons on the GOOhN, forcing it to release the Blu Duel as it struggled to reach the surface before the water pressure crushed it like a tin can.

His machine barely operating, Silber retreated towards the _John Paul Jones_.

* * *

Earth Forces Cruiser _O'Neil_

After the brief scuffle in the burning hangar of the _Vesuvius_, the Specter and Sincerity had moved their battle to a burning Earth Forces cruiser. Sabers clashed again, and Makoto began to overpower Treize, forcing the Specter back a step. Treize grit his teeth, and pulled back on his controls, disengaging from the Sincerity, then coming back in with his saber. Makoto ducked under the swing, then came up with one of her own. Treize pulled back, the tip of the saber missing his machine by only a few inches.

But he was now off-balance, and Makoto lashed out with a kick, sending the Specter tumbling to the deck. The Sincerity's beam saber descended. Treize raised his own, just barely managing to catch Makoto's attack, then lifted the Specter's right leg and kicked out at the Sincerity, only for Makoto to twist out of the way. In the process, she lost her leverage, and Treize brought the Specter to its feet, this time tackling the Sincerity and knocking it to the deck instead.

"It's over!" he said, saber descending just as the Sincerity's had.

The Sincerity's foot lifted into the air, connecting with the Specter's wrist and halting its progress.

"As long as we can both continue, this battle will never be over!" said Makoto, pushing with more force, forcing him back a few steps, and using the opportunity to get back to her feet. Treize fired his CIWS at her; the Sincerity ducked beneath the barrage and flew forward, saber flashing through the air where the Specter's legs had been as Treize took the sky. Makoto fired her own CIWS at the black Gundam, but Treize dodged this barrage as well. The Sincerity leapt off the sinking cruiser, saber crashing against that of the Specter.

"I guess you're right," he said. "You're just like him. Alright then, no more holding back!" Those words were punctuated by an onyx black jewel seed rushing through his mind and shattering in a nova of light and darkness.

Makoto had expected that darkness, but the light had surprised her. What did that mean? However, she didn't get the chance to wonder, as the Specter's head suddenly reared back and slammed into the Sincerity's head repeatedly. The VPS armor of both machines held up and prevented damage, but Makoto was badly jarred within her spherical cockpit as the Sincerity was knocked off-balance. The Specter's beam saber descended, but the Sincerity suddenly fell from the sky as Makoto cut all thruster power to buy herself a few extra seconds. The Sincerity's thrust reactivated just above the surface of the water, propelling it backwards a few feet from the surface, the Specter soaring after it, CIWS blazing as Makoto returned fire with her own.

"So we're taking it to the next level?" she asked. "That's fine by me!" With those words, an emerald green jewel seed flashed through her mind and shattered in a nova of emerald light.

The Sincerity flipped forward, its thrust suddenly propelling it at the Specter at high speed. The two crashed together, both trying to bring beam sabers to bear, only to be blocked by the opponent's shield at their wrist. Instead, as the two tangled mobile suits ascended, both pilots started trying to head butt the other, and would've been a bloody mess by the time they separated if they'd been doing it in person.

Separating, the two were attacked by a pair of ZAFT BABIs, but both of them dodged and flew it at full speed, cutting down their assailants before turning back on one another. Treize swung his saber down, but Makoto caught the Specter's wrist with the Sincerity's left hand, then brought her own saber in an upwards arc, only for the Specter to similarly grab the wrist of the Sincerity.

Simultaneously, both pilots tried to head butt the other, and this time, continued to push the heads of their machines together, firing their thrusters up. Treize tried to kick the Sincerity, but Makoto blocked the Specter's leg with the knee of her machine.

The two remained locked like that, struggling for dominance.

* * *

Near the _Minerva_

Enraged over the loss of her rifle, Nanai had finally started to push Tristan back. The young Greencoat struggled for all he was worth, but it was taking everything he had just to keep up to the lightning quick strikes of the Divina Guardian's hyper beam sabers.

"Damn it!" cursed Tristan, narrowly deflecting another blow, only to receive a kick to the chest. Somehow, he'd kept on his Guul in spite of that, and several previous blows, but the wear was starting to show. The chest armor of Tristan's GuAIZ R was twisted and broken—it wouldn't last much longer. Alarms rang out in his cockpit as he slipped steadily closer and closer to defeat.

For her own part, Nanai was satisfied with the pounding this GuAIZ R was receiving. He'd proven himself a very, _very_ annoying thorn in her side. He was going to pay for it.

The Divina Guardian shifted to mobile armor mode and fired a barrage at Tristan. He tried dodging but this time, it seemed his luck had run out, and the cannon blasts took off the left arm and both legs of his GuAIZ R.

"Argh!" screamed Tristan as he fell towards the ocean. The Divina Guardian switched to mobile suit mode and charged forward, beam saber in hand, ready to slice the GuAIZ R in two and finish this…

But right as Nanai swung her saber, the GuAIZ R was yanked back and out of the way… and from behind it, a massive beam split the air and crashed into her machine's body.

"Good shooting Luna," complemented Aleksi right before Tristan's machine slammed into her own, badly jarring her. She coughed slightly, but didn't complain, knowing she'd been lucky to get a hold of him at all.

And as Aleksi noted, the shot from Luna's Orthros cannon had done its job: the Divina Guardian's head and arms had been destroyed, and the munitions stored in its chest had detonated. Explosions had resounded in the Gundam's cockpit, tearing and burning Nanai's pilot suit and knocking her unconscious as the Divina Guardian crashed into the ocean.

Meanwhile, not far away, the vicious match between Saul and Rache reached a new level of intensity as both pilots fought for all they were worth. The ZAKU Surge's revolvers blazed with pink light, scorching the Verde Buster's powerful PS armor as the artillery mobile suit's cannons and missiles fired back repeated, the shots deflected by the ZAKU's shield, shot down by its own missiles, or dodged altogether.

A shot from Saul's revolvers obliterated the Verde Buster's beam cannon. Simultaneously, a blast from Rache's rifle took off the Surge's left arm. Both pilots—once friends, though only one of them remembered that time—grit their teeth in complete frustration. They shot off another barrage of missiles, finally emptying their payloads entirely.

"I'm not losing to you, you damn Patchworker!" roared Rache, firing his gun-launcher and rifle repeatedly. Saul managed to block the shot from the rifle, while a round from the gun-launcher slammed into his left shoulder, scraping along the armor somewhat and blackening it. Saul responded with his revolver, but Rache largely dodged these, resulting in nothing more than extra scorching on the almost completely black Gundam's body. He took another shot with his remaining weapons, but a click and alarm alerted him to failing power and a complete lack of ammunition for his gun-launcher. He was down to nothing more than his rifle and its accompanying bayonet. Roaring in frustration, he charged forward, firing repeated, precision shots.

"Damn it Dearka, I'm not letting you escape!" shouted Saul as his remaining shield was blown off. Another shot pierced his revolver, and Saul cursed its loss as he pulled away. The Verde Buster continued to close on him, and he grabbed his Falx G7 in a one-handed grip, rushing forward and swinging it down. Rache caught the beam blade with his bayonet.

"_DIE!_" roared Rache, struggling to get his rifle into the proper angle for a shot that would finish the ZAKU Surge off. But at the same instant he succeeded, Saul punched up his thrusters.

The ZAKU Surge disappeared and the Verde Buster stumbled…

And then, Saul was behind Rache, beam axe swinging in an upward arc to take off the Verde Buster's right arm. Rache's eyes widened in surprise, and he spun about, trying to get into position to defend.

The axe cut through the Verde Buster's torso to the right of the cockpit and up through the middle of the head as Rache pulled the trigger on his rifle, blasting the ZAKU Surge's head off.

Micro-explosions set off like a chain reaction across both mobile suits as they went past their breaking points. Saul struggled to get himself back to the _Minerva_, Rache trying to escape to the _John Paul Jones_ in his own crippled machine at the same time.

Both pilots barely made it.

* * *

Meanwhile

The battle between the Chaos and GOUF Ignited was moving steadily in Heine's favor. Although Sting had managed to take out the stolen rifle, Heine had now cut down both of the Chaos's mobile weapons pods. This battle was now close-quarters—exactly what the GOUF had been designed for.

Sword met saber, and Heine began to push the Chaos back.

"You're not like that girl," commented Heine, twisting his left arm to aim his Draupnir beam guns. "You're much weaker!" The quadruple beam guns suddenly blazed, scorching the armor of the Chaos's right shoulder before Sting disengaged.

"_What are you talking about?_" he asked. "_What girl?_"

Heine was surprised, at first, but then remembered the theory that Stella's memories had been wiped. Apparently, the same had been done to the other Extended, leaving them ignorant of their comrade's very existence. He was stunned—how could they do that?

Sting took advantage of Heine's shock, opening fire with the Chaos's multi-phase beam cannon. Fortunately, Heine didn't remain distracted long enough for it to be damaging, bringing his shield up to defend himself from the blast. Even still, he was knocked back by the sheer power of the cannon, and a follow-up blast took off his GOUF's arm.

"Damn it," cursed Heine, cursing his lapse of concentration in his mind while he was at it. For a split second, he was vulnerable as the Chaos's beam saber descended…

And suddenly, a beam axe flashed through the air and severed the Chaos's arm.

"What?" gasped Sting, pulling back as Heine righted himself. The two turned their attention to the bright red Slash ZAKU Warrior floating next to them on a Guul. The ZAKU's mono-eye flashed before it rushed forward on its Guul. Sting activated his foot-mounted beam claws and rushed forward discarding his shield to draw a second beam saber, but the ZAKU leapt off the Guul, spinning through the air, the maneuver taking Sting completely off-guard.

The Falx G7 split the Chaos's head, shattering Sting's main camera.

And when the spin completed, the ZAKU landed back on its Guul on the other side of the Chaos and soared off to attack a pair of Jet Windams.

Meanwhile, Heine's sword cut off the Chaos's remaining arm, but he didn't finish the Extended off, instead allowing Sting to flee. He turned to look after the ZAKU and shook his head.

"Great, I've been upstaged by a kid," he said. "Thanks Shiori."

Between this fight and the _Minerva_, Nicol continued his duel with Leon, Falx G9 crashing against the Valiant's anti-ship sword.

"Damn, I know I said I'd claim victory today… but he's really something else…" muttered Leon as the two broke apart again after another vicious clash. He hadn't taken any damage yet, but the same could also be said of his opponent. The Reaper was like no pilot he had encountered before joining Phantom Pain. It was strange, because he recalled their Intel stating that he was the _worst_ of the Le Creuset Team's pilots following their capture of the six prototype Earth Forces mobile suits a few years ago. And now… now he was even pulling off things that he'd thought only _they_ could do…

The ZAKU Blitz faded into distorted air. While Leon still knew his opponent's general position, it was almost impossible to determine what his opponent was doing. Leon closed his eyes as he waited, trying to anticipate Nicol Amalfi's next move before he made it.

His eyes suddenly snapped open, his instincts flaring up as beams suddenly shot out from the distortion. He raised his shield, taking the shots head on… before one of the ZAKU Blitz's folding scythes slammed into his shield, cutting right through the armor.

Another shot followed, hitting the scythe and blowing it up, taking the Valiant's shield with it and sending the mobile suit tumbling back. Using the explosion cloud as natural cover, Leon drew a Stiletto and threw it at the ZAKU Blitz as it burst through the explosion, brandishing its Falx G9 once more. The Grim Reaper easily evaded it, but quickly found a massive object impaled on its shoulder shield.

"Nothing personal, but fair's fair!" Leon smirked as he drew his rifle and fired on his own anti-ship sword, replaying the Reaper's earlier tactic and taking out its left shoulder shield. Leon quickly stored his rifle before drawing a beam saber. But the ZAKU Blitz had disappeared again.

Leon suddenly jerked the Valiant aside, but Nicol was still faster, and the Falx G9 sliced cleanly through the Valiant's right hand. The Reaper continued the move, using his momentum to kick the cerulean Gundam, sending it tumbling off-balance

"Luna, now!" called Nicol, pulling back as an Orthros cannon blast split the sky. Leon sensed the attack, and pulled out of the way. Then, using the beam as cover, he charged forward and activated the right arm's folding manipulator claw, once again returning the Reaper's earlier favor as it sliced off the ZAKU Blitz's left arm at the elbow, along with the shaft of its scythe. But Nicol remained undaunted and countered with his remaining folding scythe, taking off the Valiant's entire right forearm. Leon pulled back, drawing a beam saber with the Valiant's left arm as he did so.

But now, neither Nicol nor Leon was truly in a position to continue the duel due to the conditions of their machines, and the presence of additional mobile suits approaching from all directions. Both pilots sighed in mutual frustration.

"Next time, Reaper…" said Leon over the comm. unit. "We'll finish this next time…" He raised his saber in a salute, before pulling back towards the _John Paul Jones_.

Nicol was silent in response, but pulled back as well.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Why?" questioned Treize, teeth grit in frustration as, slowly but surely, the Sincerity began to push him back. "Hundreds of times in simulations, I've crushed both Angels. As I am now, my abilities are superior to _any_ Coordinator. Every other foe I've come across has needed help to survive, with a sole exception I have now overcome. So why can't I beat either of you even at my strongest?"

"It's because your will is not your own," said Makoto.

"What?"

"Your will is that of an Extended," she said, pushing just a little more power to thrusters and pushing the Specter back further. "You're a weapon. And that is why you will never defeat us."

"You're wrong!" said Treize. "My will is my own! I am here of my own choice!"

There was the slightest flare, across both of Makoto's 'supernatural' senses, and suddenly, she understood that light. It was a surprise to her… and it meant a horrible truth.

They had hoped that the Cosmic SEED might be used to help restore Chris. While it was extraordinarily dangerous to use, under the right circumstances, it would only exhaust Makoto. But even the Cosmic SEED had its limits, and Treize Zabiarov was now alive… and the Cosmic SEED couldn't destroy life.

But…

"I see…" she said, sorrow in her voice. "I see… your partially right… your will is your own, but its bent to the will of the Extended. That's why you can't win now."

"What the hell do you mean?" questioned Treize.

"What I mean is that even though you are beyond the scope of the Extended, you're still adhering to the programming!" said Makoto. The Sincerity's wings briefly glowed blue, and suddenly, the Specter was being pushed back quickly, before Makoto threw it off with raw power, sending it tumbling away.

The Sincerity's saber descended. Treize blocked, but the second their sabers touched, the Sincerity's saber had disengaged from his and was coming in at another angle. He deflected with his shield, but then, the Sincerity delivered a kick to the Specter's head.

"Damn it," murmured Treize as he righted the Specter and stared at the Sincerity, now assuming an elegant pose, shield and sword held at its side.

Just as in his battle with the Freedom, Treize was at the slightest of disadvantages. Not enough that he would ever actually lose, save for his machine's limited power supply. Hotaru had warned him that the Sincerity used a special powerplant that achieved a near-limitless energy supply without utilizing nuclear power.

"My machine's power is limited," he commented. "And I don't think you want to win in that way. So… I guess I'll have to bring everything I have to bear." Treize reached for the control of his drug supply. He'd spoken with the doctors after he'd gotten rid of the mask, and had them implement a new supply level. It was just under the maximum, intended to give him most of the boost he received while still maintaining at least half-control, as opposed to the berserker state the other had set him in, which would've resulted in his defeat because of the lack of control.

Activating this setting, hoping they'd gotten it right as there was no chance to test it, Treize let out a growl of pain, veins bulging ever so slightly into visibility, and red tinting the edges of his vision.

But he was still _in control_.

The Specter's verniers lit up, rushing straight at the Sincerity. Makoto barely deflected the first strike, but the Specter suddenly shot up, and then came in from behind. Acting on instinct, Makoto utilized all the Sincerity had to twist away from the strike… then brought her shield down on the Specter's wrist, knocking the saber from its hand, her life saved only by the Sincerity's superior frame and mobility. She swung her own saber, but the Specter dodged and kicked the Sincerity's arm, causing her to lose the grip on her saber as well.

Both pilots let out battle cries, hands locking together and pushing against one another. But Treize began to overpower Makoto, and then slammed the Specter's head into the Sincerity, faster than she could react, then again, then let go and kicked the Sincerity, sending Makoto tumbling through the air.

"My will is my own!" repeated Treize, but both of them knew that he was lying. Makoto was right, but that programming, that resolve, was all Treize truly had outside of his own identity. And he would hold to it until he found something more.

As the Specter descended, not even bothering to draw its second beam saber or one of its ranged weapons, Makoto knew that she had to take this to the final level as well.

Makoto's body came to life, a familiar energy rushing through her veins. In her mind, she saw an emerald jewel-seed casting countless colors through her body shatter within her heart.

Then, the Specter was on top of her.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Haretsu Suru mega sword and Tempest beam swords crashed together, Hotaru and Suiren struggling for dominance, teeth grit as they faced down their own mirrors.

The cousins—sisters from a certain point of view—were the most 'opposing' of all the combatants. A lot of their own personal history was virtually identical, they shared blood, shared power, and shared desires to one degree or another. Yet both sought goals that were at once identical and yet irrevocably different, something most apparent with their feelings for their family, one Misuumi loved even though she was not ready to return to them, and one that Minako hated even though her greatest desire was to be with them.

Even their fighting styles were opposed—though both were practitioners of Shinsei Tsurugi, they focused on radically different versions. Misuumi practiced the Two Sword branch, focusing on the use of both beam swords for overwhelming flurries of light attacks in combination with lightning struck parries. Minako practiced the Three Sword branch, which focused on the use of a single heavier blade backed up by a pair of quick light blades, utilizing a deadly combination of speed and power that was almost impossible to master.

"You know," said Hotaru, pushing back against the Rose's swords. "I said that our dance would end in your death."

"It won't end that way," promised Suiren, firing up her thrusters to push back. "I won't let it!"

"Like you have a choice!" shouted Hotaru, pulling back the Haretsu Suru only to bring it back in half a second later… long enough for Suiren's swords to go wide.

But something in Suiren snapped as a spiraling emerald and ruby jewel seed rushed through her mind and shattered in a nova of multicolored light.

Red eye shining with pure fiery rage as the other shone with ice cold serenity, Suiren released her Tempest swords as Hotaru pulled back… and when the Haretsu Suru came back in, she had her Vajra beam sabers in hand and swung them through the vulnerable handle of the mega sword. The massive blade flew through the air, brilliant gold VPS reinforcement fading to dull grey. Hotaru's eyes were wide, as power seemed to radiate from the Rose.

Instantly, the Vajra stabbed forward at the Astarte's shoulders. But just as quickly, Hotaru grabbed her Sashikizu and blocked the Vajra, as a cerulean jewel seed flashed through her mind and shattered.

But the struggle did not last long. Each had laid her heart bare to the other… and as they pushed off, neither could shake off her shock at what she saw.

"Why…?" whispered Suiren. "Why? Why do you embrace an illusion?"

"SHUT UP!" roared Hotaru, firing her Daini at the Rose repeatedly, Suiren side slipping each shot. "You're no better Misuumi! You won't even admit to how you really feel! You hate them even more than I do!"

"I did!" admitted Suiren, tears in her eyes as she snapped her Orca cannons into place and fired off several mortars from each, Hotaru similarly side slipping the shots. "I've been fighting to overcome it! So why… why do you tell yourself you hate her?"

"She took my parents!" said Hotaru, tears in her eyes and voice as well. "I wanted… so badly… to be there for her… with her… with all of them…" Suddenly, she rushed forward, Sashikizu crashing against the Vajra, neither pilot really trying to beat the other at this point. "It's just… it's so much easier to hate her…"

"Minako…" said Suiren softly. Suddenly, the Astarte's eyes flashed, and Hotaru flipped back, kicking the Rose and sending Suiren tumbling through the air.

"What about you?" cried Hotaru. "Tell me Misuumi! Why… why do you hate them?"

"Because I couldn't forgive them!" shouted Suiren, firing a barrage from all of her cannons, watching with what seemed to be disinterest as Hotaru easily evaded. "I hate him… I love him… that son of a bitch was my world, and it's because they couldn't get to me!"

The two floated there for a moment, neither moving as they continued to stare into the depths of one another's soul, at the perfect mirror laying in the other's heart.

"So why… why are you fighting for the Earth Forces?" asked Suiren softly.

"For Stella…" murmured Hotaru, shocking Suiren. "And Neo… and for Treize as well, now."

"What?"

"They've earned… my loyalty… my friendship… my love." Hotaru's words were mere whispers, but they echoed strongly in Suiren's mind. "That's why… I can't leave them now!"

Suddenly, the Astarte rushed forward, smashing its beam sabers against the Rose's. But Hotaru didn't stop there, slamming the Astarte's head into the Rose, then disengaging from the saber lock to deliver a kick to the Rose.

"Argh," grunted Suiren as the Rose spun. Why couldn't she fight against her? Why did she keep hesitating? Was it because Hotaru was exactly what Suiren wanted to be?

Then, the blonde sensed her cousin's intent… but it was already too late.

A massive beam split the sky and slammed into the ocean. With a cry of pain and remorse, Hotaru adjusted her aim, dragging the mega beam blast through the water, destroying a trio of subs and all mobile suits surrounding them, water exploding in the wake of her blast.

Disengaging the Hakai Suru, Hotaru turned back to her cousin, drawing her Sashikizu and charging forward. Their beam sabers crashed together once again, neither willing to back down.

* * *

Elsewhere

Maia's attacks continued to increase in their ferocity, blow upon blow being rained down on the Impulse's shield. Shinn grit his teeth, tears in his eyes, as his sister continued to put forth all of her power to kill him, and yet, he couldn't find it in himself to fight back at all.

Finally, one blow knocked the Impulse's shield aside.

"_**DIE!**_" screamed Maia, stabbing her second beam blade forward.

Suddenly, Shinn's horror gave way to rage at those responsible. A bloody jewel seed shattered in his mind, and the young Coordinator twisted the Impulse's body, detaching the Blast Silhouette and punching his thrusters to pull away as the Fragarach 3 stabbed into the module, detonating it.

From behind the explosion, Shinn shot forth, brandishing his beam javelin, which he attempted to stab into the Strike Noir's shoulder. But even in his current state, Shinn was too hesitant, allowing the increasingly furious Maia to pull away.

The EX-C snatched up both of her Shorty beam rifles, took aim at the Impulse, and opened fire. Shinn started to sideslip the shots, but without the Blast Silhouette, his thrusters just weren't powerful enough to keep him above the water when holding still, let alone while side slipping, and he fell into the ocean. He allowed himself to sink, providing protection from the Strike Noir's beam rifles.

But then, the Strike Noir dived under the water as well. It rushed forward, reaching out at Shinn's machine, almost like it was about to embrace him. For a moment, Shinn became distracted by the thought of regaining his sister and her doing just that… but then, anchors shot from the Strike Noir's hands and feet, wrapping around the Impulse's limbs, and the Strike Noir pulled back, its now superior-thrust dragging the Impulse around like a rag doll, up and out of the water.

"Mayu!" cried Shinn. But she didn't listen for even an instant, and the Strike Noir began firing its rifles again. Shinn tried side slipping again, using thrust to manipulate the wires connecting them and find a means of escape, but Maia compensated endlessly.

The rifles blasted the Impulse's head, shoulders, arms and legs endlessly, the power behind them disseminated somewhat by the VPS armor, but then the VPS faded and offered no more protection, and the Impulse's body was soon destroyed.

But then, the Strike Noir's warning alarms went off, and Maia screamed in frustration as her VPS faded, and the Core Splendor shot out of the explosion of the Chest and Leg Flyers, escaping her. She tried shooting it, but without power, there was nothing she could do, and she was forced to retreat instead.

* * *

Elsewhere

Athrun swung his Vajra beam saber furiously at the Freedom, but Kira evaded the first slash, then the follow-up strike, before knocking the blade away with his own Lacerta beam saber.

"_Stay out of this Kira!_" said Athrun. "_All your interfering does is bring chaos to the battlefield!_"

As he spoke, the two drifted closer to the _Archangel_… and Cagalli.

"Athrun," murmured Kira, shaking his head slightly. "Athrun, stop talking like that! Stop treating war like some kind of tidy business!" He heard Athrun gasp and the Saviour hesitated for half a second, during which Kira delivered a powerful kick to its chest. "War is blood and death and cruelty! It's a personification of the worst aspects of humanity, and there isn't any order to it—war _is_ chaos, Athrun, and the moment it isn't, it become a tidy little business for murder!"

"_You sound like Le Creuset!_" retorted Athrun, firing the Saviour's cannons.

"Le Creuset wasn't wrong about that much," admitted Kira. "We're flawed creatures, Athrun. But Le Creuset was wrong about one thing: this world is worth protecting!"

As the two continued to clash, the Strike Rouge broke away, moving to intercept a squad of Murasames that had started to close in on the _Minerva_ as the rest of the Orb fleet pressed the attack even further. Meanwhile, the Impulse completed its reassembly after the damage it suffered battling the Strike Noir, restored the battery power with the deuterion beam, and then charged at a formation of Windams, accompanied by three BABIs.

"A war is a series of battles," said Kira. "And battles are chaotic things that claim lives and give nothing in return! And they spread their suffering far beyond just those who fought the battle! Don't even _pretend_ that battles should have order to them! The moment you begin to think like that is the moment you fall to the level of people like Logos!"

"_I've had enough of this sanctimonious talk!_" roared Athrun, firing at the Freedom several times in rapid succession. Kira deflected each shot instinctively using his beam saber. "_We're trying to end this war quickly so that more people don't have to die!_"

"If that's true, then why hasn't Durandal come forward about Lacus?" retorted Kira. "There was even a very clear opening for him to get in touch with her through the Taiyonoha." The Freedom charged forward, beam saber crashing against the Saviour's shield. "But he's remained silent, and continues to spout this nonsense about Campbell being the real Lacus. Are you saying he's in the right even as he continues with his propaganda?"

"_No, stop it!_" cried Cagalli, interposing the Strike Rouge in the path of the Murasames. Most of them broke away, while Lieutenant Baba's shifted to mobile suit mode, coming to a halt in front of the Strike Rouge.

"Lady Cagalli," he murmured.

"_What reason could Orb have to attack that ship?_" she asked. "_You mustn't attack it. Orb soldiers don't fire on anyone who isn't an enemy of Orb!_"

Baba heard two of his wingman start arguing over whether this really was Cagalli, or an imposter, as Yuna claimed. He knew the truth though, but he'd already been given his orders.

"Out of the way," he said sternly, catching everyone by surprise as his Murasame's hand clenched into a fist and its yellow eyes flashed with light. "These orders come directly from our nation's current leader, Yuna Roma Seiran."

"_What?_" gasped Cagalli.

"His intention's are now the nation's," continued Baba. "As soldiers of Orb, it is our duty to carry out his orders."

"_You can't!_" objected Cagalli.

"This is our path!" said Baba. "And though it may be difficult and unfamiliar, we must stick to it no matter what the cost! Don't you realize that?"

"_But listen!_" said Cagalli.

"_Please_, move aside," said Baba. "Since the day we left our nation we knew this moment could come. If need be, we are ready to die."

"_But that's…_"

"If you won't move aside then I'll have no choice but to remove you by force!" said Baba, rushing forward as he spoke, grabbing the Strike Rouge's arm and throwing it away towards the _Archangel_. "Today you will see our tears. _And our determination!_"

He shifted his Murasame to mobile armor mode and charged forward, along with his entire squadron. The Gunner ZAKU Warrior fired at him, but he twirled out of the path of the cannon, and immediately returned fire with his missiles.

And this time, there was absolutely nothing to stop them. More than half of the _Minerva_'s CIWS had been destroyed, the ZAKU itself lacked any such defense, its cannon was too slow to shoot the missiles down, and there was no space to maneuver. The missiles crashed into the ZAKU, crippling it.

"_You bastards!_" exclaimed a voice over the radio. The Impulse drove forward, firing its rifle repeatedly. Its aim was precise, but the Murasames were agile enough and with good enough pilots that only one in three shots ever actually connected.

Kira saw this, and moved to stop Shinn from his relentless assault, only for the Saviour to appear in his path.

"_Kira!_" spat Athrun angrily, firing his rifle on the Freedom. It was too late, regardless—of the Murasames attacking the _Minerva_, only one remained.

But that one Murasame—Baba's machine—was not deterred in the least. First, it let loose its last few missiles at the _Minerva_'s vulnerable starboard side, inflicting even more damage and jarring the ZAFT battleship. Then, with a cry of determination, Baba charged straight at the _Minerva_. Most of its mobile suits had been forced to return to the hangar. And of those that remained on the battlefield, only two were in positions to stop him.

He accepted the hits from the ZAKU and Impulse, only bothering to pull very narrowly out of the way, just enough to keep it to glancing blows, but ultimately leaving him more room to maneuver, and a difficult target to acquire as he moved in the narrow corridor he'd for himself in his mind.

Aboard the _Minerva_, Talia and Arthur realized what was about to happen, and Talia ordered the ship to maneuver away, but by then, it was too late.

With a final cry, Baba slammed his Murasame into the _Minerva_'s Isolde, detonating his machine, the cannon itself, and all of the Isolde's ammunition in the immediate area, shaking the entire warship like a ragdoll.

Shinn was now completely fed up with the disgusting, self-righteous people of Orb. It had now finally all boiled over, and became focused into pure hatred. _They_ were the ones responsible for what Mayu had become! They'd handed her over to Blue Cosmos for use as an Extended on a silver platter! He'd had _enough_!

"_Minerva_, send out the Sword Silhouette," he practically snarled. "I'm gonna take out their ships."

While the Impulse returned to the _Minerva_ to receive his new Silhouette pack, the Freedom and Saviour continued to clash, sabers crashing against shields.

"Athrun!" cried Kira.

"_The Earth Forces set this whole thing up!_" said Athrun. "_Are you guys saying you want them to destroy the __**Minerva**__?_"

"You just don't get it at all!" said Kira.

"_This is why I told you to go back!_" snarled Athrun. "_You say you don't want to fight but you keep coming back here!_"

Kira almost retorted with the real reason, but bit it down. He couldn't increase the risk of Nicol being discovered. Even Athrun, as he was now, was potentially dangerous to their mutual friend.

* * *

Underwater

Auel panted, pushed to his limits, as he pulled his lance from the body of the ZnO he'd just defeated. He hadn't even been able to keep count of how many he'd now fought so difficult had the battle proven, but he did know that a lot of the aquatic mobile suits had also been taken out by fire from the ships and the Forbidden. He still couldn't believe how grateful he was that the older machine had showed up.

He had no idea what the state of the rest of the battle was, but knew he had to pull back before his power ran out. He was getting far too low for his liking, and there were still at least a dozen more enemy mobile suits underwater, all of them fortunately at a comfortable distance.

That was when a voice came over the radio.

"_EX-C1304, what's taking you so long? Destroy that mobile suit!_" said Andras.

What happened next was something he could never have forgotten.

A scream of pure rage and pain echoed across the comm. lines. To Auel's horror, the Forbidden shot straight at the _John Paul Jones_. He instinctively rushed to intercept the scythe-wielding mobile suit.

The Forbidden leapt out of the water and onto the deck of the _Jones_. Shani, eyes wide with rage, pain and perhaps a touch of insanity, stared into the bridge of the _John Paul Jones_ at the man he knew to be his father, the one who'd turned him into an Extended, called him useless, beat him and tormented him!

Without any rationale left, Shani pulled back to swing his Nidhoggr through the bridge of the Earth Forces carrier, killing his father. But mid-swing, just before his scythe could connect, something slammed into the Forbidden from the side, knocking him off the ship and into the water.

Pulling himself out, Shani snarled at the Abyss, hefting his scythe and preparing to finish this _nuisance_ once and for all!

"Don't get in my way!" he roared furiously as he rushed forward. His scythe crashed against Auel's lance, the two struggling briefly before Auel fired his chest-mounted Callidus cannon at Shani, but the former Extended pulled back, dropping his shields into place and deflecting the beam with his mobile suit's powerful magnetic field. He then retaliated with his Hresvelgr, intended to hit the bridge while he was at it, but Auel blocked the shot with one of the Abyss's fins. After a moment, the contest ended, and the fin exploded, knocking the Abyss down. Auel narrowly twisted his machine away from the bridge tower, sparing it destruction.

Frustrated and determined, Auel pulled himself back up and charged at the Forbidden. Shani fired his Eckzahn repeatedly at the Abyss. The first rounds pierced the VPS and embedded themselves into the Abyss's shoulder and hip. The second set collided with the first, shredding them, and tearing even more damage through the mobile suit. The third set of projectiles slammed into the head, shattering the Abyss's main camera, shearing away a portion of the head, then snapping it off altogether.

As the Abyss tumbled down, Shani grabbed its lance, beam still active, and drove it through the blue Gundam's cockpit, knocking it off the carrier as he did so.

Not even bothering to look at the bridge, Shani swung his scythe through it, then left the _John Paul Jones_ as his power began to fall to critical levels.

Those on the deck had only been able to watch in horror as the two Gundams battled, and could only watch in horror now, as the upper section of the bridge tower slid off from the rest and fell into the ocean, leaving several large explosions in its wake.

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize's punch was intercepted, and the Sincerity's foot came up in a kick that he only barely dodged. He tried lashing out with a kick of his own, but the Sincerity twisted aside, grabbed the Specter's ankle, and pulled the black Gundam down. Makoto elbowed the Specter in the face, but didn't let go of its ankle, instead twisting it about, grabbing it with both hands, and tossing the Specter towards a burning _Aegis_-class cruiser.

Treize righted himself, firing the verniers to halt his momentum, and stared at the Sincerity in surprise. Somehow, he knew that something was different, and the pilot he faced now was beyond anything he had ever faced before. But how was that possible? So great was his surprise that he didn't even hear Andras demanding why he hadn't defeated the Sincerity yet, nor the scream of rage that followed.

The Sincerity and Specter both rushed forward once again. Treize drew his second beam saber, and slashed as they closed to point-blank range. Makoto twisted her machine out of the way and, utilizing the full capability of the mobile assault frame, got behind the Specter, reaching out to grab hold of its right vernier.

Treize gasped, twisting to try and avoid the Sincerity's hand, slashing at it with his beam saber as he did so. Despite his best efforts, Makoto got her hand partially on the vernier, and tore off a section of the top as the Specter twisted, the Sincerity tumbling away from its beam saber before he could hit it.

Makoto stabilized herself almost instantly as Treize turned to face her completely. She reached the right arm around the left side of her machine's body and snatched the second beam saber from the left wing binder, activating it.

The two charged one another. Sabers clashed, and the two pushed off slightly, lashing out with kicks that blocked one another, then disengaged their legs, pulling back before rushing in at a new angle.

Treize stabbed his saber forward, but Makoto tilted the Sincerity slightly, causing the blade to pass harmlessly over the left shoulder, her shield moving to block it from coming down. Her own saber then stabbed forward, and Treize brought his shield up to defend… only to see Makoto use the new angle to move the saber upward and pierce the upper section of his undamaged vernier.

The two pushed off from one another. Despite all the physical blows that had been dealt, the VPS had held up perfectly. Because of this, the Sincerity was still in near-perfect condition, while the Specter had now taken potentially critical damage to both of its verniers.

The two of them had reached their limits. Though they could each push themselves just a touch further, they had reached their current peaks. Unlike Treize, Makoto could go even higher—but doing so would also cost her life.

Although the outcome now seemed clear—Treize could not match Makoto on her own terms and the Sincerity's unique features allowed it to outperform even the Freedom, if only slightly—duty and honor compelled both to finish this fight.

"Argh!" roared Treize, charging forward. His saber cut through the air and was intercepted by Makoto's own. The two fired their CIWS, aiming for each other's cameras, but both pulled out of the way as well. Treize swung his shield in, intending to bludgeon the Sincerity, but Makoto knocked it away with her own shield. Treize attempted to knee the Sincerity, and Makoto just barely managed to deflect with her own knee, such that the Sincerity was only mildly shaken, and the linear seat kept her from feeling the effects.

"I… will… defeat you," said Treize through grit teeth.

"Not today…" replied Makoto. "_Not today!_" For an instant, countless colors flashed across Makoto's faceted emerald irises…

… and Treize faltered as his senses suddenly returned to normal, the dilation of his pupils reversing, irises shrinking back to normal.

The Sincerity's head slammed into the Specter one final time. Makoto tossed her shield and saber into the air and rushed forward as the Specter tumbled away. She grabbed hold of the left vernier and tore it off, then tossed the Specter into the air, rushing up and kicking its right vernier, crushing it. The booster detonated, the explosion sending the Specter further into the air as Treize cried out from the violent turbulence.

She caught hold of her saber and shield as they fell back down, and lashed out with the beam saber and heat rod, cutting the Specter's arms as it fell. Tossing away her saber, she grabbed hold of the Specter before it fell too far and tossed it onto the deck of a badly damaged Earth Forces cruiser to keep it from hitting the water.

"Impossible…" said Treize.

Makoto panted, eyes returning to normal. Her stunt had not only shut down Treize's SEED, but left her with only a few seconds before her Hyper SEED likewise shutdown. Neither of them would be able to reactivate the SEEDs for several minutes.

"This battle… is over," she panted. Makoto took stock of the battle around her, the Impulse ruthlessly assaulting the Orb ships, the Forbidden pulling away after slicing apart the bridge tower of the _John Paul Jones_, and knew she was in trouble. With Earth Forces Windams closing in from one direction and ZAFT BABIs from the other, she was left with no other choice.

"Sincerity!" she called out. "Activate Hyperion System Mode!"

The Sincerity's eyes flashed. The Gundam began to glow faintly, then became tinted in blue light. Its wings spread, and suddenly, blue light began to shine from them.

In an instant, the Sincerity had turned into an angel of blue fire.

* * *

Elsewhere

Cagalli rushed towards the Orb ships as the Impulse began to brutally, remorselessly, even gleefully, destroy them.

"Just stop it!" she cried as the Strike Rouge left behind the remaining _Archangel_ forces.

"Miss Cagalli!" cried Murrue.

"Cagalli," murmured Kira, turning to follow her, the Saviour hot on his tail.

"_Kira!_" said Athrun. Kira couldn't believe it, and had to repress his anger at how callously his friend was treating Cagalli's feelings.

"I know what you're saying," said Kira. "I know what you're saying, but it doesn't matter." A pair of Murasame pilots, desperate to protect their friends on the ships, fired at the Impulse. Shinn, insanity in his eyes, dodged them, grabbing a boomerang and throwing it at one of them so fast that the pilot didn't have time to react before it cut his machine apart.

"Because at this moment," continued Kira, to far away to possibly stop Shinn as he sliced the second Murasame apart. "Cagalli is crying her heart out!" He heard Athrun gasp. "She's crying because all of this is exactly what she feared! Why won't you understand that? And now, are you telling me that this battle, these terrible sacrifices, they can't be helped? That all of this is the fault of Orb and Cagalli?" As he spoke, the Impulse continued to relentlessly cut down Orb mobile suits, ignoring Cagalli's cries for it to just stop the meaningless slaughter, and destroyed a fourth Orb vessel. "If you say that, then you are attacking the very thing that Cagalli is trying to save!"

"_No…_" he heard Athrun murmur. "_Kira, I…_"

"Then I have no choice," said Kira. An amethyst jewel seed raced through his mind, shattering in a nova of violet light and power. "I must defeat you!" The Freedom instantly spun around and raced towards the Saviour at impossible speeds. Athrun rushed forward as well, readying his Vajra beam saber.

Kira dropped his shield, and the two slammed into each other, Athrun's shield blocking Kira's saber. The two twisted the arms away from each other, and Athrun was now in position to swing his saber down on the Freedom.

But so fast that the fallen Crimson Knight didn't he have time to realize it was happening, the White Angel, more powerful than ever before, drew his second beam saber in a reverse grip and cut off the Saviour's arm. Athrun's eyes widened in shock—that move was even faster than anything he'd ever seen from anyone, even Makoto, a master of maneuvers like that!

Jaw set in grim determination, Kira brought both of his sabers in on the Saviour's body. Athrun desperately attempted to evade, but he was far too slow. The Saviour's left arm came off at the shoulder, its left leg at the hip, and its head was sheared right off as well. The mobile suit initiated emergency shut down of all power, the VPS from the still powered main body fading along with the rest of the severed limbs as the once-pristine red mobile suit fell from the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile

Windams and BABIs fired everything they had at the Sincerity, but suddenly, the glowing mobile suit wasn't there.

Hyperion had two uses: the first was to ensure the Sincerity could keep up with Makoto at her peak. The second was for emergencies, like this one.

The Dauntless Angel was exhausted from her fight with Treize and her use of the Hyper SEED. She wasn't anywhere close to full, and she needed to get away.

Moving impossibly fast, the Sincerity appeared in front of the BABIs. Makoto slashed, taking out one BABI in an instant, and was already twisting the Sincerity to face another. The beam machine cannons in the shoulders unfolded and opened up, shredding the three aerial mobile suits instantly.

"W-what is that?" questioned a Windam pilot, firing at the Sincerity. The Taiyonoha mobile suit shot away, blindingly fast—faster than even the Specter had been! Trailing in its wake were blue outlines of the mobile suit, after images that confused the Earth Forces pilots.

Then, the now-blue Gundam was on top of them. Its shield had been discarded, and it now wielded both of its hand-held sword rifles. In a blur of motion, it rushed past the Windams, and all five detonated at once.

"What is that?" cried Yuki Trinity, staring at the glowing Gundam.

"_Not the time to stick around admiring the view, Yuki!_" said Mai Sierra.

"_Everyone, withdraw,_" came Zane's voice all of a sudden. "_Return to the subs. We're pulling out._"

"Commander Dante?" questioned Yuki. Then, a few seconds later, "Understood."

As the Kyusai Team retreated, Makoto landed next to the Strike Raven, powering down the Hyperion until she needed it again.

"_Makoto, is Chris…?_" asked Flay.

"I don't know," answered Makoto honestly, picking up the Strike Raven and heading back to the _Archangel_, tears in her eyes. "I really don't know."

"_Makoto, don't worry about me,_" said Flay, realizing the source of Makoto's tears. "_You can stop him!_"

"I can't," replied Makoto. "Not as I am now. Not even with Hyperion."

* * *

The _Takemikazuchi_

With most of their ships and mobile suits gone, Todaka had ordered the _Takemikazuchi_ itself forward to finish the mission. There was an ulterior motive as well, for if this carrier sunk, then regardless of whether the mission was accomplished or not, the surviving Orb soldiers, already too few, would be able to go home.

As he'd expected, the carrier had taken a tremendous amount of damage, a great deal more than it had been able to churn out on the _Minerva_. The mighty Orb flagship was sinking.

"Hey, Todaka!" cried Yuna, grabbing the front of Todaka's uniform and pulling him into his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing? We're sinking!"

"Lord Yuna, please abandon ship," replied Todaka calmly. He glanced back at Amagi. "All hands please follow suit." Amagi looked surprised, for a moment, but then walked over the PA system.

"All hands, abandon ship," he ordered. "I repeat, all hands, abandon ship."

"_Takemikazuchi_, please stop it!" cried Cagalli as the Strike Rouge approached. Shinn noticed the Orb sovereign's mobile suit. No! No one could be allowed to interfere!

Hoping he'd be able to kill her and avenge the deaths of his parents and the injustices against his sister, Shinn fired at the Strike Rouge, forcing it back. An Orb Murasame suddenly appeared, taking a beam that would've hit the Strike Rouge.

"Lady Cagalli, please stay back!" cried the pilot as his machine exploded. The Freedom rushed forward, to stop the massacre and protect Cagalli, but the Saviour had slowed it down too much.

"I will carry out your order to try to destroy the _Minerva_ to the very end," said Todaka on the carrier's bridge. Yuna's eyes showed his disbelief. "I will take the blame for the ships and soldiers that we've lost."

"What?" questioned Yuna.

"With this act, Orb's bravery will be unquestioned!" said Todaka, knocking Yuna's arm away. "The whole world will learn what we did here!" He grabbed the front of Yuna's uniform suddenly and tossed him at the door. "Escort the Commander-in-Chief to safety," he said to the other bridge crewmen. "All of you are to abandon ship as well."

He saw them all hesitate.

"That's an order," he said sternly. "Not for Yuna Roma, but to protect our nation."

"Yes sir," said the crew, all saluting at once.

"I'll remain behind with you sir," said Amagi, stepping forward.

"No," said Todaka firmly.

"I must insist," replied Amagi.

"I said no!" snapped Todaka. A beam slammed into the carrier at that moment, shaking the ship and causing another explosion along the hull. Kira, still too far away to intercept the Impulse, fired his rifle at the _Minerva_, destroying Rey's beam rifle and the remaining Tristan.

"I'll take full responsibility for this," continued Todaka, holding onto a console to steady himself after the last explosion.

"Sir, no!" cried Amagi as he pulled himself back up after being knocked to the floor by the violent explosions.

"If you're so eager to lay down your life then gather together those who feel the same and go to the _Archangel_!" he ordered

"What?" gasped Amagi as Todaka stepped over to him. The colonel reached down and grabbed Amagi's uniform, dragging him to his feet.

"One day I know that they will find the right path," said Todaka.

"Captain Todaka…"

"Please do this. For me. And for all those who gave their lives pointlessly today!" said Todaka. He saw his subordinate's acceptance in Amagi's eyes. "Now go!"

A few moments later, the ship was abandoned, save for Todaka, who remained on the burning bridge as the Impulse landed atop it and walked menacingly forward. He could see how the pilot thought he was the most righteous person on the planet, a great hero, and a great fool, for the true heroes were those few who had walked away from meaningless battle and stepped willingly into their own deaths to do what was right.

The Impulse raised its swords and, with a cry of rage, Shinn remorselessly destroyed the bridge, dragging his swords into the hull as well, finishing the carrier irrevocably off before leaping away from the doomed vessel.

Cagalli cried out in horror, the same horror with which the _Archangel_ crew and pilots stared at the wreckage. Talia felt a grim sort of satisfaction at finally ending this debacle, more than satisfied with the result. But Shinn panted in fury, not nearly satisfied enough with the result. He doubted he would until that despicable nation had been wiped from history!

Neo and all the surviving Earth Forces and Orb soldiers who saw this saluted the carrier. At that moment, no matter their nationality, they were no different; all had been soldiers, and all felt the loss of the carrier as they would the loss of any comrade.

Four mobile suits floated high above the former battlefield as all others retreated. Not even the hatred Minako wielded as a shield named Hotaru gave her any desire to fight. Makoto had handed Flay off to Liz.

Kira, Makoto, Hotaru and Suiren couldn't bring themselves to salute the carrier the way others were. The destruction of the vessel—the entire battle—had been meaningless.

"He's dangerous," murmured Makoto.

"Yeah," agreed Kira. "He's…" Kira didn't want to say 'monster', but that was the only way he could truly describe anyone who could feel such glee in this slaughter.

"What now?" questioned Suiren. It was strange that the four of them now floated together, like they weren't enemies, even though that wasn't true.

"Take care of him, Minako," said Makoto as she and Kira began to pull away. "Take care of Treize. And…" There were tears in her eyes and voice. "I will bring you home. Both of you. That's a promise."

The two watched as their cousin left, then turned back to their respective ships and floated away themselves.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, at long last, Makoto has achieved something no one else has managed (though Kira could've done it as well, if Treize hadn't retreated): defeated Treize at his best. Really, it mostly comes down to her having the added advantage of the Hyper SEED, compensating for Treize's increased abilities. Even with that, she only decisively took the advantage when she, once again, took advantage of her powers. With one exception, all of Makoto's most important matches have ended with her winning by cheating, using the powers granted to her by Divinity. Not that anyone notices, they just see an OC... *grumble grumble grumble***

**Anyways, other than that, we've got a lot of rather tense battles going on as numerous characters face some sort of personal opponent. The exceptions are primarily those who _aren't_ piloting Gundams. And in the case of Kira vs. Athrun, Kira won that fight easily because, as I implied, he's been pushed past his normal limits, has managed to improve where Athrun's skills have remained largely static, and Athrun was hesitant as he finally realized what he was saying. Even with that, Kira doesn't inflict nearly as much damage as he did in canon. Certainly nothing irreparable.**

**I could go on for a while about all the other fights, but I'll let you all think it over for yourselves, mostly. But, I will now explain the Hyperion System:  
As you can guess, the Hyperion is a SEED-equivalent to the Trans-Am system of Gundam 00. A mobile suit with Hyperion needs three things: a Deuterion Drive powerplant, PS armor, and lightwave propulsion technology. It first "overdrives" the PS armor, generating a faint glow and allowing it to repel even beam attacks. Next, it activates hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tiny lightwave pulse thrusters that saturate the frame. Their activation generates the blue glow, and creates after images as the numerous pulses leave a faint "exhaust trail". Finally, its main thrusters or wings activates the high-speed lightwave burst thrusters of the Faith, though backscaled significantly. Complemented by an increase to weapon power, this has the same overall results as Trans-Am. It does, however, drain the Deuterion Drive batteries very quickly-three minutes at full power, but generally only two due to expenditure during battle prior to activation. Once the Deuterion Drive is drained, a number of systems will go offline, with power primarily routed to thrusters until the Drive has had a chance to recharge. So, to summarize: regardless of the technical details, the actual function is identical to Trans-Am, though its color is blue instead of red (why? Because blue is my favorite color).**

**Anyways, I think that's all for now. If anyone has actual questions, well, you can, of course, ask them, and I will answer, within certain limits.**

**I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and will continue to enjoy this story as I manage to pull it out! Please leave a review!**

**Ja ne!  
**


	29. Phase 29: Reflections

**After close to three weeks, I finally churned out the next chapter. My life's been more hectic and more busy lately. Ugh. I also want to work on some of my other stories, but at this point, I can only really dedicate time to writing one story at a time. If I get inspiration, I can often write out a bunch of stuff quickly, which allows me to "bypass" this restriction. But enough about me complaining about lost time, let's move on.**

**First, to the anonymous "Red Letter Reviewer": You've got a bit munch for me to respond here. If you have somewhere I can contact you at, please let me know, because I would very much like to offer up a real response to your review(s).**

**Moving on, Happy 4th of July everyone! I know I'm a day early, but figured I'd send it out.**

**I've been mentally hammering out numerous plot details and ideas lately. I'm abuzz with them. However, I would like to ahead and make a request: does anyone have ideas for original mobile weapons, Gundam or mass produced? I am not accepting any more OC submissions, because I've found it to be problematic within this story, but OMWs aren't nearly as much of a problem. If anyone has any ideas, please PM me about them. If I use any, I will give you full credit for the work. Also, note that these OMWs would be for the sequel story, so there's plenty of time, but I thought I'd send this out early.**

**Now, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. ****I do not own the OC Tristan Palleon, who is the property of animefan29. I do not own Leon Vanyel, who is the intellectual property of Kiiroi Senko. I do not own the OCs Treize Zabiarov, Elizabeth Dante, Mikhail Andras, or Zane Scirocco, who are the property of Akatsuki Leader13. I do own the OCs Makoto Taiyonoha, Louisa Kohls, Suiren Kyusai, Aleksi Shimizu, Jessie Vandermeer, Shizuka Taiyonoha, Hotaru Aino, Nabiki Ombre, all Kyusai Team OCs except for Zane, and Gabriel. I also own the OMS MRA-X01 Astarte Gundam.  
**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Nine: Reflections

December 11th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

"HOW?" screamed Andras, smashing several of the vials on his worktable in his personal lab. "It's impossible! IMPOSIBBLE!"

There was no way EX-C1304 could possibly be defeated! That weapon was perfect, the culmination of centuries of weapons development that billions of fools had failed to recognize, that Andras and Andras alone had seen for what it was worth, put into practice, and brought to fruition.

"Someone stole my work… yes… that's it…" muttered Andras to himself, eyes wide with what anyone looking at them could only call insanity. "My work is perfect… I'm better than any of them… better than Hibiki… _Dante_… and _Takara_… I'm better than all of them… they couldn't have had any hand in this. Yes… yes, somebody stole my work! And… and that machine… it must've been nuclear powered… yes… and the specimen… the weapon must've been from something stronger than what I had to work with… it's the only explanation… ha… hahahaha…" Insane laughter continued to pour from Andras's lips.

Yes, that was it, the only _possible_ explanation! Andras had always been surprised EX-C1304 had turned out to be the strongest, given the extremely flawed nature of the source material, even more so than regular Coordinators. Someone must've found a perfect specimen… no, they must've stolen it from Andras when that fool Djibril had called him away from his work temporarily… maybe EX-C1288? Yes, that one had been rather strong, but was among those destroyed while he was away.

So that was it. One of his staff staged their destruction so he could steal Andras's work.

"I always knew no one could be trusted," muttered Andras, eyes still wide as he stared at the ceiling without seeing it. "Yes… I'll kill them all… I don't need them… I don't…"

"EX-C1304 was not defeated by a weapon developed from your own work," cut in a voice suddenly. Andras's eyes widened further. He _knew_ that voice! He spun around to see a man he'd thought dead for years staring at him calmly.

"I-impossible… you…" said Andras.

"Yes, old friend," said the man. "You can call me Gabriel, now. And the truth is simply that your material was flawed and resources weak. Had Logos provided you with the tools and resources you'd told them you would need, this wouldn't have happened."

"I know that!" exclaimed Andras. "What are you doing here? Who let you in? How'd you get past the guards on this ship?"

"A fine young man let me aboard, and security is lax with the ship like this," said Gabriel mildly. "Mikhail… I'd like to make you an offer. You see, Logos will never give you what you really need, and they'll blame you for their failure to meet the requirements. I've got better material, and resources won't be a concern."

In spite of himself, Andras was intrigued. "Better material, you say?" he questioned slowly.

"The best," said Gabriel smirking. "I can give you everything you want, including the recognition we both know you always deserved. Of course, I admit, this isn't out of the 'generosity' of my heart. Such a thing is only a weakness. No, the truth, Mikhail, is that I need your help. I have my field, Mestas has his, and you have yours. I intend to apply all three to the fullest. We've already made great leaps and bounds from those days." Gabriel's smirk grew. "Would you like to see the results? All of it is at your disposal, so long as you put your talents and results at our disposal as well."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The bridge of the assault ship was packed, dozens of Orb soldiers arrayed at the back of the bridge, facing Cagalli. Amagi was at the front, right in front of Orb's true sovereign, standing next to the command chair.

Arrayed across the forward section of the bridge were the pilots and bridge crew of the _Archangel_. Kira stood a little behind Cagalli, while Makoto stood on the raised walkway, next to the viewport, with her aunt standing next to her.

"Yes, but still…" said Cagalli softly, after hearing of the details of Todaka's sacrifice from Amagi.

"He said 'I'll take full responsibility for this'," said Amagi. "And to go to the _Archangel_, if we felt we had more to give. For… all those who had given their lives with regret that day. Those were Captain Todaka's last words."

A sound, like despair and sorrow itself, echoed softly from Cagalli's throat.

"For ignoring your orders and entering battle so many times, and for the loss of our ships and the lives of so many soldiers, forgive us," said Amagi, bowing. "We can't apologize enough." The rest of the soldiers followed suit, much to Cagalli's growing surprise. Next to the viewport, Makoto and Shizuka both smiled slightly.

"I beg you," continued Amagi. "Please understand. Captain Todaka and I… were in an impossible situation. From this point on, we wish to journey with the _Archangel_. Please, we beg you."

"Lieutenant Amagi…" said Cagalli softly. "I'm the… I should be apologizing!" Cagalli stepped forward, grabbing Amagi by the shoulders and forcing him to stand straight. The other Orb soldiers, seeing this, also straightened up. "I'm… I'm so sorry."

"Lady Cagalli," murmured Amagi.

"It's all because I was such a fool," said Cagalli. "Because I didn't have the strength." Tears were forming in her eyes. "Orb's men and women are so goodhearted and I let this happen to them."

"Lady Cagalli!" said Amagi, objection clear in his voice.

"My fault," repeated Cagalli. "It's all my fault." Cagalli collapsed to her knees crying at this point, Amagi holding onto her and falling to his knees with her.

"No, Lady Cagalli," he said. "You…" Amagi couldn't find any words to say in the face of Cagalli's tears.

Kira stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

"Don't cry, Cagalli," he said. He turned his eyes to the Orb soldiers, who were all focused on him now. "Right now, all we really know for sure is that we can't let this situation go on."

"Kira… Yamato," murmured Amagi, realizing who this man was. He'd never seen the White Angel before—the man behind the legend was standing right here, though, given a face for the first time in the minds of the Orb soldiers.

"But," continued Kira. "We don't know how or even what is supposed to be done. Fighting ZAFT won't do us any good; neither will fighting the Earth Forces. Because that's the way it's been in the past. That's why the hatred never stops. Why the fighting never ends. And even us, because we keep on fighting, maybe we're just as much to blame. I'm sure that every one of us, in the PLANTs and on Earth, wants a world where we can live our lives in peace and happiness." Makoto's smile faded, emotions seeping into her eyes. Kira… he sounded like a leader right now. A real one, though it seemed he was now faltering somewhat. "It just seems like… I mean, if you're thinking along the same lines, then maybe…"

"Indeed, Master Kira," said Amagi with a slight smile. "We didn't come here thirsting for revenge. Nor did we come here just because we wanted to carry on fighting." He stood up. "Every single one of us chose to join the military because we sincerely believed in our nation's ideals. If we have to fight then we want to do it defending the true ideals of Orb!"

Cagalli stood to her feet, shock clearly evident on her face.

"We know the path ahead is a difficult one," continued Amagi. "And that is why it would be our great honor to join you and this ship."

"Amagi," said Cagalli softly, touched by the commitment he had voiced to Orb.

"I understand," said Kira. "I apologize for any doubts I might have had." He smiled. "A pleasure to have you onboard."

"Sir," said Amagi. "Thank you." He saluted Kira… along with all of the other Orb soldiers, much to Kira's shock. Makoto, Shizuka, the bridge crew and all of the pilots—with the exception of Shani—let out small chuckles and giggles at his reaction. It was also amusing because, in truth, Kira's actual rank was only that of an ensign—they'd never bothered with anything more formal than noting a commission with the Taiyonoha Fleet.

Makoto straightened up slightly as Kira shifted uncertainly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked, smiling. "Return the salute, Kira."

"Ah…" Clearly uncertain what he was supposed to be doing, Kira simply did as Makoto said, and the Orb soldiers stood at ease, while Amagi turned his attention to the redhead.

"Lady Setsuna," he said. "I'm pleased to see you in good health, though we'd honestly believed the claims that you'd gone to Izanami."

"Makoto, please," she replied. "Lady Setsuna was nothing more than an image. My real name is Makoto."

"The Dauntless Angel?" murmured Amagi, the soldiers behind him shifting, clearly ready to break out in whispers at this revelation. Makoto tilted her head slightly, but her eyes were on Kira. He understood what she wanted.

**

* * *

**

Several minutes later

The _Archangel_'s conference room had been locked down by Kira—meaning the only person getting in was Faith. The current occupants of the room were Kira, Makoto, Shizuka and Faith's projection.

"What's the first subject?" asked Kira. Makoto sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Where do you want me to start? Chris? Misuumi? Minako?"

"Minako?" questioned Shizuka.

"Hotaru," murmured Makoto. Her hand moved to her chest, clenching over her heart. "She hates me. Because it's my fault that mom and dad died."

"But that wasn't your fault!" objected Shizuka. That was when things finally seemed to catch up with her. "Wait a second, you mean that… that mercenary… that…" Shizuka seemed to be sputtering.

"This is strange," said Faith. "Hold on, I'm running a check on everything…" Faith's image flickered, and she frowned. "Strange… nothing. I can usually find at least something, but there's just… nothing. No records or anything. Wait…" The others watched her, wondering what was coming. "Nothing on the networks, but… my internal systems are registering something. But I can't really see it. It's in my main body."

"Then I'll transfer you there later to check it out," said Makoto. "In any case… yes, Hotaru is actually Minako. She said something about Erik and I being necessary before, but that's changed. She wants me dead." Shizuka gasped.

"Are you sure of that?" asked Kira.

"There was no mistaking the conviction in her voice," said Makoto, softly, head down, hair covering her face, her hands folded in her lap. Kira saw the tears falling from her eyes to her hands. "Why? Why does this always seem to happen to us? Why can't we just have a normal life? We didn't ask for any of this. Being what we are…"

Kira sat down in the seat next to Makoto's and wrapped his arms around her. Shizuka shifted uncomfortably at the—for once—'public' display of the affection between them, for he was holding her not in the manner of a friend or sibling, but that of a lover. She doubted they even realized that themselves.

"Um…" She looked at Faith, hoping the AI's level of emotional detachment, whatever it was, would allow her to find a way of clearing the atmosphere.

"What do you want to do about space?" asked Faith, recognizing Shizuka's request. Kira's arms loosened, and Makoto straightened up, though the tears continued to run down her face. "We were already about thirty-five percent over standard capacity. And all those Murasames…"

"I've been thinking about that," admitted Kira. "I think we should call the _Dominion_ out here and transfer some of the crew and pilots there for transport back to Orb."

"Hmm, makes sense, I suppose," said Shizuka. "Any suggestions?"

"The _Dominion_'s crew, all non-essential personnel—dropping us to a skeleton crew—and John, Victor, Liz, Louisa, Shani, Tolle and Clotho. We'll keep the soldiers and pilots from the _Takemikazuchi_, along with all their Murasames."

"That should work," admitted Faith. "But getting them to agree could be more challenging."

"Well… I want to have the Templars and several Sentinels transferred to the Enclave for the final stage of production," said Kira. "That should get most of them. We'll tell John and Victor about the Tengu as well, which should get them moving."

"I'll get that arranged," said Shizuka. "Um… do we tell Serenity now, or do we wait?"

"Let's wait," said Makoto, shaking slightly. "But… tell Flay that I can't do anything for Chris."

"O-kay," said Shizuka slowly before walking out, Faith opening the door for her, then closing and locking it. Faith looked at them and sighed.

"I'll send the message to Lacus," she said before her image flickered out of existence.

Leaving Kira and Makoto alone in the locked conference room. Leaving Makoto to finish her crying, and Kira to continue comforting her.

"You okay?" asked Kira after several minutes like this, as Makoto's sobbing finally began to abate somewhat.

"Yeah…" she said, tears still in her voice. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She looked at him. "Kira… I just found out about Misuumi. And now, Minako as well… they're both right there, and just out of my reach. I've had them both by my side and never realized it."

"It'll be fine," said Kira, pulling her back into a hug. "Everything will be okay. They're your sisters. I'm sure that, deep down, they both feel the same as you do about all this. They'll come back. They won't abandon you anymore than you'll abandon them. You're all far too kind for that."

"Kira…"

"I won't say… that I know how it feels," said Kira. "But please, trust me."

"I do, Kira," said Makoto, pushing away from him a little. She smiled, something that relieved Kira, despite her tear-stricken face. "You did it again."

"Did what?" he asked, confused.

"Sounded like a leader," she said. She closed her eyes. "Kira… back there, I saw the future. I saw hope. Cagalli is the future of Orb. It's been a rough road, but there's no doubt that she's firmly on her path again. And the Taiyonoha… we're only Orb's past. It's our fate to be left behind in her wake." Kira stared at her, surprised. "And you…" She reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "You're the same. I don't know where your future is, but you will shape the future. I don't need the SEED to tell me that."

"What about you?" asked Kira quietly.

"Up there," said Makoto, staring at the ceiling. "That is where the Taiyonoha shall go. The time has come for the Earth's longest bloodline to leave it for the stars."

The two were silent for several more minutes. Makoto's gaze drifted back down, and emerald eyes locked with amethyst.

The next act was pure impulse, the result of two years of bottled up emotions leaking out for a single moment.

Kira and Makoto wrapped their arms around one another, and their lips met in a searing kiss they'd both longed to feel and continued to deny until this moment.

**

* * *

**

Louisa and Liz's Quarters

Liz watched as Louisa drew at speeds that could only be called insane. But Liz had known the rosette long enough to know that this was actually typical for her—only sketches or paintings took her any decent length of time.

She recalled the drawings Louisa had shown her of her time on the _Dominion_—all of them showing Louisa and Makoto, at a time when Louisa hadn't even known who Makoto really was. The drawing of Makoto and Louisa fighting—finished just before the Battle of Mendel—had been almost frightening.

And, of course, Liz had blushed rather profusely on seeing Louisa's drawing of the three of them together. The rosette had made several more since, including a rather embarrassing nude drawing she'd sent Liz—and probably Makoto—a framed copy of, along with the joking threat that she had several more in case she thought some of their friends needed to see it.

Liz was too afraid that she might _not_ be joking to ever truly risk it.

But today's drawing… it was different. It was very different.

"You can feel it, can't you?" asked Louisa softly. Liz nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "What'll we do now?"

Louisa shrugged. "I love Makoto," she said. "I honestly don't mind. For our triad, we had to recognize that there wasn't anything wrong with being romantically involved with more than one person. Why should adding Kira be a stretch?"

"It's just… awkward, I guess," said Liz. Suddenly, she grinned, almost wickedly. "Though it might give me a shot at Lacus." Louisa giggled at that.

"Ah, yes, let's give the fangirl exactly what she wants," said the rosette, earning a scowl from her brunette lover. "Oh, wait, that's right, we can't, because in the interest of fairness, we'd have to offer the same to all the other desperate fans."

"We could give them Meer…" grumbled Liz softly. Louisa burst out laughing at this point.

"Now, now, Lacus wouldn't allow that," said Louisa evenly. "Besides, I think she's straight as an arrow." Liz pouted, but Louisa decided to stop teasing the brunette. "In all seriousness, though, what happens from here on out depends on them. But _something_ has to break soon. This tension… or them."

Liz frowned, looking at Louisa's drawing. "You think the tension will break soon?" she asked.

"I'm hoping," admitted Louisa. "But if it doesn't, we'll talk to Lacus. If those two won't do something, then the three of us _will_."

She turned her attention back to the drawing, reaching for the coloring pencils. It really was unique amongst all her works; it was the only one to feature Makoto and Kira, alone, locked in a romantic embrace.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Shani had been very quiet since he returned, and both Clotho and Tolle were starting to get worried. Eventually, they'd dragged him to the pilot's lounge and forced him to sit down.

"All right Shani, what is going on?" demanded Clotho. Shani looked away, shifting slightly.

"You went berserk during the fight," said Tolle. "That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"Yeah," admitted Shani after a minute. "He was there. My father." The words came out as a snarl, and both Clotho and Tolle stepped back slightly in shock. "There was no mistaking that voice. I heard it and… I've never felt so _enraged_ before. Not even during the last war."

This surprised Clotho. How much did Shani really remember, if just hearing his father's voice sent him into greater rages than those he'd experienced at Mendel?

"You killed him, didn't you?" questioned Tolle quietly, dragging Clotho from his thoughts. Shani nodded.

"And I killed that other guy," he said slowly. "The pilot of the Abyss, just because he got in my way."

"That gets to you," said Clotho, sitting down across from him. Again, Shani nodded.

"It was like the last two and a half years of progress had all been wiped away," he said. "I was thinking like back then."

Clotho shuddered at that. Tolle couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like, but Clotho understood what Shani was going through easily.

At the Second Battle of Jachin Due, Shani, Clotho and Louisa had been given freedom from their lives as Biological CPUs for Blue Cosmos—or first generation Extended, depending on how one looked at it. Even afterwards, though, their aggression was not really stymied—Makoto had not really had 'time' (such as the subject could be viewed in respect to the SEED) to do more than purge their bodies of Gamma Glipheptin and any need for the drug, along with a torrent of memories that she'd only been able to help Louisa reorder.

While the alterations to increase aggression had not been addressed, without the Gamma Glipheptin or many of the other little drugs and alterations here and there that had been 'purged', they'd been able to reign it in to varying degrees. Only Louisa had dealt with it easily, with her restoration almost a hundred percent from the start. But Shani and Clotho had been able to control it better and better as time went on, and they were happier and more content for it.

As such, the possibility of a relapse to what they had once been was one of the most frightening things of all for the former Extended.

"I fight and I kill," said Shani. "It's the only thing I really remember clearly. But today, I… murdered, again." That was, indeed, the only way they could really explain their mindsets.

Tolle shook his head. "Look, I really don't understand how you guys thought back then," he said. "But try to think of it this way: your father and the Abyss pilot won't be able to hurt anymore people, thanks to you."

Shani sighed. "I know that," he said. "It's not the act itself, Tolle. It's what made me do it. Like that, I might even have attacked you guys. And that terrifies me."

**

* * *

**

Flay's Quarters

Flay had not wanted to hear what Shizuka had to say about Chris. She couldn't understand it; why? Why couldn't Makoto do anything for Chris like she had for Shani, Clotho and Louisa? It wasn't like she wasn't closer to Chris than Shani and Clotho, certainly. Shizuka hadn't been able to elaborate, and Faith refused to let her see Makoto right now. She hadn't been able to find Kira, either.

Flay gently lifted a picture from her nightstand, staring at it with affection radiating in her eyes.

This was the last picture that had been taken of Chris. In it, Chris had his arms wrapped around her from behind, a broad grin on his face, with Flay leaning back against him, a gentle smile adorning her own features. The date was April 1st, CE 71.

There were, of course, many pictures that had been taken on that day. Pictures of the _Archangel_'s civilian volunteers, their Gundam pilots and, of all people, the ZAFT Gundam pilots who they'd been fighting on and off for two months. But this was the only one of Flay and Chris alone, and as such, it was very important to her.

What could possibly stop Makoto from helping Chris? Flay kept turning it all over in her head but couldn't find a solution. Then, her thoughts turned back to the battle.

That wasn't Chris she'd fought. Chris wasn't like that… _thing_. What could've been done to him? She recognized the feeling she'd gotten from the Specter pilot poignantly. He was… how could something so monstrous possibly have been Chris?

At the same time, though, she knew it to be true. For just one moment, right before Makoto defeated the Specter, she'd heard Chris calling out to her.

So there was hope. There had to be. That was all Flay had left to her.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Two hours later

Suiren stood atop one of the _Minerva_'s outer observation decks, staring out towards the ocean from the ship's hiding place just inside the mouth of a river.

ZAFT had taken a tremendous beating in that last battle. Of the thirteen submarines that originally set out with her, only two remained, one of them irreparably crippled. In all likelihood, the ship would have to be scuttled. And the other one was barely limping along, and had lost all submersible ability.

Of the hundred and four amphibious mobile suits launched, only three had escaped, two of them limping back badly damaged, the last Shiho's rescuer following her match with the Blu Duel. And of the ninety mobile suits ZAFT initially fielded above the water, less than ten of them remained combat ready, and only Suiren's Rose had come out relatively unscathed, though of course, the Impulse was almost always combat ready, and she understood why Shinn hadn't been able to handle himself properly (otherwise, he'd probably have come out even better than her).

In contrast, the two submarines currently used by the Kyusai Team hadn't taken a single hit, sitting much farther back from the battle, and attacking from the enemy's rear. Suiren let out a faint sigh as she thought of her team.

Zane had done remarkably well keeping everyone alive, but his luck, it seemed, was finally starting to run out, with the deaths of Hugh Mason and Lance Almark. Chihiro had been lucky enough to survive her battle with that deadly Earth Forces pilot that Murase faced down, but she'd be out of action for at least a month, and her ZAKU was a lost cause.

Had it been selfish of her? Transferring to the _Minerva_ on a whim, leaving behind the family she'd forged out of the disparate pilots and officers of the early Kyusai Team?

"You know, you're allowed to be a little selfish at times," interjected a voice—like the speaker could read her thoughts. Suiren glanced over her shoulder to see the dark-skinned Ishimura Seiei standing behind her, brown eyes boring into her. She let out a small sigh and motioned him forward, to stand next to her.

"I was the one who wanted to forge us from a team into a family," she said. "And then I just left, out of the blue. And why? Because I knew the _Minerva_ would be heading to Orb. And then afterwards, I didn't come back. Is _that_ alright?"

"Perhaps not," agreed Ishimura. "But… wouldn't it be even more selfish of us to hold you back?"

Surprised, Suiren turned to face him.

"We all know who you are," said Ishimura, further stunning her. "We knew… all of us, everyone but Dante and Westenfluss. We wanted you to have the chance to see your family. To become a part of that family again. And… to face what you are."

"How do you know that?" asked Suiren, eyes narrowed dangerously. This wasn't possible… the only people who could possibly have revealed this information would have no reason too; in fact, it would likely be detrimental to them.

"Captain Noriega," answered Ishimura.

"Sakura?" gasped Suiren. But no, that didn't make any sense. How could Sakura possibly know that information?

"What you are doesn't matter to us," said Ishimura, turning to look at the ocean. "Neither does who you are. We follow Dante's orders, but he isn't you. He's _not_ our leader, only our commander, and only for the moment."

"I see," said Suiren, hesitantly, also turning back to the ocean.

"You fought her, didn't you?" asked Ishimura. "Your cousin…"

"Both of them, actually," murmured Suiren. "We were all there, all five of us. I know… that there was a sixth, but his status as such is more a formality than anything else. All five of us fought in the _Minerva_'s last two battles, on different sides, and now…"

Suiren trailed off as she realized something. Ishimura glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she reached up and delicately touched the cheek down which her tears now ran.

"I…"

**

* * *

**

The Mess Hall

Luna, Meyrin, Tristan, Vino, Yolant, and several of the Kyusai Team pilots had gathered in the mess hall. Meyrin was clutching the drink in her hands tightly, and was barely suppressing the shudders in her body.

Jessie. The subject had been broached rather tentatively, but it had been inevitable. Half of the Kyusai Team were veterans who were used to death, and they'd begun to reminisce about their fallen comrades.

That had led to Jessie, the first pilot in the _Minerva_'s roster to die since the war began. A moment before he'd died, Meyrin had managed to get a connection with the interior cameras, and despite how fuzzy the image had been due to the damage, Jessie's condition had been unmistakable, and it left Meyrin shaking with terror at the grisly sight. She tried to suppress it, but apparently, she hadn't done good enough of a job.

"Is something the matter?" questioned Auron Trinity, drawing everyone's attention to the scarred war veteran. His good eye was on Meyrin. "You're shaking." This drew everyone's attention to the redheaded flight controller, and they all saw it as well.

"Meyrin? What's wrong?" asked Luna. But her younger sister only shook her head.

"I… I really don't want to think about it," she answered.

"If you don't try to get it off your mind, you won't be able to think of anything else," advised Matthew Dodge. "I've been there."

"He's right," added Yuna Trinity, one of Auron's two younger sisters. The other, Yuki, nodded in agreement. "You'll feel better in the long run if you talk about it with someone." However, Meyrin remained hesitant, and eventually, the others let out a sigh.

"You'll tell me later, at least, okay Meyrin?" said Luna. Slowly, Meyrin nodded.

"Sure," she said. Satisfied by that, the rest of the group turned away from the subject of their lost pilots and to the subject of a living pilot: namely Shinn.

"That guy in the Impulse… he's pretty good," commented Yuki, thinking back on the final moments of the battle. "He performed pretty well out there."

"Yeah, but he's got a bit of an ego on him," commented Tristan. "Well, guess it's not unwarranted. My only concern is whether or not this will further bloat his ego. I hope not."

"Shinn's a good person, he's just a touch impulsive at times." agreed Luna.

"Hey, our commander is the one who ran off to this ship on a whim!" retorted Yuna with a smile. "I'd say he has a right to be impulsive, and if she complains, he has a right to smack her!"

"Not always, but maybe some of the time," said Luna with a smile. The atmosphere had been lightened a fair bit, and it was at that time that Shinn entered the room.

"Ah, we were just talking about you Shinn," said Yolant. "And you're amazing performance today."

Shinn shrugged, shaking his head. "It wasn't anything special," he said. "Had circumstances been just a little different, I'm sure anyone could've done that."

"Acting modest? Now that isn't like you at all Shinn," commented Tristan with a joking smile. Shinn let out a small sigh as he got himself a drink, and Tristan, guessing what it was about, spoke up.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, voice suddenly very soft. Shinn glanced back at him and, realizing what Tristan was referring to, let out another small sigh.

"About the same as you I guess," he said, crouching down to pull his drink from the vending machine. Turning around, he heaved another sigh, looking at everyone. "I can't believe… that Jessie…" Meyrin shuddered slightly, drawing Luna's attention.

"Jessie always seemed so strong," murmured Tristan, shaking his head slightly. "It's hard to believe that he's dead."

"Even a mere pawn can strike down the king," said Auron. "No matter how strong you are, it doesn't mean you're invincible. There will always be someone stronger. That is the belief that will lead to true strength."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Shinn. "Thanks."

"So… you're the Impulse's pilot?" asked Yuki. Shinn glanced at her and nodded, somewhat confused. She grinned. "We bumped into each other at Diocuia, but never actually introduced ourselves. I'm Yuki Trinity. This is my sister, Yuna and my brother, Auron."

"Hmph." "Yuki!"

"What?" questioned Yuki. "I'm just introducing myself."

"Honestly," muttered Yuna, covering her face with her palms. "You're insufferable."

"I did nothing wrong," retorted Yuki. Shinn glanced at his friends before settling a questioning gaze on Matthew, who just shrugged and shook his head.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"So, you got into a fight with an Angel," commented Heine idly as he walked out onto the observation deck where Athrun was looking out to sea, drawing the other FAITH agent's attention to him. "How foolish." Heine stepped up to the railing, and glanced at Athrun. "You really got your ass handed to you."

"Kira isn't the White Angel for nothing," replied Athrun evenly, although he was amazed at just how strong Kira had truly become. That was the first time he and Kira had faced off since their fateful battle on the Marshall Islands. It was rather humbling to face the legendary pilot in battle once again.

"I suppose that's true," said Heine. "And you saw it as well—that Orb mobile suit beat the Specter. Who was the pilot, anyway?"

"Makoto," said Athrun. "The Dauntless Angel."

Heine whistled.

"Damn… _that_ was the Dauntless Angel?" he murmured. "I'm impressed. And honestly, more than a little surprised. I thought she was dead."

"Officially, she is," agreed Athrun. "Besides, who wouldn't think that? The Faith, the Justice, the Providence … all three were destroyed at Jachin Due, and no one that survived to that point could've missed the explosions."

"The ones that took out GENESIS," murmured Heine. He shook his head. "You know, most people aren't even truly aware of what really happened that day."

"Huh?"

"What I mean is that very few people actually know the truth about GENESIS and the nukes," said Heine. "Most people think they were intended solely for use against military targets. The belief perpetrated in the PLANTs is also that GENESIS was captured by the Earth Forces and being aimed at the PLANTs."

"What? Why?" demanded Athrun, shocked by what he'd just heard. Heine shrugged.

"Because you were the one to destroy GENESIS," he said. "The Angels are considered the greatest pilots of the modern era. But the fact is, they were never part of ZAFT or the PLANTs. So propaganda painted you with most of their actions that could be deemed 'glorious', including attributing the destruction of most of the nukes to you."

Athrun was stunned. So _that_ was it, huh? The reason for all the strange attention he'd received. Even though people remained aware of Kira and Makoto as the White Angel of Freedom and the Dauntless Angel of Faith, because of propaganda, their deeds were tagged on someone that ZAFT could paint as their own hero.

"So… it's only people in ZAFT who know the truth?" asked Athrun.

"Yeah, Jachin veterans, mostly," answered Heine. "A few others who really dig around can find out the truth easily enough—it's only a thin veil, after all. But even with that, why bother when what you want to be the truth is laid in front of you?"

"I suppose," said Athrun, frowning. It was true, really—he'd been much the same. If it hadn't been Kira in the Strike and the Freedom, would Athrun have even had a second thought about continuing on the course of ZAFT's genocidal war? He didn't think so, and it terrified him when he thought about it.

"Well, in any event, the Saviour isn't irreparable," said Heine, turning away from the subject of the last war. "Since we were able to recover most of it, it really shouldn't take that long to repair. But the ZAKUs and GuAIZs aren't in as good of condition. I overheard the mechanics saying that Aleksi's machine is a lost cause at this point."

"She won't be happy about that," commented Athrun. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Hmm? I saw her talking to Zane, earlier," said Heine. Athrun frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. Both of them had been under Suiren's command, so he couldn't exactly say he was surprised.

"What about your GOUF and the High-Maneuvers?" asked Athrun.

"The Duel Arms and Blitz will be fine," said Heine. "As will my GOUF. The mechanics aren't sure about the Surge, though."

"Saul took a real beating out there… it was Dearka, wasn't it?" murmured Athrun. Heine nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "Honestly, I'm amazed any of us have done even half as well against those guys as we have. It's just… just unbelievable."

"I would think it's a touch more believable after living through it," interjected a new voice suddenly. The two FAITH agents spun around to see a female Redcoat with long, dirty blonde hair and intense red eyes.

"Shizuru," muttered Heine, sounding almost exasperated to Athrun. "What are you doing up here?"

Shizuru Vashti shrugged. "Most of the surviving pilots came to the _Minerva_," she said. "And you seemed to be avoiding me. Like you always do."

Heine chuckled and glanced at Athrun. "She's lying."

"Oh, be quiet," said Shizuru, stepping up to the railing. "Anyways, I was actually looking for Zala here."

"Me?" questioned Athrun.

"Yes," said Shizuru. "Commander Ombre was looking for you and Commander Dante."

"Any idea why?" asked Athrun. Shizuru shrugged.

"Not a clue," she answered. "In any event, the Commander wanted you to meet her in the briefing room."

"Alright, got it," said Athrun. "Thanks for letting me know."

"It was no problem at all," said Shizuru. Athrun straightened up and left the observation deck. Heine glanced at Shizuru.

"How are things with the team?" he asked.

"About the same as you left, other than a few extra losses," she answered. "I've heard rumors that the next GOUFs off the assembly line may be assigned to our unit, though. I hope so. My ZAKU's trashed."

**

* * *

**

Briefing Room

A few minutes later

Athrun entered the briefing room to find both Zane and Nabiki already there and waiting for him.

"Good of you to join us, Zala," said Nabiki, voice cold. Athrun eyed her wearily, well aware of just unstable she really was. He couldn't believe she'd achieved a position of power within ZAFT.

"Why did you call us here?" asked Zane coolly, eyes locked on Nabiki. Athrun couldn't help but be grateful to see her turn her eyes away from him.

"Two reasons," said Nabiki. "One is that I need a written report on the performance of each pilot in your respective units. These are orders from the Chairman himself." Athrun and Zane shared an uncertain glance, and both realized the other had heard nothing about this, which was troubling. "Second is that I have a message for you: your new units are nearing completion."_ That_ immediately drew the attention of both pilots.

"New units?" questioned Zane, eyes narrowed.

"Why haven't we heard anything about this before?" added Athrun.

"Who knows?" replied Nabiki easily with a shrug. She walked to the door. "It doesn't matter. I've delivered the orders and the message. I expect your reports by tomorrow morning." With that, Nabiki left.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Several hours later

"So, Andras disappeared, huh?" murmured Hotaru, leaning back in her seat slightly. "How very… odd."

"Yes, it is," said Neo. "And dangerous too. A look at his lab shows just how far off the deep end he seems to have gone, with Treize's defeat."

"Mmm." Hotaru's eyes seemed pensive. "Half this battle was a disaster. The other half was a mixed victory."

"We lost Auel, the Orb fleet, and ninety percent of what was left over has been crippled or destroyed," agreed Neo. "The _Jones_ is finished. There's nothing that can be done for her. We're having enough trouble getting back to base as it is. And we've only got two fully operational machines right now."

"Yours and mine," muttered Hotaru. "Leon could sortie as well, but the Valiant's condition is hardly ideal, and while the Strike Noir is unharmed, Maia's too unstable, and the machine's tailored to her specifically." She shook her head. "What about Treize? How is he doing?"

Neo shook his head. "I really have no idea," he admitted. "Treize has been beaten before, but an examination and assessment showed it to be largely 'circumstantial'. But today, he was decisively defeated for the first time. No one had ever thought it possible, least of all him and Andras, so who's to say how he handles it?"

"Hmm, I wonder," murmured Hotaru before shaking her head again. "Should I just sign up for the Earth Forces entirely? I'm taking the role of your advisor here."

"You're competent and speak your mind," said Neo. "That's a very useful trait that is sorely lacking in the military. And you have a perspective that is useful to me." He raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "Also, there's the matter of just how much you know. Care to explain?"

"Not right now," said Hotaru, letting out a small sigh. "Maybe later. I… let's just say that, emotionally, I've opened myself up to a lot of pain."

"Hmmm." Neo did not really understand what she meant, but decided to leave it at that for the moment.

"So, what next?" asked Hotaru, sounding more weary than he'd ever seen her before.

"You should be careful," replied Neo. "In all likelihood, whatever orders come through next, they're likely to prove detrimental to you."

"I see," said Hotaru. "I'll take that under advisement."

"In the meantime, I think I'll leave Treize to you," said Neo.

**

* * *

**

Hangar

Leon absently stared up at the Valiant, barely noticing mechanics rushing to-and-fro as they worked tirelessly to repair the damage it had taken during the last battle. He'd ditched the black Federation uniform he'd been given, on account of it being primarily used to remain inconspicuous – very much impossible, seeing as he'd fought the Reaper _three_ consecutive times, coming away with a solid draw every time.

However, he also admitted to himself that it was a bit too uncomfortable for him, prompting him to change into the completely civilian attire he'd brought with him, but hadn't worn up until now: a long-sleeved zip-up vest and combat trousers, both matte black, with buckles on the vest's sleeves and on the pant legs. While stylishly cut, they weren't a whole lot more memorable than the uniform, but a whole lot more functional. Over it, he'd also donned a sleeveless silver-white long coat lined with gold trim, on the back of which the kanji for "courage" and "honor" were embroidered in the same golden coloration.

Ignoring the slight glances that people sent his way, he simply closed his eyes, immersing himself in his memories and reliving the previous battle against ZAFT. As of the moment, he couldn't say for sure which side had taken the worst of it, but he knew for a fact that neither side was combat-ready, nor would they be ready for a while.

_I can actually consider myself pretty lucky… and so can the Reaper_, Leon told himself in his mind, running a hand through his long, spiky hair as his thoughts drifted towards his duel with ZAFT's Grim Reaper. _Of all the participants in that battle, I suppose you could say we actually came out of it in pretty much good shape… comparatively speaking, because both of us lost an arm and a couple of weapons._

He opened his cold blue eyes slowly, remembering several occasions when Leon had heard people within the organization talking about his excellent piloting skill. He'd shrugged it off every time – he wouldn't consider himself a pushover, but he was still nowhere near what he _should_ have been capable of. If he was actually able to fight using his actual abilities, and using equipment he himself had picked out, then even the Reaper wouldn't be a problem.

Leon narrowed his eyes in anger and frustration as his thoughts drifted to Horizon. Because of what those bastards had done to him, his unique abilities had been weakened to the point that they were almost non-existent, which in turn severely crippled much of his ability as a mobile suit pilot. Coupled with the lousy equipment choices they mounted up on the Valiant, it was easy to see why he'd been relatively unsuccessful so far.

_Damn you, Raphael… If you weren't holding __**that **__over my head, I wouldn't even have let you try to turn me into your unwilling puppet…_ he thought, a fist unconsciously clenching and unclenching itself as he delved further into his own limited knowledge about the Organization that had him under their thumb, like a simple tool. _Horizon claims that they will be the ones who will guide humanity to true progress and evolution… but how can they say that when they're creating people as if they were tools? Do they really think humanity is simply going to accept them as an absolute authority? I doubt any of them_—_Gabriel, Raphael, Adam, Eve_—_would be that shortsighted and forget about something so critical like the hearts of humanity… something else is going on… I can feel it, even without the perception afforded by my abilities. But, _what_ is it, exactly?_

As much as he resented the position he was in, he realized that appearances still needed to be kept. That meant he'd have to report to Raphael soon. That also meant he'd need to be able to present something more substantial than simply news of how extraordinarily dangerous ZAFT's Grim Reaper really was.

Shaking his head, he thought about the war going on right now – the war no one should have been fighting. _There are quite a few things about this war that still make no sense… and yet here I am, right in the middle of everything even when I don't understand the true motives of this war's authors. The Earth Forces… ZAFT… Orb… we're all dancing to the tune that the Piper behind it all is playing… There has to be a way to end this… and once it's over, I can find the truth behind everything, and find a purpose I can gladly live for._

He belatedly realized that the chief mechanic had just spoken to him a third time. He blinked, snapping out of his reverie, finding the mechanic giving him a concerned glance.

"Sorry, I must have spaced out there," he said apologetically. "Is there a problem?"

The chief gestured to the Valiant. "I was just wondering if you could help us out with the Valiant. We need to tear out what's left of the right arm—the damage was a lot more extensive than it looked like—and replace the entire part. You'll need to recalibrate the new arm to match your previous settings."

Leon nodded. "Ah, right…" he said, pushing off from where he'd been leaning on the bulkhead. As he walked towards the Valiant, he felt his blood suddenly go cold for a reason known only to him.

_Something terrible is going to happen soon…_ he thought as he climbed in to the Valiant's cockpit, brought its main systems online, and pulled out the keyboard. _What it is, I don't know, but… I'm sure that we're all going to find out sooner or later…_

**

* * *

**

Treize's Quarters

The image in the mirror seemed to stare back at him mockingly, even though he knew it was his own reflection and not that other identity. Treize let out a faint sigh and shook his head.

What was it about this that was affecting him so profoundly? Was it that, for the first time, he'd been truly defeated? But he'd already acknowledged that his battle with the White Angel was a loss. So perhaps it was just the fact that, this time, it had been so much more clear-cut? Not just _knowing_ he'd lost, but actually experiencing it? Treize shook his head again.

The Dauntless Angel wasn't his concern. He had more important matter to consider—the Specter, the disappearance of Andras, and Maia's deteriorating mental state. How much longer would it be before she broke down?

A part of Treize cursed himself for caring as he left his quarters to head down to the hangar and help the mechanics work on his machine.

**

* * *

**

Mariemeia's Quarters

"_Mayu, it's me! Shinn! Your brother!"_

Maia's fist shattered the glass of her mirror. She'd never felt so _infuriated_ in her entire existence! That _filthy, disgusting patchworker_ had the _gall_ to claim to be _her_ brother?

What made it worse was just _which_ patchworker was making that claim. The White Devil was perhaps the most despicable of them all, and had caused no end of trouble for Phantom Pain.

Maia's grip was fading more and more. She looked at the shattered pieces of the mirror. For a second, she saw another face in those shards—and all hell broke loose.

"AARGHHH!" screamed Maia, clutching at her skull and slamming herself back against the wall. She released her head with one hand as she flailed about, and dented the wall when she hit it with her free hand. Her grip on her skull tightened, and her screaming grew louder as the fires seared her veins and some alien beast clutched at her mind, trying to seize it for itself.

It wasn't long before someone showed up to investigate her screams. She leapt upon the unfortunate crewman who'd entered her room and began trying to claw at him, screaming the entire time as her mask fell loose and she attempted to tear him apart.

Too late to save the soldier, the doctors arrived with two of the EX-Cs, and Maia was restrained and sedated for treatment.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Early hours of the next morning

Stella's condition had continued to deteriorate, and Shinn had overheard the doctor talking to Captain Gladys about the possibility that she would be dead by the time they reached Gibraltar.

But he wasn't about to let that happen. After assuring Rey that he was just doing some studying on mobile suit specs, Shinn continued looking through the data on the Gaia. He wasn't particularly familiar with the suit outside of its capabilities, and because of its variable frame, certain components in it were located in completely different locations from other suits. Still, it shouldn't take him too long to find…

There it was. The Gaia's IFF unit… and the codes contained therein, including the one used during its time with the Earth Forces. That was the only thing he needed to get a hold of. He downloaded it to a portable disk and memorized the codes, just to be safe, and then stood up, walking over to the door. Almost everyone was asleep at this hour, so he wouldn't have to worry about encountering too many other members of the crew. Glancing back at Rey to make sure the blond was still in bed and asleep, Shinn took a breath, forcing himself to relax, and walked out of the room.

A moment after Shinn left, Rey got out of bed.

On the way to the infirmary, Shinn passed a few crewmen on their way to bed, and even another member of the Kyusai Team. They seemed to be all over the ship. He was getting more worried about encountering them rather than the _Minerva_'s crew while trying to evacuate Stella.

Soon enough, Shinn reached the infirmary and stepped through the doors as they opened, walking steadily closer to the lone nurse on duty.

"What?" she demanded without turning around, sounding annoyed. "It's late you know." She glanced back, and Shinn knew he had to move, _now_! He rushed forward, pulling back his arm, and punched her in the gut hard enough that she fell unconscious with a grunt of pain.

"Sorry," he murmured, holding her up and gently settling her on the ground before turning to the bed.

"Stella," called Shinn softly. She opened her eyes slightly. "Stella…?"

"Neo…" she groaned weakly, surprising him. Her eyes shifted slightly to look at him. "Shinn…"

"Let's go," said Shinn, smiling slightly to comfort her, despite feeling somewhat guilty over what he was doing. "I'm gonna keep my promise to you. I'll protect you, Stella." She didn't respond, this time, and he wasn't certain she even heard him. There were circles around her eyes, and she looked half dead. He knelt down and unlocked the wheels of the bed, pulling it away from the wall and to the door. When it opened, he poked his head out, glancing down the hall both ways before pulling her bed out of the infirmary, then rushing around to start pushing it instead of pulling.

He was near the hangar when the worst possible thing happened: he ran into one of the _Minerva_'s officers.

Suiren.

Shinn stiffened slightly, shifting uncomfortably. Could he get away from her? Could he possibly go up against her hand-to-hand?

Suiren eyed Shinn for a moment, then walked up to stand next to the bed. Gently, she reached out and stroked Stella's cheek as best she could with the breathing mask in the way. She looked at Shinn, who was shocked.

"Yuki, Rey, four guards and two mechanics are in the hangar right now," she said. "Almost everyone else is off-duty and out cold right now. Be careful."

Stunned, Shinn nodded in thanks and understanding as Suiren stepped past him. She glanced back.

"Ask for a man named Neo," she advised. "He's the one Stella trusts most… and also ask for Minako Arata." Shinn was confused. "Everyone else knows her as Haruka. Those two are the only ones Stella trusts with her life. And make sure you let them know that no one but those two should meet with you. If anyone else shows, I want you to get the hell out of there."

"I know," said Shinn softly, trusting her despite his confusion. "Thanks Suiren."

"Good luck," she replied before continuing on. Shinn let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.

"Thanks," he said again, before continuing on. Fortunately, he didn't encounter anyone else on his way to the hangar, and when he arrived, just as Suiren had said, there was only Rey, Yuki and a few guards present. He heard Rey and Yuki talking about the state of the mobile suits, but he didn't pay much attention, instead looking the area over.

All right. With just a little luck, he could get to the Core Splendor before anyone noticed. Getting out could be a touch more difficult, but as long as he got to the Core Splendor, he'd be able to get Stella out of here.

Carefully, he started moving her towards the elevator, which would take him to the level the Core Splendor was set at for boarding. But, naturally, his luck couldn't hold out.

"Hey, hold it!" called a guard. "You, what are you doing over there?"

_Damn it!_ thought Shinn, picking up the pace as the guard gripped his rifle with both hands and started towards him.

"What's wrong?" questioned another guard, following him. Shinn reached the elevator, at the same time the first guard reached him and leveled his rifle at the Redcoat.

"Freeze!" said the guard. However, at that moment, there was a grunting behind him, and both he and Shinn looked that way.

There were Rey and Yuki, knocking out all of the guards. The mechanics were out cold behind them.

"Hey!" exclaimed the guard, turning his rifle towards the two Redcoats. Shinn, seeing his chance, rushed forward and struck the guard in the back.

"You giving her back?" asked Rey now that everyone but the three Redcoats were unconscious.

"I… yeah," answered Shinn, somewhat hesitantly. But, his hesitation faded as he looked back at Stella. "If she stays here, she'll die. Then they'll dissect her like some kind of science experiment. I can't let that happen." As he spoke, he wheeled Stella onto the elevator, and pushed the button for the Core Splendor level. However, a delicate hand grabbed the door, and the elevator automatically opened up fully again. The hand's owner looked at Shinn.

"You'll be coming back, right?" asked Yuki as Rey walked up behind her, his eyes asking the same question. Shinn looked at them in surprise.

"Of course I am," he said angrily.

"Then hurry," said Rey. "I'll make sure the gate's are open for you."

"Huh?"

"Whatever her life is like, I'm sure she'd like to live if given the chance," said Rey softly, glancing away. Yuki glanced between the other two Redcoats and the blonde lying on death's doorstep.

"I'll help as well," she said. "I can't do much, but I'll make sure no one stops you."

"I… thanks," said Shinn as the elevator doors closed and he began to ascend.

"Come on, you can keep watch while I handle the gate and catapult," said Rey, leading Yuki to the hangar control room, the only place besides the bridge that could control the central catapult.

"So that girl is the Extended?" asked Yuki.

"Yeah," confirmed Rey.

Meanwhile, Shinn reached the Core Splendor, climbing into the cockpit and resting Stella gently in his lap.

"Soon, you'll be okay," he said to her soothingly. The catapult suddenly started moving, lifting him to the launch deck proper. "Just a little longer."

"_You can launch Shinn,_" said Rey a moment after he reached the top.

"Here we go," he said. "Thanks again."

"_No problem,_" came Yuki's voice, just as Shinn pushed the controls forward and took off. The Chest Flyer, Leg Flyer and Force Silhouette followed a moment later, and he quickly assembled the Impulse. He didn't know how long he'd have before the fleet could assemble some kind of response, and while he wasn't too worried—the only pilot likely to reach her mobile suit in time to stop him appeared to be on his side—there was just too much at stake, and so, he rushed off as soon as the assembly of the Force Impulse was complete.

"Location of Earth Forces… Gaia's code… okay, that should do it," he muttered to himself, inputting everything he'd need and setting the proper course.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The ship's guards had managed to force open the door to the control room, and now led Rey and Yuki out, right in front of the rest of the _Minerva_ pilots and both of Yuki's siblings.

"Yes, that's right," said Talia, speaking to Nabiki Ombre. "We're in a jam here. Right now, we don't have any machines to pursue him with that can be scrambled in time."

"_Very well, Captain,_" said Ombre coolly. "_We're in much the same boat. Then there's nothing we can do but wait. Good evening._" The transmission cut, just as the door to Talia's office opened, and the guards led Rey and Yuki in, with Athrun and Suiren following after.

"Thank you Athrun, Suiren, that will be all," said Talia. "Please leave." Her eyes moved to the guard. "That goes for you too." Her eyes then moved back to the two culprits, and she sighed. "Suiren, I'll leave your subordinate to you."

"Yes Captain," said Suiren, looking at Yuki and leading the younger girl out of the office, leaving Rey alone with Talia.

Outside, Suiren led Yuki away from the others, allowing them to speak privately.

"You know that I'll have to punish you for this," said Suiren.

"Yes, I know," replied Yuki. "I understand, Commander. I take full responsibility for my actions."

"Noted," said Suiren. "But you don't need to explain yourself to me. It's Auron and Yuna you'll have to explain yourself to, and possibly the rest of the team as well. They'll be returned to the subs. You'll be in the brig of this vessel."

"I understand," said Yuki. "I'm sorry for letting you down, Commander." Suiren sighed.

"No, Yuki," she said. "You haven't let me down. I'm proud of you."

Back in the office, Rey was talking to Talia.

"You don't have to go after him," he explained. "Shinn will come back on his own."

"Explain yourself Rey," demanded Talia, not bothering to hide the displeasure in her voice at all. "Are you following _his_ instructions again?"

"No, I acted on my own initiative ma'am," said Rey. "Please punish me according to standard procedure. Shinn left with the sole intention of returning the girl. He'll be back for certain."

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

When Neo was informed that the Gaia's IFF code had been detected on sensors, he'd been in the hangar, talking to Hotaru, Treize and Leon. As such, those three joined him on the backup bridge.

"Gaia's identification code?" questioned Neo, staring at the radar screen. "What's going on?"

"I don't know sir," replied the officer. "But someone's using it to contact us." Neo frowned, then turned to the rest of the new bridge crew.

"All hands to level two battlestations," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

"The problem is, only my Windam and Haruka's Astarte are ready to go," Neo commented to himself. "All right, try responding."

"Yes sir," said the operator, inputting a response command. After a moment, they got a reply.

"_To Neo and Minako,_" came a voice. The latter name caught everyone off-guard, and Hotaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. "_Stella's waiting. Come alone to point SS28 to pick her up. I repeat: to Neo and Minako. Stella's waiting. Come alone to point SS28 to pick her up._"

"Who's Minako?" murmured the operator, bewildered. Neo, however, had a good guess, and looked at Hotaru. Her lips set in a tight line, she nodded slightly. Neither Treize nor Leon missed out on the interaction.

"Alright," said Neo. "Minako, come with me."

"Yes sir," said Hotaru, drawing the bewildered attention of the crew.

The two quickly made their way down to the hangar, loaded into their machines, and stepped out onto the opening side doors.

"_Are you really sure about going alone with that… mercenary, sir?_" asked the operator.

"With everyone else out of action, I don't have a choice," answered Neo. "Even if it's a trap, you gotta trigger it to find out what's going on."

"_Yes sir._"

"Treize, look after things here. If something goes wrong, you're in command," said Neo before taking off with Hotaru. He switched over to a private comm. channel with the mercenary. "Care to explain this? Now would seem a good time."

"_Yes,_" said Hotaru. "_Haruka Tsukino and Hotaru Aino are false identities. My name is Minako Arata. I'm a member of the Taiyonoha House._"

"Really now?" questioned Neo. "Arata?"

"_Yes,_" she replied. "_The Dauntless Angel is actually Makoto Taiyonoha. She's used the name Setsuna since the last war, though. She's my cousin._"

"Your cousin?" questioned Neo, completely caught off-guard.

"_Yes,_" said Hotaru. "_As is the pilot of that silver Gundam with two shields. All three of us—as well as Treize and the White Angel—were subjects of the Divinity Projects. And Andras, who worked on the project, is responsible for the deaths of several members of my family._"

"Your serious," said Neo.

"_Yes, I am,_" she replied. "_I wanted to kill him, but never found the opportunity to do so 'correctly'. And now, he's gone._"

"You're trusting me with a lot of dangerous information."

"_No more dangerous than knowing that I'm a Coordinator,_" she answered smoothly. "_Besides… I trust you, Neo._"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Just a little longer Stella," said Shinn, holding the blonde comfortingly in his arms. "Neo and Haruka will be along any minute now."

"Neo?" she murmured. "Haruka?"

"Yeah," said Shinn with a slight smile.

Suddenly, his sensors detected a large incoming heat source. For a moment, Shinn was afraid his conditions hadn't been met, but when his cameras brought up a zoomed in image, he saw two mobile suits flying closely enough together to be resolved as a single heat source at long range.

"_That_ one," commented Neo.

"The Impulse," murmured Hotaru. "A surprise."

The Windam and Astarte landed on the ground near the Impulse, and the cockpits opened up. They descended to the ground, leaving themselves vulnerable if it really was a trap.

"We're here," called Neo. "I'm Neo Roanoke. And this is Minako Arata. As requested, we're here alone."

The Impulse's hatch suddenly opened, and Shinn descended to the ground, Stella in his arms. Hotaru almost started forward for the blonde, but controlled herself. Shinn hit the ground hard because of the extra weight, but was careful to make sure Stella wasn't hurt. He stared at her with a distinct fondness in his eyes before looking up at them.

"I'm bringing her back because I don't want her to die," he explained. "So please… promise me… say you'll take her away from this. Somewhere with no mobile suits or wars or anything else to do with death. Take her back to a world of kindness, a world of warmth."

The two were stunned by the conviction in his words—and the naïveté. He was desperate. But both of them understood how he felt—neither wanted Stella to die either.

Slowly, the two began walking towards him, and Shinn lifted Stella up, taking a few steps back, waiting.

"I give you… my word," said Neo.

"And I promise that I'll protect her," added Hotaru. She placed a hand against her chest. "With my life."

Shinn glanced at Stella. Somehow, he believed them. She trusted them… and they cared for her. Certain of his course now, he began to walk forward to meet them, handing the blonde into Hotaru's arms.

"Stella," called both Neo and Hotaru softly. She opened her eyes up and saw them, Neo looking over Hotaru's shoulder.

"Neo… Haruka…" she murmured happily, snuggling slightly into the brunette holding her protectively in her arms.

"I suppose… a thank you would be in order," said Neo, holding out his hand.

"Save it, I don't care about that stuff," snapped Shinn, ignoring the offered hand. "Just… remember what I said."

"I understand," said Neo as Hotaru continued to look at Stella, eyes taking in every detail of the blonde's condition.

"Even still, you have my gratitude," said Hotaru. Neo nodded in agreement before turning partway around, his body facing the brunette.

"All right, let's go get her treated," he said.

"Right," said Hotaru, nodding slightly. The two turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" called Shinn, rushing back next to them. He held up a small glass jar, surprising them. "Stella gave this to me," he explained. "She's really… fond of it… so, uh…"

"Shinn?" murmured Stella as Shinn leaned forward.

"Don't forget about me Stella," he said, putting the jar in her hand and lifting it up to lay on top of her. "Don't you forget about me."

She looked at him, eyes drooping with weakness, and smiled faintly. It was the only response she could give.

Shinn felt tears approaching, but he couldn't show them. Not here, not in front of the enemy. Without any other option, he ran back to the Impulse, grabbing the zipline. Neo and Hotaru, both realizing why he'd run, watched him go, and continued to watch as the Impulse flew away.

"Shinn… thank you," murmured Stella before her eyes fell closed. Neo and Hotaru looked at each other.

"Your word isn't worth anything in this situation, is it?" she asked softly. Neo shook his head sadly.

"No, it isn't," he said. "If the orders come through, I'll have no choice. So you better not break your promise."

"I won't," assured Hotaru, clutching Stella more closely. Neo nodded.

"Then go!" he ordered. "The Astarte is much faster than my machine. Get her to the _Jones_ and get her treated immediately!"

"Right away," said Hotaru, turning and rushing over to the Astarte. She glanced back as she shifted her hold on Stella in order to grab the zipline as well. "Neo… call me Minako from now on."

**

* * *

**

Djibril's Bunker

The next day

Djibril was _not_ pleased. The war had begun to bog down, with the Coordinators able to replace their outdated GuAIZs more quickly than the Alliance could replace its own outdated Dagger Ls.

It was true that Djibril had made sure the Alliance went outside the bounds of the Treaty in the production of Windams, along with a few other small things, like the N Dagger Ns and _Girty Lue_. But a lot of those extras had been hit hard by Break the World, and then got used up in the opening stages of the war. While they were progressing quickly, the Alliance's armed forces were much larger than ZAFT's, and took more time and resources to upgrade.

Furthermore, they were now running up against the limits of the Windam. It had performed gloriously against the GuAIZ Rs and, initially, held itself well to the ZAKU Warriors. However, a recent study had revealed their shortcomings: it was taking an average of two to three Windams to match a single ZAKU Warrior. Unlike the last war, the mobile suits of the two sides were, technologically, just about even. Except that the ZAKU Phantom and that new GOUF Ignited were both steps above the ZAKU Warrior and Windam. The ZAKU Phantom was taking, easily, three Windams, sometimes four, and the GOUF Ignited was performing even better. Worse, the skill of Coordinator pilots grew much more quickly than the skills of Alliance pilots. Those numbers would only continue to turn more in favor of ZAFT, though it was unlikely the situation would get as bad as the last war's opening year.

Djibril cursed Gabriel. He _knew_ he should've gone with his own plans and ignored that arrogant manipulator; he should've just wiped the PLANTs out right from the very beginning, and because he hadn't, _this_ was happening!

And things only got worse. That fool, Neo, continued to fail his mission to destroy the _Minerva_! It was _one pathetic patchworker ship!_ Why the hell _hadn't_ he destroyed it already? And more, he'd also lost Andras! Incompetent fool!

And now… now _this_ had happened.

A successful coup de tat had been staged in the Eurasian Federation. Djibril neither knew, nor cared who was responsible. All that mattered was that the new regime was pushing for Eurasian withdrawal from the Alliance—_and_ offering its protection from the Atlantic Federation to anyone else who wanted to withdraw.

In fact, there were even rumors that they wanted to ally with ZAFT! It was presumed that this coup faction had worked with ZAFT to deal with the ELA, but again, Djibril did not care in the least. Only one thing mattered, and that was that this could not be tolerated.

He stared at the specs before him. A new weapon, the first nuclear-powered machine since the N Dagger N, a weapon with power that could only be matched by superweapons like GENESIS, Requiem and nuclear weapons.

The GFAS-X1 Destroy. And with that Extended girl now retrieved, he had the perfect candidate. After all, the more costly EX-Cs were a touch too valuable to be placing in this thing for a mere test run, which would also serve to show the Eurasians the price of defying the will of Logos.

Eurasia would burn.

* * *

**Author's Note: ! This was a lot of fun.**

**So yeah, Andras didn't die. He managed to get off the bridge before Shani destroyed it. I hinted at that with Shani not looking at the bridge when he did so. Though, in his ignorance, he still believes he killed his own father, and that's shaken him up.**

**The scene with all the Orb soldiers was something I had to include. It was a very important scene for Kira, which simply couldn't be ignored. I had considered sticking Makoto in the infirmary due to exhaustion from her fight with Treize, but the only purpose that would've served would be to temporarily appease readers who don't like her, which wouldn't accomplish anything-it's not like that would make them like her. Therefore, screw the opinions of Makoto-haters on the subject, she had to be there.**

**The scene immediately following is another reason she couldn't be infirmary bound. She probably would've been if not for that scene. Now, remember what I've said before: this is _still_ Kira x Lacus. But it would be naive to think possibilities like this aren't out there. Kira and Makoto finally do at least one little thing about the tension between them. For the record: no, they didn't have sex, because I know you're all thinking that-it was pretty much the same way all the pre-sex scenes for the main couples of the last fic ended.**

**After that, we get a few scenes of reflection from some of the other pilots, some of whom won't be sticking around much longer. It's a shame, because I didn't get to play them to their fullest, but with the focus split between characters on three different sides, some people had to "suffer", and the matter should be remedied soon enough. I think the bit between Liz and Louisa about Lacus is one of the more humorous moments in this story.**

**When we get to the _Minerva_, members of the Kyusai Team appear in almost every section, once very prominently, the second time more moderately (despite there being more of them), and the last very loosely if you don't consider Heine to be a member anymore. This is something I enjoyed, because it gives us a good look at several individual members of the Kyusai Team, which I haven't really done up to now. Suiren reflects a little on her decision to leave her team behind and the trouble she's having with fighting her family. Meyrin starts to deal with Jessie, and Shinn's actions are loosely discussed. Athrun and Heine have a lengthy discussion, which serves to explain Athrun's fame (which I always had an issue with) relative to Kira. Then we've got a brief talk with Nabiki. Obviously, she's talking about the Legend when she mentions an upgrade for Athrun (remember, it was originally assigned to him), but what about Zane, and why is she asking for reports on pilot performance? Furthermore, why do two members of FAITH not know about these orders from Durandal that obviously involves them?**

**After that, we get some reflective scenes on the wrecked _John Paul Jones_. This includes more Neo-Hotaru interaction, which has proven fun and easy to write, and then, insight into Leon, which has been sorely lacking. Hmm, now I wonder what all of that means? Certainly, it's our first look into the previously unnamed third party. ^_^ Treize also deals with his defeat, certainly better than Andras did, and Maia's mental state degrades further. Oh, I am having fun with her. Also, the scene with Leon was largely written by his owner, Kiiroi Senko, following a loose set of instructions on what I wanted in that scene.**

**And then, we get to the point where something more than interactions, dialogue and reflections occur: Stella's return. Suiren voices a semi-silent approval of his actions, and offers up some advice. Yuki Trinity helps Rey subdue the guards so Shinn can make his getaway, and while handled by Suiren, she is punished much the same way. This is important to future events, and you will understand why next chapter.**

**Regarding Hotaru being involved in Shinn handing over Stella: I thought it over from numerous different angles, and eventually concluded that the only purpose served by not having her in that scene was to appease those who don't like her or OCs being involved in this stuff (in the latter case, you came to the wrong story...). But by having her there, it serves numerous things: she becomes exposed to Neo, and partially Treize and Leon as well. It fits with her being nearly as close to Stella as Neo is (if not equal). She promises Shinn that she'll protect Stella, a promise that she can fulfill, unlike Neo. It develops the Neo-Hotaru friendship a little more as well.**

**And then, finally, the last scene, which gives us the reason for the Destroy Incident to occur. Hehe. ^_^ Anyways, I believe that covers just about everything. A few characters didn't appear-some of them I couldn't write, others I felt it was best to just ignore. Regardless, I, personally, feel that this is one of my best chapters. I hope you all feel the same.**

**Please leave a review, and I hope to be back soon! Ja ne!  
**


	30. Phase 30: A Fleeting Dream

**Well… this update actually came out pretty quickly**. **It's only been a week since the last update. Sufficed to say, I had an easy time writing this chapter. It was a lot of fun, and more than three-fifths of it is original content, and most of the stuff that is actually taken from the series has been heavily modified, such that they are, likewise, at least a third original content (mostly). There's some significant divergences from canon as well, but I enjoyed it. We get some foreshadowing, we get some information that people have been starved for****… etc., etc., etc.**

**Anyways, I'm not gonna bother boring you up here for too long. Just noting that I'm still looking for potential future mech designs. Producing machines for the protagonists of _SEED Divinity_ is easy. Producing them for the antagonists****… is a little harder.**

**And for the record, yes, the title of this chapter is what the last one "should've" been.  
**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for Beta-Reading and reviewing this chapter. Henceforth, he shall be this story's official beta reader.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. ****I do not own the OC Tristan Palleon or Nanai Bidan, who are the property of animefan29. I do not own Leon Vanyel, who is the intellectual property of Kiiroi Senko. I do not own the OC Gyunei Ridden, who is the property of 00virtuezero. I do not own the OCs Treize Zabiarov, Elizabeth Dante, John Alaric or Zane Scirocco, who are the property of Akatsuki Leader13. I do own the OCs Makoto Taiyonoha, Louisa Kohls, Suiren Kyusai, Aleksi Shimizu, Shizuka Taiyonoha, Hotaru Aino, Miguel Kacricon, all Kyusai Team OCs except for Zane, and Raphael. I also own the OMS MRA-X01 Astarte Gundam.**

* * *

Phase Thirty: A Fleeting Dream

December 12th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The cockpit of the Impulse opened, and Shinn stepped out, grabbing hold of the zipline, willingly lowering himself to the hangar floor where four guards were waiting for him. He wouldn't get any help this time, but he didn't want it. He knew this would happen, and his only regret was that Rey and Yuki would likely be punished for helping him.

"Shinn Asuka, you are under arrest for violations of military law," said one of the guards as he reached the floor. "Including Article 3, Section G." One of the guards stepped forward, walked around Shinn, and handcuffed the Redcoat, who did nothing to resist as he nodded slightly in response. Shinn allowed himself to be led out of the hangar.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the doors to the captain's office. Standing just outside were Athrun, Heine and Suiren, all of whom were studying him closely. But Shinn thought he might've seen a flicker of relief in Suiren's eyes as well. Then, he was led into the captain's room, and left with Talia and Arthur as the guard exited, closing the door behind him.

"I can tell from your expression," started Talia. "You fully expect to be punished. I'm pleased that you returned, though Rey believed in you all along. Naturally, you knew what would happen. What you would face when you returned." Talia's gaze hardened, but Shinn didn't flinch. "Releasing a prisoner, striking fellow crewmembers, unauthorized use of a mobile suit, contact with the enemy!" Talia seemed to lose control somewhat as anger seeped into her expression. "I have never heard of such a blatant disregard for regulations! What were you thinking Shinn? Did you feel sorry for the girl? She was still—"

"She was going to die," said Shinn, keeping his tone relatively calm, but unable to keep just a touch of frustration and anger out of it. "There's no use denying it, Captain. You knew."

"Shinn!" snapped Arthur, but Shinn ignored him and continued.

"She may have been one of the Alliance's Extendeds, but Stella was still human," said Shinn. "I can't believe how she was treated! What did you mean 'obtain data' when you autopsied her? She's not a thing! Nobody gave a damn if Stella lived or died! The Earth Forces are cruel, but Captain, you guys are exactly the same!"

"Careful Shinn," growled Arthur, but Talia motioned for him to keep quiet.

"I won't deny it," she replied. "But it still doesn't make what you did anymore acceptable. The plain and simple truth is that she was an Extended created by the Earth Alliance and we had specific orders from Headquarters to ensure that she was delivered to Gibraltar. Defying orders because of a personal opinion is unacceptable. I have no choice but to report this matter to Headquarters. I'll inform you of your punishment later. Until that time, Shinn Asuka and Rey Za Burrel are to be confined to the brig."

**

* * *

**

The Brig

A few minutes later

Shinn had been surprised to see Yuki Trinity in a cell when he arrived, since Talia had made no mention of the female Redcoat.

"Sorry," said Shinn after the guards left.

"Sorry?" questioned Rey. "Sorry for what?"

"Well, it's my fault," said Shinn.

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Yuki.

"What we did, we did on our own," added Rey. "Did you return her safely?"

"Mhmm."

"Well then, it's all good," said Rey.

"Thank you Rey," said Shinn. "And you too, Yuki."

"You don't need to," said Yuki, leaning back against the wall of her cell, brown hair falling from her face.

The door to the brig opened, and Athrun entered, walking right up to Shinn's cell.

"Shinn," he said.

"What do you want?" asked Shinn, looking away, angry with Athrun for being no better than the rest of them.

"Well, I feel bad about what happened," said Athrun.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry about that woman," explained Athrun. "I had no idea she meant so much to you."

Shinn's anger faded as, perhaps a touch embarrassed, he replied. "Uh, well, it's not like I'm obsessed with her or anything like that," he said. "I just couldn't stand it any longer. Stella is a victim here also. But everybody forgot about that. They only thought of her as one of the Alliance's Extendeds. Like it didn't matter if she died. And Mayu's the same way." Yuki gasped in surprise.

Athrun couldn't find anything to say to that. Finally, he decided to talk about her as a pilot, a different approach from Talia who'd so coldly pointed out that the blonde was an Extended—just like Shinn's sister.

"I understand," said Athrun. "But Shinn… she's still with the Alliance. And she was responsible for the deaths of a lot of ZAFT pilots and other good people. Have you thought about that?"

"I know!" said Shinn. "I know… but it's not like Mayu or Stella chose to do all that. It's a different situation from ours. We volunteered!" Shinn's face displayed his troubled emotions on the matter very clearly.

"Then perhaps that's all the more reason why you shouldn't have returned her to the people who did that to her," said Athrun. "If that girl is forced to fight whether she wants to or not, chances are that this will happen again."

Angry now, Shinn jumped to his feet. "So are you saying I should've done nothing and just let her die?" he demanded.

"I didn't say that!" retorted Athrun. "But what you did has solved nothing!"

"She was suffering!" exclaimed Shinn. "Stella was terrified!"

"Shinn!"

"And that guy gave me his word!" continued Shinn. "He said he's gonna take Stella to a kinder place, far away from the war. And that Minako woman promised to protect her!"

"So you don't think you made a mistake just because of what some strang…" Athrun's jaw suddenly snapped shut, surprising the three prisoners. "What was that name?"

"Huh?" murmured Shinn, straightening up from the slightly crouched stance he'd assumed in his anger.

"That name just now!" said Athrun. "What was it?" There was an indecipherable look in Athrun's eyes that nearly made Shinn recoil.

"Minako," he said. "Minako Arata. She's the pilot of that mobile suit with the DRAGOONs. The one Stella called Haruka." Athrun visibly recoiled from that. "What's wrong?" asked Shinn, now bewildered as the topic fell away from the Extended.

"You don't recognize that last name?" asked Athrun.

"Makoto Arata!" exclaimed Yuki suddenly, jumping to her feet. "You don't mean the Dauntless Angel, do you?"

"Minako Arata is related," admitted Athrun. "She's Suiren's cousin." All three gasped in surprise. "She was supposed to be dead as well."

"The three of us are little more than ghosts," came Suiren's voice as she entered the brig. "Athrun, if you've got time to be dilly dallying with the prisoners, wouldn't it be better spent getting your machine back together?"

"You knew what he was doing," said Athrun, turning to face her. "You told him about her. How long have you known?"

"I only found out during the battle yesterday," said Suiren. "I'd like to talk to the three of them alone. If that's not a problem?" Athrun held his tongue. Any arguments he was going to have with Suiren would be better left for later, in private. He nodded and left her alone with the three.

"Suiren," murmured Rey, eyeing her closely.

"Did you ask about your sister?" questioned Suiren, her gaze lifting to Shinn's face.

"No," said Shinn. "I didn't want to be around too long, and… I'm not so naïve as to believe I could've gotten anything from them about her."

"But you're naïve enough to believe she'll be kept out of this war?" said Suiren sharply. Shinn nearly flinched. "Even if what you say is true, and even if Neo meant every word of what he said, he's a soldier. If he's ordered to deploy her, he will. And don't doubt for even an instant that he'll be given those orders. Blue Cosmos has invested too much in the Extended to let one just run off and live an ordinary life."

Shinn had no retort to that. Suiren let out a faint sigh.

"It may take awhile for her to recover," she said. "But I want you to be ready. In the meantime, you should think over your decision carefully." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Unofficially, however, I'm proud of you Shinn. Just don't forget that the mobile suit's you shoot down aren't just machines—there are people inside them as well." She turned to leave. "I'll speak to the Chairman on your behalf. I'm assigning the Impulse to Aleksi for the duration of your time off-duty."

"Understood," said Shinn. Suiren nodded and started to walk away. "Suiren." The blonde paused.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you help me?" he asked.

"Because Stella is important to me as well," she said. "And I also made a promise to protect her."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Several hours later

Victor groaned slightly as he pulled himself back to his feet after being lain out on the ground by Makoto. He wasn't the only one sporting bruises either: John, Louisa, Flay and a few Orb soldiers sported their own share of bruises, as Makoto was unusually brutal right now.

All of them were people whom she'd agreed to train in her school of martial arts. Kira would've been here too, but with the happenings of yesterday still clear in their minds, the two were making a point of avoiding each other.

After her confrontation with Treize, Makoto had realized she'd become complacent—and so had Kira. She hadn't forgotten her belief that Kira would outgrow the Freedom's ability to keep up, and the legendary mobile suit would eventually suffer the fate of her Dauntless and Faith. But he hadn't reached that point yet, and it worried her, even though he hadn't had the SEED-enhancements she did to help him. He was still the Ultimate Coordinator—more so than her, certainly.

Makoto shook her head and continued the lessons. The first person she'd taught anything of Shinsei Tsurugi to was Kira—something that had started about a year after the end of the Bloody Valentine War. The lessons hadn't lasted long before they'd stopped, when they both realized their previous beliefs about their relationship were false.

After that, Makoto had taken to occasionally teaching Flay, John or Victor one-on-one. This was the first time she'd ever taught a group, and it made her think of the first time she'd trained as part of a group.

**

* * *

**

_Flashback_

_Onogoro Island, ten years ago_

_An eight-year-old Makoto Arata sat down amidst the gathered students, all of them equally eager to learn from the revered martial artist whom the young redhead called 'Uncle'._

_Idly, Makoto glanced around at the other students. There was a boy about three years older than her with black hair, a girl her own age who'd apparently died her blonde hair to give herself pink locks, a young man, many years older than her with brown hair, a girl a little younger who had light red hair, another girl even younger who had dirty blonde hair, three boys she guessed to be about twelve or so, and a teenage girl she guessed to be about sixteen or seventeen with sapphire blue hair._

"_As some of you already know, Shinsei Tsurugi is a many-layered art," said Misuumi Taiyonoha, pacing back and forth in front of his students. "And it is not for everyone, either. It is for those few who can bring about a true internal balance. Many of you will not get past the initial stages of this training, and for those who fail, you should feel no shame. As I said, it is only a special few who can go anywhere beyond the early stages. Now, let's begin with a demonstration. Makoto, Kazuo, the both of you have received prior training. Why don't you two demonstrate a spar for the rest of the eager pupils?"_

"_Yes, Master Misuumi," said both Makoto and the eleven-year-old boy, the two of them standing up and walking away from the rest of the students to the padded floor._

**

* * *

**

Of course, it hadn't been very long after that that Makoto rose to become the top student of her class. Her father continued to look on her fondly, most of the students washed out, one of the two girls who she'd become friends with moved away, and Kazuo became jealous. Eventually, Kazuo attempted to kill her, but he'd managed to escape before being apprehended by the authorities.

He reappeared, four years after his disappearance, as an Earth Alliance First Generation Extended, attacking Orb. He'd been piloting a 'successor' to her own Dauntless, and the mere sight of it had sent quite a few people into a frenzy. After a pitched fight, Kazuo nearly killed Liz—and then Makoto had finally returned, just in time, and killed Kazuo instead, claiming his machine's main weapon, the Exia Kai, for her own Faith Gundam.

Of the remaining students, Makoto only knew anything about two of them at this point: Seika Tsukirei, who'd moved to Copernicus City on the moon when Makoto was twelve and Seika nine. She'd moved back to Orb about mid-CE 72, and come to Makoto to finish her training in Shinsei Tsurugi; and Adam Shirin, who'd stopped training because of a family emergency, but then came back and had still been receiving lessons at the time of the Invasion of Orb—Makoto had subsequently taken over his training, following the conclusion of the war.

"Makoto? What's wrong?" asked Louisa suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. Makoto shook her head.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just thinking about the past."

"You've been acting weird lately," said Louisa, frowning. "And even stranger since yesterday. Makoto, what happened?"

"It's… no, it's nothing for you to worry about," said the redhead. "Come on, let's get back to work." Makoto walked away from Louisa, whose frown deepened.

Something had happened, something between Kira and Makoto. Was the tension finally snapping? But no, this wasn't over yet. They were avoiding each other; whatever had happened, it seemed like it had only made things worse.

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Neo, Hotaru and Treize continued to watch as Stella rested in her regeneration chamber. They'd been here for the last several hours, ever since Stella had begun her treatment for severe drug deprivation. In all honesty, it was a wonder she was still alive, and a tribute to her sheer resilience.

Even still, the doctors weren't certain if she'd ever make a full recovery. Stella had been groomed as an Extended from birth, a trait common to all of the Second Generation Extended, who'd actually been the original Extended, but since the completion of the project had been delayed, plans had been switched to the Biological CPUs, and what would've been the First Generation became the Second Generation instead.

But, as ever, the Blue Cosmos hypocritical obsession with Extended was proving detrimental to them. Neo let out a faint sigh and motioned for the other two to follow him.

It was funny, really. Of all the people on this ship, the only ones Neo trusted fully were a half-dead Extended girl, a quasi-homicidal EX-C and a mercenary who'd admitted just that morning to deceiving him ever since he first met her.

When Neo reached his office, he motioned for the two to sit down before taking his own seat, and let out another faint sigh.

"What are our orders, Captain?" asked Treize, breaking the silence. It had been a pleasant surprise to see that he'd taken his defeat in stride—his pride, if it was there, was not great enough to get in his way, which was certainly an invaluable quality to have.

"Right now, it would impossible to carry out our current objectives," said Neo. "But our current mission hasn't changed. Right now, we're simply returning to Suez. We can't finish the repair on some of the machines without reaching port, and we need a new transport."

"What about the Astarte?" asked Treize, looking at Hotaru. "If you had cover to do so, could you destroy the _Minerva_ with it?" The brunette shook her head.

"No," she said. "A direct hit from the mega beam launcher would obliterate the ship, but I couldn't possibly get such a shot in with the number of mobile suits they've still got defending them. Everyone took a beating, but ZAFT came out of that fight a lot better than we did, thanks to the White Devil."

"He's becoming even more problematic," agreed Neo. "Either way, we need to return to port. Is there anything you need for the Astarte?"

"No," said Hotaru, shaking her head. "Anything that could be acquired on short notice would just be a hindrance anyway. The Astarte has a near-perfect balance of strength, speed, agility, power and versatility. There really isn't much that can be done to improve on it at this point, so don't worry about it." She frowned. "More importantly, what's Maia's status?"

"Stable, for now," said Treize. "But with Andras gone, there's a good chance she'll continue to destabilize. Even he was barely able to keep her stable."

"Then it comes down to you, Treize," said Neo. "Until further notice, your orders are to keep close to Maia and do whatever you can to keep her stable." The Captain then turned his eyes to Hotaru. "As for you, Minako, I'm giving you an informal commission into the Earth Forces." Both Hotaru and Treize looked at Neo with shock. "Lieutenant commander, the same rank as Treize. You're now my second officer, with authority just under his."

"Sir, I'm still _just_ a mercenary," said Hotaru. "I came here more for my own reasons than for any sort of payment the Alliance was dishing out, and I can't be trusted to continue this line of work once my own goals are met. You _know_ that. I'm only around until then. So _why_ would you do this?"

"Simply to keep things more clear-cut," said Neo. "Right now, that _is_ the role you're fulfilling. And I trust you enough to know I can count on you at least so far as making sure everyone is alright if I'm not able too. And besides… Treize trusts you as well."

"Hmph," snorted Treize. "Well, I won't deny it. Besides, it's little more than a formality for the sake of everyone else."

"Shut up," growled Hotaru, annoyed. "Fine, I'll accept." With that, she stood up and stormed out of the office, leaving Treize alone with Neo.

"Now, what's the real reason you did that?" asked Treize. Neo sighed.

"Several reasons," he said. "Everything I told her is true, but more importantly, do you trust Silber as third-in-command of our unit?" Treize's silence was more than enough answer. "He's effective, cold, and entirely too good at following orders. If we receive absurd orders and you and I are out of action, he'll follow through with them, likely to everyone's deaths—she won't."

Treize sighed and nodded in agreement. "You're still not telling me everything," he said. "Let me guess: Leon." Neo nodded.

"There's something not right about him," he explained. "I can't put my finger on it, though. But Minako is more likely to figure it out than we are. This way, she has plenty of resources readily available, and is able to avoid unnecessary delays. That is, overall, the biggest reason for this."

"I see," said Treize, standing up. "I'll go check up on Maia. Please keep me posted, sir."

**

* * *

**

Midnight

It hadn't been easy, but Leon had slipped away from the _Jones_ unnoticed. It wouldn't have been possible, if not for the ship's current lack of effective security, but now, he'd be able to get in touch with Raphael again.

Just as Gabriel had told him, there was new comm. site, one he could access without the Valiant, a simple communications device, set out in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't even going to pretend to know how it was powered—not that he couldn't think of plenty of ways to do so.

He pressed the switch to activate the comm. device and waited…

"_Report,_" came Raphael's voice almost immediately as his face appeared in a holographic display.

"Yes sir," said Leon. "The Extended girl, Stella Loussier, was returned to the unit by a ZAFT pilot in the early hours of the morning."

"_Really now?_" Raphael frowned. "_This is… unexpected. What else do you have to report?_"

"As I'm sure you're aware, ZAFT's 'Grim Reaper' has proven to be a far more formidable foe than I was prepared for," said Leon. "I apologize for my failure."

"_Don't demean yourself, an apology won't change the situation__,_" said Raphael calmly… almost understandingly. "_But perhaps there is something useful you have to tell me about the Reaper?_"

"Only that I have seen him easily perform maneuvers that I would only have expected of Adam after going berserk," said Leon. Raphael's eyes widened in surprise.

"_I see,_" he murmured. "_What else?_"

Leon hesitated, but then continued onward. "When the ZAFT pilot returned Stella to Phantom Pain, he specifically requested Neo and a woman named 'Minako'." Raphael's eyes widened in shock, and Leon hesitated a second before finishing. "It turned out to be the mercenary, Haruka Tsukino."

"_Really? You're __**certain**__?_" hissed Raphael.

"Yes sir."

"_Interesting… very… very… interesting…_" Leon got the sense that Raphael was angry, _very_ angry, about something. "_Alright Leon, here are your new orders: we've done a little to nudge a Eurasian coup de tat on its way to success. Djibril will no doubt deploy his new toy, and it will be in the hands of Phantom Pain. We want you to steal any and all data you can on it—they've been keeping the weapon under heavy cover, and we've gotten very little information._"

"I understand, sir," said Leon, bowing slightly.

"_And something else,_" continued Raphael. "_This is to be considered your highest mission priority, but do not, I repeat, __**do not**__ blow your cover._"

"Sir?"

"_Kill Treize Zabiarov and Haruka Tsukino. Is that understood?_"

"Yes sir," said Leon, bowing again.

"_Good. Be sure you don't fail, or the consequences will be dire._" With that, Raphael cut the transmission.

Now that his superior couldn't see, Leon frowned. What was going on? Why were those two suddenly such high-priority targets? Did it have something to do with Andras?

* * *

The _Minerva_

Luna sighed as she wandered down the corridors of the half-broken battleship that was now continuing on course to Gibraltar with its equally broken submarine escort. The nurses would have a fit if they saw her wandering around when she should be resting, but she really didn't care. With everything that had been going on, there hadn't been any opportunities to talk to Suiren, so now, she was just going to make one.

Arriving at Suiren's quarters, she gently knocked on the door.

"Commander Kyusai? Are you in there?" she called out softly.

"_Lunamaria?_" came Suiren's voice. Luna let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm alone. Can I come in? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"… _sure,_" said Suiren. "_Let me unlock the door._"

Suddenly, the door opened, and Luna blushed when she saw Suiren, hidden just inside the room, out of sight of anyone not standing where Luna was now, wrapped in only a towel. The Commander motioned her inside, and Luna did as requested without hesitation. Suiren locked the door behind Luna.

"C-commander, I can come back later," said Luna hesitantly as Suiren went back to drying herself off—without any sign of embarrassment from Luna seeing her in this state.

"It's fine," said Suiren. "I've had a feeling you've wanted to talk to me ever since Treize escaped. And we're off-duty now, so call me by my name, please."

"Okay," said Luna, glancing away as Suiren finished toweling off and began to put on some undergarments. However, her attention was quickly drawn back when she took notice of the scars adorning Suiren's body, especially her right arm. "Com… Suiren… what are those scars?"

"Hmm? Oh…" murmured Suiren, realizing what Luna was looking at. She walked over to her dresser (thankful, again, for the conveniences of rank) and pulled out the make up with which she normally covered her scars. "It's nothing for you to worry about. They'll be gone in about six months or so."

"Nothing to worry about?" questioned Luna, incredulous. "Suiren, it looks like you've been cutting your arm to ribbons!"

"These cuts were done by me," she admitted. "One for each year. But that doesn't matter any more. Once these are gone, I won't be adding anymore."

"One for each… how could you not have scarred permanently?"

"I never scar," said Suiren simply as she finished hiding the scars. "Now, what did you really come here about?"

"Huh? Oh, right," murmured Luna. She took a steadying breath. "When you told everyone who you were… you called yourself the 'First Child of Divinity'. What is that? I've… I've been hearing that a lot lately. 'Divinity'."

Suiren paused in hiding her scars and turned to face Luna, eyeing her critically.

"Where else have you heard about Divinity?" she questioned slowly. Luna hesitated, but ultimately relented.

"The Captain has had me spying on Athrun," she said softly. "I listened in on his conversation with Kira Yamato and Lady Cagalli. They mentioned Divinity."

"I see," muttered Suiren. She decided to let the matter of the spying itself drop. "Divinity was essentially human evolutionary research. There were a lot of failed 'test subjects'. I was the first success, after a fashion. The other 'successes' were my cousin, Minako, Chris Dante, Kira Yamato and Makoto Taiyonoha."

"So, Lady Setsuna really is the Dauntless Angel?" murmured Luna.

"Hmm, you figured it out on your own, huh?" murmured Suiren. "Well, in any case, you're not wrong. Was there anything else?"

"Um…" Luna didn't know what to say. Should she talk to Suiren about everything else? The assassinations? Durandal's involvement?

No. She'd gotten the essential information she was looking for.

"Thank you, Suiren," said Luna, standing up. "I should go rest now."

"You're welcome," said Suiren, focusing her attention back on the finishing touches of her make up.

"Um… what about Shinn?" asked Luna.

"I'm trying to get him off the hook," said Suiren. "But at this point, all we can do is wait for the verdict."

"I see," said Luna.

**

* * *

**

PLANT Supreme Council Chambers

The next day

Durandal let out a small sigh as the matter of the _Nemo_'s disappearance—and with it, the Gaia—en route to Carpentaria was finally brought to a close. Until the small group searching for the submarine found some evidence of what happened, nothing could be done about the matter.

Now, the Council turned its attention to something far, _far_ more important: namely, the actions of Shinn Asuka.

Sufficed to say, Durandal was infuriated by the loss of such a powerful puppet in his propaganda war on Logos. But Shinn was far more important, so he couldn't allow the boy to know about that. Hopefully, Logos would slip up over this new development with Eurasia, a matter that the Council had chosen to stay out of for the time being, and he wouldn't need to get his hands on an Extended. In the meantime, he had to reinforce Shinn's belief in his righteousness and in Durandal sharing his feelings on the matter. The boy's impressive record, particularly from the Battle of Crete, would be very helpful in that task.

"Shinn Asuka has made numerous violations of military regulation prior to this incident!" said Alan Clarzec. "This time he's gone too far!"

"The regulations on this matter are clear," added Neu Kazaefsky. "But Asuka has performed quite well in battle with the Alliance. I agree that he needs to be punished, but an execution is completely out of the question."

"I agree with Kazaefsky," said Tad Elsman. "Besides which, punishing him for trying to keep a prisoner alive is tantamount to punishing him for trying to stop an unnecessary execution. We're better than that."

"Commander Kyusai has vouched for him, as have Commanders Dante and Westenfluss," added Yuri, the current Chairman of the Defense Committee. "Commander Zala has also sent in a request that any punishment Asuka receives should be moderated. However, Captain Gladys has been less supportive of the boy."

"I see," said Durandal. "Shinn has performed remarkably well, and he's suffered a traumatic past that may have supported this act of insubordination. I have to admit to a certain fondness for the boy and his conviction, however, I will endeavor to remain detached in this matter."

"Thank you Chairman," said Ricardo Orff.

"However, that same past is all the more reason why Asuka should not be let off lightly!" said George Adaman. "His sister is an Extended as well, and his emotional state is highly questionable!"

"That is true," said Yuri. "However, off the record, I have heard many additional cries of support for him, including those from my own son, Nicol, who is a pilot aboard the _Minerva_ right now."

_That_ sealed the lips of pretty much the entire Council, and Durandal suppressed a snort, amazed by how the mere name of the kind-hearted Grim Reaper could quiet dissent.

"I believe we should have Asuka reassigned," said Louise Leitner after a moment. "As I understand it, Aleksi Shimizu has been temporarily assigned to the Impulse. Why not make the assignment permanent?" Durandal suppressed a wince as he heard murmurs of agreement amongst the other members of the Council.

"That seems like a wise decision," commented Tad, leaning back in his seat slightly. "Chairman Durandal, Defense Chairman Amalfi, what do you two think?"

Yuri frowned slightly, obviously considering it, but then shook his head.

"I believe we should leave that matter to the FAITH Agents aboard that vessel for the moment," he said. "While it is true that this conflict is turning in our favor, that is all the more reason why we cannot misstep." Yuri looked over his available files. "Currently, Gibraltar has no spare mobile suits to replace the ones aboard the _Minerva_, many of which have been critically damaged, perhaps beyond repair. Asuka is too good a pilot to leave him sitting on the sidelines. And since we are not fighting on the frontlines, I believe it would be best to hand the matter over to our agents aboard the _Minerva_. After all, isn't exercising their authority in situations such as these one of the reasons why we had FAITH formed in the first place?"

No one said anything, but they were almost all nodding their heads. Durandal knew this was the best he would get, and Shinn had the support of at least three FAITH agents.

"Then, all who are in favor of handing this matter over to the agents directly involved?" requested Durandal.

All but two members of the Council—Alan Clarzec and George Adaman—raised their hands in agreement.

"Then this matter is closed," said Durandal. "This meeting of the Supreme Council is adjourned."

**

* * *

**

The _John Paul Jones_

Several hours later

Hotaru tossed the formal orders onto Neo's desk in disgust.

"That idiot can't honestly believe this will work, can he?" she demanded in frustration.

"Obviously he does," said Treize. He shook his head. "This is a fool's errand. It won't do any good."

"I agree with you, but you should know how Djibril is," said Neo. "Our orders are simple. Eurasia will burn, and Stella will be the one to do it."

"Why Stella? She's not in any condition for this sort of thing!" objected Hotaru.

"It's because we're worthless _equipment_ to them!" snarled Treize suddenly, catching the other two completely off-guard. "They don't think it's worth the money to actually save her, so instead, they send her out, knowing she'll eventually die!" They'd never seen him so frustrated before.

"That would seem to be the case," said Neo. "Of course, even Djibril isn't saying that much to my face. Stella is stronger than Sting, and the rest of you are too valuable."

"Fine then," growled Hotaru. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as this broken husk reaches Suez," answered Neo. "They've got enough transport planes for all our machines waiting for us."

"So we're taking everyone? The Extended and Leon?" questioned Treize. Neo nodded.

"Yes, we're to be Stella's escorts," he explained. "She'll be using a new machine developed with the data obtained from the stolen ZAFT machines."

Sufficed to say, Treize was surprised.

"They've already managed to reverse-engineer it and put it into production?" he asked. Neo snorted.

"I thought the same thing, but we won't know more until we get there."

"And what sort of backup are we getting?" asked Hotaru.

"Just the forces stationed on the _Bonaparte_, from which we're to conduct the operation," said Neo simply.

"Damn it," murmured Hotaru in frustration. "Damn it all to hell!"

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"So Headquarters dumped this matter on us, huh?" murmured Zane Scirocco. "That's the first time I've seen politicians actually be smart enough to leave military matters to military people."

"It seems to be a foregone conclusion," commented Talia, leaning back in her seat and eyeing the four FAITH agents in front of her. "I heard that all of you vouched for him."

"A moderated punishment, yes," said Suiren.

"But I'm not sure about just _how_ lightly he should or shouldn't be let off," added Heine. He turned to the last occupant of the room. "What do you think, Athrun?"

Athrun shifted hesitantly, then let out a small sigh.

"To be honest, I'm sympathetic to Shinn's point of view," he said. "However, I've been noticing a slight shift in his attitude lately, and it worries me."

"He's been getting egotistical," commented Zane. "Foolish." The others nodded in agreement.

"Hmmm, I suggest taking away a few of his luxuries," said Heine after a moment. "Disallow shore leave and other things like that."

"I agree," said Athrun. "Also, we should have him sit reserve. Unless we decide otherwise, Shinn will sit back, and we'll allow Aleksi to handle the Impulse."

"This sounds like a plan," agreed Talia, before turning to Suiren. "However, I want your opinion first. You're Aleksi's superior: do you think she can handle the Impulse?"

This was the critical question—the Impulse was one of four wholly unique mobile suits right now, the other three being the Freedom, Sincerity and Astarte. The handling of the machine, its cockpit layout, were all different from conventional mobile suits, and the Core Splendor was a system that even Shinn hadn't seemed to fully master at this point, though he was very, _very_ close.

"I believe Aleksi will be able to handle it," answered Suiren. "Her reflexes may not be as good as Shinn's, but she's more than adaptable enough to handle the Impulse. In some ways, it's a perfect machine for her." Talia nodded.

"Good," she said. "Then we're in agreement? Shinn Asuka will be denied all standard luxuries and pulled back to sit reserve until otherwise decided?"

"Agreed," said the other four at once. Talia nodded again.

"What about Rey and Yuki?" asked Heine, a faint note of worry in his voice. Talia sighed, turning it over.

"We'll take away their luxuries as well," said Suiren. "Theirs was a much more minor offense. There's no reason for them to sit reserve. It'll be better for Shinn if he has too when they don't as well."

"That's probably a good idea," replied Athrun. "Any objections?"

"None," said Talia.

"I'll leave it to Suiren's discretion," added Zane. Heine simply shook his head.

"Then I believe this matter is closed," said Athrun. "I'll head down to work on my machine. Excuse me." He gave a quick salute and left the room. Suiren, Zane and Heine added their own salutes before leaving the office as well.

The three walked silently down the corridor for a few minutes before Suiren let out a soft sigh.

"Zane," she said, addressing him by his true name, mostly on account of knowing the real Chris Dante was still alive. "Have you looked into new candidates for the team?"

"Yes," he said. "No one that I'd qualify as good enough, though."

"I see," murmured Suiren, looking thoughtful. She let out a small sigh. Something was about to happen—something very, _very_ big. "I've got a bad feeling about all this."

**

* * *

**

Later

When the three had been let out of their cells, Rey had decided to go take a much-needed shower. Shinn, on the other hand, decided to accompany Yuki to one of the hatches that led to a ramp connecting the _Minerva_ to the _Cousteau_, where Suiren and Zane were escorting her. It was a silent march, which made Shinn uncomfortable, but he was even more uncomfortable with breaking the silence.

His punishment had been explained in detail to him. He didn't like the idea of sitting reserve, and he knew that was part of the reason for his particular punishment. He also knew that it was the FAITH agents on the ship, two of them right next to him now, who had decided on the punishment. Still, it was a lot better than he could've expected.

It didn't take them long to reach the hatch. Yuki and Zane turned to face Suiren.

"Ma'am, it was good to see you again," said Zane, saluting her.

"I hope you come back to the team soon, Commander," added Yuki, offering her own salute. Suiren returned it, and Zane began down the ramp to the _Cousteau_, while Yuki turned to Shinn.

"It was nice to meet you, Shinn Asuka," she said.

"You as well," said Shinn. "I'm sorry that I got you into trouble."

"It's fine," said Yuki, smiling. "I wanted to help out, so don't worry about it." She turned towards the ramp, but paused to glance at Shinn. "I hope to see you again soon." She ran down the ramp, leaving Shinn blinking behind her. Suiren pressed a button, alerting the bridge that the last members of the Kyusai Team had departed, and the hatch closed. The ramp would be withdrawn a moment later. The blonde glanced at the confused Redcoat, and Suiren started to walk past him.

"She likes you," said Suiren, smiling slightly as she continued on. Her words sunk in, and Shinn blushed profusely.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Two days later

Anyone who'd witnessed it would likely have paused in momentary awe at the sight of the twin assault ships breaking the surface of the water side-by-side. Some in the _Archangel_'s crew, however, watched the vessel's sister ship surface with sorrow, for the _Dominion _would be their transport back to Orb, away from friends and family aboard the _Archangel_.

There were a lot of goodbyes to be said, and on account of that, Kira had withdrawn to the _Archangel_'s rear upper deck. He had a lot to consider right now, and the goodbyes were not for him.

Canard had been quick to strike the _Nemo_ and capture the Gaia from it—to make the strike easier, he'd called in the Serpent Tail as well, and they'd gotten away without leaving witnesses behind—some had been killed, others captured, but either way, as far as anyone would know until they chose otherwise, the _Nemo_ had either been attacked by the Earth Forces or suffered a reactor meltdown.

Of more interest was what Faith had informed him of regarding the Third Angel: a new piece of technology, the BIO-Sensor had been acquired and they were going to install the prototype on the Midnight Raven.

Then there was the other technology being incorporated into the Three Angels: the Voiture Lumiere propulsion system. It was still in the prototype stages right now, but it was efficient and powerful. The Dauntless Faith was receiving particular focus in how to exploit this new technology.

Then there was the prototype system being installed the in third Triad. Unlike the other two technologies, this one was entirely Terminal developed, and just looking over the basics, Kira had already conceived of dozens of different uses for the supremely versatile piece of technology—all of which would be available to the prototype without the need for any modification.

Then there were the Sentinels and Templars; Kira had nearly shuddered when he'd looked upon the specs for the ten still-incomplete mobile suits. While two of the Sentinels were unbelievable, the Templars were even more so, _especially_ the Twilight's successor. Makoto's girlfriends were going to be one of the most terrifying forces ever to grace the battlefield.

"So, this is where you've been hiding?" came Tolle's voice suddenly, snapping Kira out of his thoughts. He turned to face his long-time friend, smiling slightly.

"I felt rather awkward, with all the goodbyes being said back there," he explained. "I thought I'd go ahead and think about the reports on our development projects in space."

"I guess that makes sense," said Tolle, stepping up to the railing and staring out at the ocean. "I remember the first time I laid eyes on it from the bridge of this ship. It's as beautiful now as it was back then."

"Yeah, it is," agreed Kira, remembering those times as well. It felt likes a lifetime ago, but in truth, it hadn't been that long. He smiled fondly at the memories.

"Times have changed so much," murmured Tolle. "It's almost impossible to believe."

"Yeah…" murmured Kira as well. "Back then, I was the one piloting the Strike. This time, it'll be you."

"What?" Tolle turned to look at Kira incredulously.

"We've been quiet about it," admitted Kira. "There's another Sentinel unit, based on the Strike. We ordered its development with you in mind."

"Are you serious?" questioned Tolle in disbelief. Kira turned to his friend, grinning.

"Completely."

**

* * *

**

Hangar

"Take care of yourselves," said Makoto, hugging Liz and Louisa. "And take care of each other as well."

"Don't worry, Makoto, we will," said Louisa, leaning forward and kissing the redhead. Liz smiled and kissed Makoto on the cheek at the same time.

"I know you will," said Makoto, smiling at them. "I'm sorry that I can't come with you."

Liz shrugged. "Somehow, we knew this was coming," she said. "You just be certain to come back, and drag my idiot brother with you."

"I will," said Makoto. "I promise you that."

"You take care of yourself as well," said Louisa. "And… please… resolve things with Kira." Makoto choked slightly. "Don't think we don't know. This is killing you, Makoto. And it hurts."

"It hurts a lot," murmured Liz. "She's right. Please…"

"I… I'll try," said Makoto. Regretfully, she turned around and walked away, leaving the hangar.

"Liar," the two murmured once she was gone.

**

* * *

**

Russia

Several hours later

"This is Captain Neo Roanoke of the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group," said Neo over the radio. "_Bonaparte_, do you read me? I'm transmitting identification code and requesting permission to land."

"_**Bonaparte**__ here, roger that, identification code confirmed, please continue with your approach,_" replied the ship's comm. officer.

"Understood," said Neo. He and Hotaru continued to act as flight escorts while the three transport planes descended to the snowy runway of the Atlantic Federation's hidden base.

Once the three landed, the work crews would transfer the mobile suits stored aboard into the _Bonaparte_'s massive hangar. Neo and Hotaru landed their machines inside.

Several minutes later and Leon and the Extended, all dressed in heavy coats to keep warm, came into the hangar. Two medics wheeled Stella between them, the young blonde resting on an insulated bed to keep warm and stable.

"Thanks a lot for dragging us out to another godforsaken place," said Sting, sounding tired and frustrated. "First question: who is this?" He glanced at Stella. "Why did you bring someone who's half-dead all the way out here?" The other Extended, even the unstable Maia and Gyunei, remained silent, aware that Sting had been stripped of all memory of his former teammate.

"Never mind that," said Neo. "There are a lot of things you don't know anything about." Neo continued forward, Hotaru at his side, and Treize stepped up to take the other flanking position. "And at this point, it's better that you don't." They walked past a massive object taking up most of the space in the hangar, covered with a massive cloth. Treize, Hotaru and Leon all glanced at it, each realizing what was hidden under there.

Maia, Silber and Rache, though, focused on three familiar units sitting in a shadowed corner of the hangar: the Strike Noir, Blu Duel and Verde Buster. Not theirs, but ones that had already been stationed on the ship. That was a surprise, as they'd thought theirs were the only ones.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Talia stared incredulously at her new orders, and she wasn't the only one.

"What is Gil thinking?" questioned Suiren, glancing at the other FAITH agents. "Half our mobile suits are out of action, and the repairs are barely half-done."

"That may be why we're being assigned to this mission," suggested Heine. "After all, it's supposed to be strictly non-combat. We're just going to be looking into the current state of Eurasia, which is assuming a stance of neutrality for the moment."

"It still worries me," said Athrun. "What's the condition of your GOUF?"

"Combat ready," said Heine.

"The high-maneuver ZAKUs are also ready to go," said Talia. "What about the Saviour?"

"It won't be combat ready for a few more days," said Athrun, shaking his head slightly. "And the other two ZAKUs and both GuAIZs are done for."

"The Rose and Impulse are ready," said Suiren. "And come to think of it, why isn't Saul here?"

"His responsibilities have been eased off of," explained Talia, aware that their time complacent probably wouldn't have revealed this to Suiren. "Until he decides otherwise, he's simply another pilot." Athrun snorted.

"Looks like you're in charge of the mobile suits Suiren," he said, glancing at the blonde. "Saul's not gonna let a chance to slack off go to waste."

"Hmmm, he _has_ impressed that on everyone, hasn't he?" commented Heine. "Well, in any event, we've actually got a full ZAFT squadron's worth of mobile suits, and we aren't expecting to see combat. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," said Talia. "It just seems strange. Though I can understand why we're going in with no backup. A large unit would just look like an aggressive action."

"As opposed to a single warship limping through on reconnaissance?" said Suiren, shaking her head slightly. "I guess there's a lot of truth in that."

Still, Suiren's—and Talia's—gut told her that there was something more going on here. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The only reason they had to continue shadowing the _Minerva_ was Suiren's presence. Nicol covered that matter, though, and there were a lot more reasons to continue to keep an eye on Phantom Pain.

Thus, when Faith had given them a report on the unit moving to Russia, they were quick to set course after them. This did not bode well, what with the Eurasian coup.

Kira and Makoto stood on the main observation deck, staring out at the snow. Somehow, if they were silent, they were able to feel comfortable in one another's presence, without really feeling any of the tension that was building up between them.

They couldn't do anything on the bridge, their machines were perfectly maintained, and it was Cagalli's duty to talk to the Orb soldiers. In essence, there was nothing for them to do.

And how long had it been since things were really like that?

"I thought I might find you two here," came a voice suddenly. The two glanced back to see Murrue enter the deck behind them, walking up to stand next to Kira, opposite Makoto.

"Don't tell me you're coming here to scold us for slacking off," said Makoto, a smile tugging at her lips. Kira and Murrue both chuckled slightly.

"Not at all, _Admiral_ Taiyonoha," she said, shifting slightly to more prominently display the Taiyonoha Fleet sword emblem on her uniform while Makoto scowled fiercely. "To be honest, I never really got to spend much time with you two, or with Chris," she continued. "Everyone was always busy last time, and after the war, everyone went their separate ways."

"Yeah," said Kira softly.

"A great many things have changed since we first met," said Murrue, glancing at them. "I look at you two and still remember the uncertain, kind-hearted boy and impulsive little spitfire from Heliopolis. You two have changed a lot since then."

"We're not the only ones," said Makoto, looking at Murrue.

"She's right," said Kira. "You were a small-time lieutenant who was so uncertain of being in charge that you wanted to hand command of this ship over to a mobile armor pilot."

"That's true I guess," said Murrue. "Natarle's come a long way too. Everyone has."

"Mmm," murmured Makoto in the back of her throat. Tears started to form in her eyes as a smile tugged at her lips. "Do you remember what it was like, traveling across space and then Earth in this beautiful vessel?"

"Yes, vividly," said Murrue. "Kira gaining confidence, Chris and Flay growing closer, Liz acting up, you giving orders you weren't even certain of yourself…"

"Somehow, I miss those days," said Makoto.

"It's like our childhood, our innocence, has been lost," agreed Kira. "But back then, somehow, we still had it."

"Back then, you were just Kira Yamato and Makoto Arata," said Murrue. "You weren't the Children of Divinity. You weren't a Princess of Orb and the twin to Orb's sovereign. You weren't the Divine Angels."

Makoto placed a hand against the viewport as silence descended on the three for several minutes.

"You know…" she said softly. "I always wanted a husky." The two glanced at her in surprise, both at her words and the sudden change in subject. "I love animals. Growing up, my family had this dog. A beautiful and brilliant border collie named Shelby. She died a few months before the war began. It was one of the most painful moments in my life up to that point."

"I see," murmured Kira, turning his thoughts toward his old life as well. He chuckled. "Living on the moon, I actually wanted a boa constrictor."

"As a _pet_?" said Murrue. "Kira, I had no idea you were so crazy." Kira chuckled, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

"I was just a kid, not even twelve years old," said Kira. "What about you, Murrue?" Murrue blushed.

"Well, to be honest… a tarantula," she said. Makoto giggled slightly.

"My father had one of those," she said. "Of course, at the time, I was living with my aunt and uncle, but mom wouldn't even allow me in the house until he'd gotten rid of it. She was sure I'd get myself into trouble with it."

Kira and Murrue laughed lightly.

This… this was nice.

**

* * *

**

The _Bonaparte_

December 16th, C.E. 73

The Strike Noir, Blu Duel and Verde Buster that had previously acted as an escort to the _Bonaparte_ had been off-loaded, and the Earth Forces land battleship, covered in Windams, had moved out towards its destination. In the hangar, Neo, the mercenaries and the Extended stood before the massive mobile armor GFAS-X1 Destroy.

"This is the new machine you're going to pilot," Neo explained to Stella.

"Hmm? This is my machine?" she questioned curiously. "A new one?"

"That's right," said Neo. "You have to use it to fight again Stella. Or the scary things will come, and they'll kill us all."

Hotaru and Treize winced slightly. When Stella had emerged from her regeneration chamber, seemingly fully recovered, they'd discovered that her mind had suffered further damage—she hardly even seemed to recognize the two anymore, and only listened to rather vague descriptions of what she needed to do. They both suspected it was tied into an increasing separation between the human within Stella and the Extended, putting her through the same phase Treize had run through. If she survived, she'd be stronger for it.

"They'll kill us?" echoed Stella, sounding terrified. "They'll kill me too?"

"Mhmm."

"Even you?"

"That's right," said Neo.

"No!" cried Stella, clinging to Neo's arm. "No way… I don't want to die."

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to fight," said Neo, turning to her and lifting her face up. He really did look like he was playing the part of a father to her right now. "I know you can do this Stella. It's the only way we can get rid of all the scary things."

"Get rid of… the scary things…" She turned back to the Destroy with a look of fierce determination in her eyes.

A short while later, the Destroy took off, and the rest of the Phantom Pain machines prepared to follow.

"Alright, let's get out there," said Neo.

"_I still don't know why you didn't let __**me**__ pilot that machine,_" said Sting. "_I'm a better candidate than some mixed up girl just out of sickbay._"

"No, she's the best match," said Neo. "According to the data… Stella can operate it more effectively."

"_More effectively than one of __**us**__?_" Gyunei sounded completely incredulous.

"_Shut up,_" snarled Maia.

"_That's enough!_" snapped Treize. "_Let's just get this over with._"

The Windam, Chaos, Specter, Rosso Aegis, Strike Noir, Verde Buster, Blu Duel, Divina Guardian and Viola Surge all took off. Hotaru activated a private comlink with her fellow mercenary.

"You know what we're doing here, right?" she asked.

"_Yeah, I know,_" said Leon softly.

"I never pegged you for the type who'd condone these kinds of atrocities," said Hotaru.

"_Well… just like __**they**__ are… I'm simply fighting to protect the only precious thing I have in this world… I'd become evil itself and let the world hate me if it meant that I could keep her safe,_" replied Leon, just as softly as before. Hotaru, sensing a delicate, almost taboo topic behind the other mercenary's carefully constructed emotional walls, decided not to press him to elaborate. "_Leon Vanyel, Valiant, taking off._"

"Haruka Tsukino, Astarte, I'm launching."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Half an hour later

The crew of the assault ship could do nothing but stare in horror. There, standing amidst the ruins of a city in Germany, was a massive mobile weapon like nothing they'd ever seen before, dwarfing even the ZGMF-X11A Regenerate from the last war.

"My god…" whispered Murrue in horror at the sight of the burning city on the display monitor.

"This can't be…" murmured Kira.

Through the smoke, several silhouettes could be made out near the weapon. When the smoke cleared just a little more, Makoto gasped, recognizing one of those silhouettes.

"Minako…" Makoto's hand clenched with unbridled fury. "I'm going there," she snarled.

"So am I," added Kira as the two headed for the entrance to the bridge.

"I understand," said Murrue, rushing to her seat. "Arnold, launch the _Archangel_. We're going to intercept that thing." She glanced over her shoulder. "Miriallia, I want all pilots on standby. Level One Battlestations."

"Yes ma'am," said Mir as the _Archangel_ began to lift off.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Captain!" cried Meyrin suddenly, drawing the attention of the bridge crew. "Priority One message from Headquarters! The Atlantic Federation is attacking Eurasia. Three cities have been destroyed already by a single task force!"

"Three cities?" gasped Talia.

"We're being ordered to intercept the attack force," continued Meyrin. "All other ZAFT forces in the area are being ordered to intercept as well."

**

* * *

**

Germany

The Destroy crushed the remains of a Eurasian Windam underfoot as Stella and the others continued to watch the city burn.

"I have to get rid of… all of the scary things…" said Stella to herself. "All of them!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well****… it's the moment a lot of people have waited for. Now, I understand people tend to be somewhat bloodthirsty and enjoy wanton destruction, but there's somewhere we must draw the line. So who wants to help me hammer that fact into Djibril's head? ^_^**

**Moving on, Shinn isn't let off with nothing more than a bit of jailtime. I doubt I could've written his sheer level of ego in that final scene if he had been. Furthermore, I have to wonder how Durandal could possibly have gotten away with that without a lot of opposition. Instead, I offer up a solution. After the Destroy Incident, his punishment will be fully rescinded, but in the face of that monstrosity, they'll have him launch instead of Aleksi regardless, so she doesn't actually get to sortie in the Impulse.**

**I won't comment much on the original scenes; the scene I enjoyed most of all, though, was probably the one with Kira, Murrue and Makoto. Like in canon, Murrue didn't get much interaction with Kira, so I wanted to include it, but since Kira is certain that he's right in opposing Durandal (because of the information Terminal Intelligence has acquired), his doubts can't be brought up. Instead, I ended up including Makoto, and making it a scene where they talked idly, about themselves and old times. When I brought up pets, I decided it would be amusing if Kira and Murrue had much more questionable tastes in what they'd wanted as pets when they were children.  
**

**To note, the collie, Shelby, is not fictional. She was my dog who died December 2nd, 2008, and is one of the most intelligent animals I have ever seen. Somehow, I found myself wanting to mention her in that scene. Makoto's desire for a husky is also reflective of myself.**

**We also get a look into what awaits with the Angels, the Sentinels, the Templars and the Triad, though there's no mention of the other projects. I considered actually writing the scene of Canard stealing the Gaia, but ultimately felt it was just too difficult and wouldn't have been good enough to be worthwhile. Handling Canard will be easier in other sorts of situations, but those are for later on in the story.**

**Anyways, next chapter, we'll have Everyone vs. The Destroy and all its escorts (the rest of "everyone". ^_^). I've been waiting for this moment for a long, _long_ time.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	31. Phase 31: The Lost Star

**At long last, the moment we've all been waiting for: the Battle of Berlin. Freedom vs. Destroy. Only this time around, I changed quite a few things. Why? Because I _like_ this better! ^_^**

**On this occasion, I think I'll avoid boring you all. Let's just... get on with the show, shall we?**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Now read!  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-One: The Lost Star

December 16th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

Berlin

It had been hours since the attacks began, and already the Destroy had moved into Berlin, its final target before Phantom Pain would pull back and wait to see the results.

Eurasian Jet Windams, Daggers and GuAIZs discarded by ZAFT and repurposed by the less-bigoted Eurasian Federation, fired with everything they had at the massive mobile armor, but the positron reflectors took it all with nothing to show for the assault.

"_How can we stop that thing?_"

"_It doesn't matter! We have to hold it here! We won't let Blue Cosmos have its way with us!_"

As though to slap the Eurasians in the face for their defiance, Stella fired the Destroy's massive main cannons, obliterated several city blocks and everything within them.

"_It's just one enemy! The mobile suits are holding back! Surround and destroy it!_"

Following the order, the Eurasian mobile suits began to swarm in from all directions, firing their rifles and missiles at it. A pair of BuCUEs, left over from the last war, charged at the Destroy, holding their fire and hoping to get beneath it and attack it from a position where the positron reflectors would do no good.

Stella's response was to fire the twenty composite plasma cannons mounted on the circumference of her mobile armor's backpack, obliterating dozens of mobile suits and sowing even more destruction across the city.

"_Neo!_" came Silber's voice. "_ZAFT drop pods incoming from above!_"

"Got it," said Neo, glancing that way. "Treize, Minako, take care of them."

"_Yes sir._"

The Specter and Astarte shot into the sky. Treize hefted his machine's multi-phase beam cannon at one of the seven drop pods and fired, destroying it, before immediately shifting his aim to another and repeating the process twice more. Hotaru, meanwhile, used both the Daini and Hitotsu to finish the remaining four.

From the burning wreckage, though, a half-dozen GOUFs and four Blaze ZAKU Warriors emerged.

"Hmph," snorted Hotaru. "Go, Takusan!"

As though responding to the verbal order rather than the manipulation of controls, the eight Takusan slid out of their locks, then shot from their storage units on the Astarte's legs, soaring upwards at the ten ZAFT mobile suits. The pilots desperately opened fire on the Specter and Astarte, but the two Phantom Pain pilots responded with the Cerebus, Daini and Hitotsu, blasting four units instantly, and the Takusan cleaned up the rest seconds later, allowing Hotaru to recall them.

The Specter and Astarte began their descent. As they did so, Hotaru looked over the devastation.

"How can anyone be this inhuman?" she murmured to herself.

The Destroy was single-handedly pushing back all that stood before it. Its mobile suit escort had, thus far, done little more than deal with the ZAFT forces dropped from orbit.

But that was about to change.

"Hmm? What is that?" murmured Neo as a trio of large heat sources approached. "Zamza-Zahs?"

Indeed, the Eurasians had deployed all of the Zamza-Zahs in their current arsenal against the Destroy, but only these three were close enough to reach Berlin in time.

Stella growled, and fired all of the Destroy's weapons at the Zamza-Zahs. The three mobile armors dodged the blasts aimed at them, and instead rushed down and used their positron reflectors to defend the city.

"_We won't let you Atlantic Federation bastards kill any more innocent people!_" shouted one of the crewmen of the three mobile armors.

"I sympathize," said Leon. "But unfortunately…"

"We have a job to do," finished Hotaru. "Neo, leave this to Leon and I. Our weapons will get through those reflectors easily."

"_You heard the lady,_" said Neo. "_Continue current mission._"

The Astarte and Valiant both rushed forward, drawing their mega and anti-ship swords along the way. Stella halted her assault on the Zamza-Zahs in order to avoid hitting Hotaru or Leon, and the three Eurasian mobile armors dropped their positron reflectors and opened fire on the two approaching mobile suits, the weapons fire accurate enough to take down dozens of ordinary pilots.

Hotaru and Leon, though, were far from ordinary pilots, and the two easily wove through the fire, closing to melee range on two of the Zamza-Zahs in an instant. The mobile armors shifted their positron reflectors into position, activating them as the Haretsu Suru and anti-ship sword descended…

And the blades broke straight through the reflectors and continued onward, slicing the large mobile armors in half.

"One more," said Hotaru, sensing the shock and horror of the remaining Zamza-Zah crew. Leon felt it too, and both knew the horror had nothing to do with their impending deaths, but was instead for their inability to protect the people who were counting on the Zamza-Zahs positron reflectors.

They hesitated for two seconds.

"Sorry," said Hotaru, tears in her voice as the two swords stabbed through the Zamza-Zah.

"_God damn it,_" said Leon. "_They were only trying to protect people. That's all the Eurasians want to do._"

"You know, there is one good thing coming out of this," said Hotaru.

"_What?_"

"The Atlantic Federation won't get away with this," she said, double-checking to make sure the comlink was private. She knew Treize and Neo would likely feel the same as her, but the rest of the Extended wouldn't. "Blue Cosmos… will fall."

"_There is that,_" said Leon in agreement as the two pulled back and Stella continued her destructive rampage.

Then, suddenly, a presence of extraordinary power flashed across the sixth sense of Treize, Neo, Hotaru, Leon and Stella, and an instant later, sensors registered a heat source approaching through the cloud of smoke. Stella activated the positron reflector…

… just in time to intercept a large mortar that slammed against it.

"What the…?" cried Stella. In the Astarte, Hotaru smiled.

"It's about time you showed up," she murmured to herself.

The Freedom shot forth out of the smoke, the Sincerity and Strike Raven on its flanks. And behind them, visible through the clearing smoke: the _Archangel_.

"Them again," murmured Neo. "Alright, I want the Windams to guard Stella's flank; Silber, Rache, Maia, you stay with them. The rest of you are with me."

"_Yes sir._"

Neo rushed forward, Treize and Hotaru taking up flanking positions on his Windam, while Nanai, Miguel, Leon, Gyunei and Sting followed after them. The Freedom fired several shots from its rifle on the Destroy, but the shots didn't get past the positron reflector.

"So this is the Destroy?" questioned Kira. "It's huge!"

"_No doubt about that!_" said Flay in agreement as she and Makoto fired on the mobile armor as well. Stella responded to her three assailants with repeated blasts from the plasma cannons. Flay defended with her two shields, while Kira and Makoto cut the blasts apart with their swords.

Suddenly, fire from the Windam, Specter and Astarte forced the three back momentarily.

"_Stella, be careful,_" said Neo. Stella glanced at the Windam.

"Neo?" she questioned.

"_That's the Freedom,_" said Hotaru.

"_The White Angel,_" added Treize. "_He's a tough one. And you should be careful of the other two as well._"

Stella focused the Destroy's cameras on the three new enemies, and her eyes narrowed in rigid determination.

"It doesn't matter," said Stella, reaching out and pressing a button in her machine's cockpit. "What you throw at me!"

The eyes of the mobile armor flashed crimson red. The waist twisted, the detachable cannons on the side rotated and moved down, becoming arms, and the main body shifted, revealing itself to be the rounded backpack of a mobile suit that, with the backpack, could almost harken back to the legendary Conviction Gundam… but on an unbelievably enormous scale.

Everyone—the Atlantic Federation forces, the few remaining Eurasian forces that had shifted to purely defensive positions, and the forces of Terminal—stared in surprise, unable to believe the sight before them, like nothing they'd ever seen before.

"That thing's a _mobile suit_?" cried Makoto in shock—and perhaps more than a little horror.

The Destroy, massive, fearsome, and armed with more firepower than any five mobile weapons before it, fixed its green eyes on the Freedom, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind as to just who its target would be.

Suddenly, the Destroy twisted to face the Freedom, bringing all three of its massive Super Scylla chest cannons and its head-mounted Zorn Mk2 to bear on the White Angel, firing them simultaneously in an enormous blast. Unable to possibly defend against the massive spread, Kira evaded, along with Flay and Makoto who would've been on the outer edges of the attack.

"Damn," cursed Kira. "What's the point of all this?"

The Freedom shot forward, Kira intent on stopping that monstrosity no matter what. The Chaos and Neo's Windam fired on him, but Kira easily evaded the shots. Stella, eyes fixed on the Freedom, raised the Destroy's arm, spreading its fingers, and fired the beam cannons built into each finger. Kira was surprised, but evaded the assault with little difficulty. The _Archangel_ fired on the Destroy with its Gottfrieds, but the positron reflectors were strong enough to deflect blasts from a positron cannon—the Gottfrieds, therefore, were no problem.

Meanwhile, Treize, after only a moment's hesitation, shot after the Strike Raven, the Rosso Aegis on his left and Divina Guardian on his right. The three took aim and opened fire, Flay only narrowly evading the massive assault.

"_Chris, please, stop this!_" cried Flay, firing her beam rifle at Gyunei and her shield cannons at Nanai. "_This is exactly the sort of thing you always hated!_" Treize grit his teeth, uncertainty welling up in his stomach.

Meanwhile, Leon and Miguel double-teamed Makoto, while Hotaru watched silently from a slight distance. Not yet… something was about to break. She had to know what it was.

Miguel, thrusters at maximum, fired the Viola Surge's blaster at the Sincerity from practically all angles at once, but the penultimate mobile suit easily twisted through the fire… and then a shot lanced out from the Murakumo, piercing Miguel's weapon. His eyes widened in disbelief as it detonated in his machine's hand—he couldn't _believe it_! How could anyone have possibly hit his gun while he was moving at maximum speed?

Then, suddenly, he found the Sincerity in front of him, blue eyes glowing with intensity.

"_You're slow,_" came the voice of Makoto Taiyonoha. Miguel tried to pull back, fire his CIWS, grab his beam sabers, _something_… but by then, it was already too late: the Murakumo cleaved off the Viola Surge's left arm and critically damaged its backpack, sending Miguel crashing to the ground.

"Unreal," murmured Leon, rushing forward, anti-ship sword at the ready. "So this is the true power of the Angels?"

Leon stabbed his sword forward, eyes watching closely as the Sincerity twisted to the side. He immediately slashed horizontally towards the Sincerity's body, but Makoto intercepted with her shield and fired her beam machine cannons at the Valiant. Locked into position as he was, Leon had no time to evade, and his only option left was to defend himself.

Pink beam energy suddenly sprung up on the Valiant's shoulders, headcrest, torso, hips and upper arms. The beam bullets struck the Valiant's beam armor, but had absolutely no effect. Makoto and Hotaru both gasped in shock, while Leon grit his teeth in frustration. He'd hoped to never have to resort to this experimental technology.

"What… what is that?" gasped Makoto, pushing away from the Valiant, the machine's body now glowing in several places from the beam armor. Leon checked it over, and saw that, just as he'd always known it would, the armor was consuming a fair bit of power. He switched it off, knowing it would only be effective against those machine cannons anyways, and sheathed his sword, using the manipulator claw in the Valiant's right arm to grab his rifle, and ready to use the one in the left to grab a beam saber at a moment's notice.

Leon actually preferred close-quarters combat, but against the Dauntless Angel… well, only a true fool would blindly charge into strike range of the swords wielded by a woman who had never known defeat.

Leon fired his beam rifle several times, but each time, Makoto easily deflected or dodged the beams. The young mercenary shook his head slightly—against this foe, his rifle would be useless. Without any other choice, he discarded the weapon, drawing his sword once more.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"I'm going out there," said Cagalli, turning her seat to face Murrue. "Kira, Makoto and Flay are outnumbered!"

"_Lady Cagalli,_" came Amagi's voice as he appeared on the main display screen, his expression making it obvious that he'd been listening to what was going on in the bridge. "_Allow us to go with you._"

"What?" gasped Murrue.

"Lieutenant Amagi…"

"_We know it has nothing to do with Orb,_" said Amagi. "_But we can't just stand by and do nothing._" The Orb pilots in the locker room behind him nodded and voiced their agreement with his words.

Meanwhile, the Destroy's arms detached and shot forward, moving like the Chaos's weapon pods, though each was easily the size of a mobile suit, and with the purple Windam, Chaos and the Destroy's main body, Kira was now being attacked from five directions at once.

"Okay," said Cagalli. "Let's go." She turned and rushed towards the bridge door, but Murrue spoke up, giving her pause.

"Are you sure?" asked the brunette captain.

"We've got to do something," said Cagalli with conviction before continuing on. Murrue smiled slightly.

Outside, Flay's teeth were grit in furious determination as she struggled against the three EX-Cs. She could see the Specter hesitating ever so slightly, but the other two pressed her relentlessly, more than making up for Chris's hesitation.

"No way!" cried Flay, narrowly dodging a blast from the Divina Guardian's cannons before the suit shifted to mobile suit mode and swung a saber at her, which she intercepted with her own. "I won't be defeated here… not here… not when I'm this close!"

At that moment, a grayed, sapphire-jewel seed flashed through her mind's eye, one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, and burst in a nova of pure light.

Flay let out a furious battlecry, dropping her rifle and grabbing hold of the Divina Guardian with her now free right hand. Faster than Nanai could react, she dragged the Earth Forces mobile suit between her and the Rosso Aegis at the same instant Gyunei fired the Scylla II. He realized his mistake too late, but Nanai managed to intercept with her shield.

"_You idiot!_" she roared furiously.

"_It's your own damn fault!_" Gyunei roared back, shifting to mobile armor mode and charging forward as the Strike Raven and Divina Guardian broke apart. Flay fired her shield cannons, then shifted aim and fired several more rounds in rapid succession. Gyunei dodged the first attack… and flew right into the stream of cannon shells she'd let loose a second later, knocking the Rosso Aegis from the sky.

Treize was stunned… and pleased as well, in spite of himself.

"_Die bitch!_" roared Nanai, not at all concerned about Gyunei as she charged forward, beam sabers held at the ready. Flay drew her second beam saber, rushing forward to meet Nanai's charge…

Sabers clashed. But Flay had now ascended to something more than mere human, Natural, Coordinator or Newtype. The power of the SEED, of life itself, infused her now, strengthening her determination to the point that no mere Extended could hope to stop it.

Flay released her sabers and punched forward with her shield cannon, activated the trident claw. Nanai evaded, but the beams cut through the Divina Guardian's right shoulder and critically damaged its starboard wings regardless, sending it tumbling to the ground.

But Flay failed to notice the mobile armor shooting up behind her too late, its claws outstretched to grab and crush the Strike Raven as she turned around, momentarily vulnerable.

"_Don't touch her._"

Those three little words were the last thing Gyunei heard as a single red beam of energy pierced the sky and cut through the Rosso Aegis's reactor.

The mobile armor detonated just over twenty meters from the Strike Raven, and EX-C0311 was no more.

The battle fell into a brief lull as all eyes turned towards the source of the beam that had just taken Gyunei's life.

The ZGMF-X74S Specter, multi-phase cannon aimed where the Rosso Aegis had been, eyes glowing with intensity.

"No way," whispered Silber.

"That's… that's impossible…" stuttered Rache, unable to believe what he'd just seen. No matter how much Treize hated Gyunei, he never thought…!

Leon had not yet locked swords with the Dauntless Angel. Instead, now, he turned and rushed at the Specter.

"Of all things, I never would've expected this!" he said, lifting the sword and swinging it at the unmoving Specter.

Treize didn't try to defend himself. He was as stunned as everyone else… save for the two mercenaries.

The Valiant's anti-ship sword crashed against the Astarte's massive mega sword.

"It's about damn time you idiot!" said Hotaru, pushing the Valiant off. Leon was surprised, as was everyone else. Hotaru pointed the tip of the Haretsu Suru at the Valiant. "This farce is at an end. Now snap out of it Treize, you've made you're choice, _stick to it_!"

The Astarte rushed forward… and the battle began anew as the Specter turned and fired on the Destroy.

"Treize, you traitor!" roared Silber, rushing forward alongside Rache and Maia, firing his railgun.

"_Big brother, why?_" cried Maia, not moving to attack him as she rushed forward. Rache fired his rifles, cannons and missiles at the Specter, but the Strike Raven rushed forward, shooting down the missiles and blocking the shot from the beam cannon, making it easier for Treize to evade the rest.

"Sorry Maia," said Treize sincerely. "But… I can't condone this any longer! I am _not_ a tool of Blue Cosmos any longer!" Treize fired his cannon on the Blu Duel, but Silber dodged, continuing to rush forward, drawing a beam saber, while Treize released his cannon and drew his beam sword to intercept Silber's attack. Meanwhile, Flay interposed herself between the Specter and Verde Buster, exchanging fire with Rache.

"What was that?" gasped Cagalli. "The Specter and Astarte switched sides?"

"_Yeah,_" said Mir. "_All of a sudden, the Specter shot down the Rosso Aegis, and then the Astarte defended the Specter from the Valiant._"

"All right, got it," said Cagalli. "I'm launching."

The Aile Strike Rouge shot forth from the _Archangel_'s catapult, followed a moment later by a trio of Murasames.

Meanwhile, Kira fired all of the Freedom's weapons at the Destroy alongside Makoto, no longer hampered by Leon or any of the Extended. But the positron reflectors easily deflected the blasts.

"Kira, we should move in to close-quarters combat," said Makoto as the two dodged fire from the Destroy's arms.

"_Yeah,_" said Kira, wholeheartedly agreeing, remembering the critical weaknesses of positron reflectors.

"_Take this!_" roared a voice over the radio just before beams and bullets tore the air where the Freedom had been a split second earlier, and the Chaos flew past after them. "_A mobile suit's performance doesn't decide who's strongest!_" The Chaos turned towards the Freedom. "_I'll defeat you myself!_"

"I'll deal with hi–damn!" cursed Makoto as she fell under attack by the purple Windam, preventing her from dealing with the Chaos. This guy… he was good.

Fortunately, the three launched Murasames rushed forward in mobile armor form, opening fire on the Chaos, driving it back.

"_Master Kira,_" came the voice of the pilot leader over the Freedom's radio. "_We'll take over from here. You deal with that monster!_"

"Thanks," said Kira, turning towards the Destroy and shooting off that way.

"Let's go!" said the Murasame flight leader. "For Orb! For the world!"

"_For Orb!_" echoed his wingman as the three charged forward, shifting to mobile suit mode, clustering together, and firing their rifles, raining beams down on the Chaos over a wide area.

Makoto had switched from the Murakumo to one of her Type 90K swords, and crashed the blade against Neo's beam saber. The two struggled briefly, the battle more one of wills than swords. Neo knew he couldn't possibly defeat her, or Kira for that matter, but he had to try.

The Sincerity's body suddenly began to glow with blue light, its wings lighting with blue thruster exhaust, and Neo felt inertia suddenly go in reverse as Makoto began pushing both machines straight towards the Destroy.

Stella fired desperately at the Freedom, but Kira, no longer hampered by enemy Gundams, easily evaded and rushed forward, drawing a beam saber, and he was on the verge of slicing through the cockpit when…

"_Kira, no don't!_" It was Hotaru's voice. The sinking feeling of horror that had filled Kira's stomach at the same time the voice came through told him to trust her words, and only the tip of the saber cut through the hatch of the Destroy's cockpit, spraying a little loose debris onto Stella, but leaving the girl unharmed as Kira pulled away.

Hotaru disengaged her sword from Leon's and suddenly delivered a kick to the Valiant's torso, turning and rushing towards the Freedom.

"_If you kill her, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!_" Her words were heard by everyone in the area. "_Kira, that girl in there… it's Ami! That's your sister in that machine!_"

"What?" gasped Kira, eyes going wide with horror, unable to believe it, yet knowing in his heart that it was true. The same fear gripped Cagalli's heart as the Freedom and Strike Rouge both froze in horror.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Forty to target ma'am," announced Bart as the ZAFT battleship flew towards the battle.

"I'm bringing up the visual," said Meyrin. An instant later, the main display screen switched to an image of Berlin… in ruins, to the horror of the bridge crew. "I'm getting no response from ZAFT or Eurasian forces!"

"Checking thermal patterns," said Bart. "It looks like… the Freedom!"

"What?" gasped Talia.

"Also the Sincerity, the Specter and all those other suits that are always with it, some Orb Murasames, a lot of Atlantic Federation Windams, the Strike Raven and the Strike Rouge," continued Bart. "And… the _Archangel_." Talia glanced away, frowning and letting out a small sigh.

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Arthur. "What's that ship doing here?"

"Looks like they take their self-appointed role as guardian angels seriously," said Talia, contempt slipping into her tone. "Any cry for help and they come swooping in." Meyrin glanced over her shoulder at Talia, unable to believe the way Talia talked about that majestic assault ship, in spite of what their previous encounters had been like.

"Captain…" muttered Arthur uncertainly.

"Bring the ship to Condition Red!" said Talia. "Prepare for anti-mobile suit combat!"

"Yes ma'am!" said Arthur, standing at attention.

"Going to Condition Red," said Meyrin over the PA. "Going to Condition Red. All pilots, board your machines and standby. I repeat: all pilots, board your machines and standby."

Down in the locker room, Shinn, Heine, Saul, Shiho, Suiren and Nicol rose to their feet. Against a force that could wipe out three cities in less than an hour, it had been decided to put Shinn back into the Impulse, at least for the duration of this mission.

Suddenly, Talia appeared on the comm. screen.

"_Suiren,_" she said, grabbing everyone's attention. "_The situation is more chaotic than we imagined. We can't contact any friendly forces, and the enemy is being engaged by the __**Archangel**__ and its mobile suits._"

"What?" gasped Shinn.

"Kira…" murmured Athrun, drawing Luna's attention.

"How come?" demanded Shinn angrily. "What are they doing here?"

"_I don't know what their plan is,_" said Talia. "_But you only have __**one**__ target._" Her eyes were directed at Shinn, making it obvious who she was addressing. "_That thing needs to be stopped now. One way or another, Headquarters believes this event will decide the fate of the war. Headquarters is depending on you._" With that, the screen went blank.

Suiren sighed, shaking her head, then turned to the others.

"All right," she said. "You heard the Captain. We cannot fail here. I don't care how it happens, I don't care who delivers that blow, whatever this thing is that is doing this must be stopped." Her mismatched eyes settled on Shinn. "Even if it means working with people who we have fought against in the past."

"I understand," said Shinn. Suiren nodded.

"Let's go," she said, leading the others into the elevator.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Kira had ceased his attacks on the Destroy. For the moment, it actually didn't need to be stopped as Stella—as his sister—focused everything she had on him. He had no problem dodging, so long as Makoto and the others kept the rest of the enemy off his back.

Neo and Makoto had momentarily disengaged, both of them stunned by Hotaru's revelation. Hotaru sighed in relief, realizing the others understood the importance of what she'd said.

Suddenly, the Valiant charged at the Astarte from behind. Hotaru's danger sense detected the attack, and she pulled to the side, narrowly dodging the sword.

"_I'm sorry,_" said Leon. "_But like you once said… I've got a job to do._"

"I understand your reasons, Leon," said Hotaru, blocking a swing by the Valiant. "But… I have things in this world that I must protect as well! And the girl in the cockpit of that machine is one of them!" Now acting as though they were responding to her emotions, the Takusan once again launched from the Astarte's legs and began to fire on the Valiant from all angles as Hotaru broke away. Gritting his teeth, Leon reactivated the beam armor, which was at its best defending from attacks such as these.

Then, Hotaru rushed forward, swinging the Haretsu Suru. Leon blocked with his anti-ship sword, but Hotaru released the sword with her right hand, holding it only in her left now, and drew a beam saber that descended on the vulnerable flat of Leon's sword, cutting it in two before he pulled away.

Leon grit his teeth, knowing there was no way he could really hope to defeat Hotaru. She'd been almost like his mobile suit instructor ever since the incident of Treize and Stella's capture, but while she knew everything she'd taught him, he didn't know everything she _hadn't_, and there was no doubt in his mind that he was outmatched here.

But he didn't have any choice.

Meanwhile, the _Minerva_ had gotten close enough to effectively launch its mobile suits into the battle. The Rose and GOUF Ignited led the way, with the Core Splendor, Chest Flyer, Leg Flyer and Force Silhouette Flyer right on their tail, and the ZAKU Surge, ZAKU Duel Arms and ZAKU Blitz coming after them within seconds of the Impulse as Shinn began to assemble his machine.

The arrival of the ZAFT forces did not go unnoticed by anyone, but a lot of them had more immediate concerns.

Shinn, roaring furiously, shot out ahead of the rest of the ZAFT pilots and fired on the Destroy, but his shot did nothing against the nigh-invincible VPS armor.

Treize saw this, and activated his verniers, pulling away from Silber.

"Haruka," he said, keying his radio to the private frequency he and Neo shared with the mercenary. "Is what you said true?"

"_Yes,_" said Hotaru as she parried the Valiant's beam sabers and lashed out with the Astarte's foot. Leon ducked under the blow, but then one of the Takusan crashed into his machine's hip and detonated, sending the Valiant tumbling away. "_I came here to protect Stella. To bring her home… to her family._"

"Understood," said Treize, closing his eyes. They opened, and he shot away from the Blu Duel as Silber tried to slice the Specter in two, and zoomed in for the Impulse. "Not a chance, White Devil!" He fired the Specter's beam revolvers on the Impulse, driving Shinn away from the Destroy.

"Shinn, keep him occupied," said Suiren, rushing forward with the rest of the ZAFT pilots. "We'll get this thing." Saul and Shiho, however, spotted the Blu Duel and the Verde Buster.

"_Suiren,_" said Saul. "_We're gonna deal with Yzak and Dearka._" With that, the ZAKU Surge and ZAKU Duel Arms broke away and headed for the two EX-Cs that were now double-teaming Flay.

"That's fine," said Suiren. "I understand." She glanced left and right, at Nicol and Heine, respectively, as they took up flanking positions. "How about you two?"

"_We'll cover you,_" said Heine.

"_Don't worry,_" added Nicol. As though to prove him wrong, all of the three dozen or so Windams that had been protecting the Destroy's flank now rushed forward, preparing to overwhelm the three through sheer weight of numbers.

"Stella!" cried Neo, seeing the growing threat to the Destroy. The White Angel he could count on to try and keep her alive—but if the White Devil didn't know…!

Neo broke away from the Sincerity and pursued the Impulse instead. Makoto let Neo go.

"That Windam…" she murmured. "Kira did you…" She didn't finish her question, though, as she saw just how much trouble Kira was in, drawing fire without returning any. She quickly examined the battlefield through her panoramic cockpit and spotted her first target. Reactivating the Hyperion System, Makoto drove for one of the Destroy's arms.

Shinn briefly exchanged blows with the Specter, but pulled away quickly, realizing he was somehow still outmatched. He couldn't understand it—he was good, good enough that his punishment had been momentarily suspended to put him back in the cockpit for this fight! Why couldn't he defeat the Specter yet?

Stella, frustrated with the Freedom's evasion, pulled the Destroy's arms back in, then started firing all of her weapons wildly, leveling huge swaths of the city in an instant. Shinn and Treize paused, looking at the devastation.

"Why are you doing this?" murmured Shinn. His eyes narrowed in pure rage. "Why do you want to kill people so badly?" In the back of his mind, a bloody jewel seed suddenly shattered in a nova of crimson light. Treize tried firing on the Impulse, but Shinn dodged, spinning around and throwing his beam saber at the black Gundam. Treize knocked it away with his bayonets, but behind it came a beam from the Impulse's rifle that blasted off the Specter's left shoulder armor and the top of the vernier, sending Treize tumbling off balance before Shinn turned back to the Destroy, took up his second beam saber, and charged forward, dodging several blasts from the Destroy, loosing a cry of righteous fury as he prepared to destroy this monster.

"_No kid, stop!_" cried a familiar voice just before the purple Windam of Neo Roanoke crashed into the Impulse.

"What now?" cried Shinn furiously.

"_The pilot of that machine is Stella!_" said Neo. Shinn froze in horror. He turned to face the Destroy… and zoomed his camera in on the large cut put in its hatch by the Freedom. There was no doubt about it… that was Stella's face. The Impulse's saber fell to its side as Shinn lost the will to fight.

Kira soared in, feeling his heart clenching with self-loathing at what he was about to do. But he couldn't let this continue, even if… even if he had to kill Ami… the Destroy had to be stopped!

Kira took careful aim with his railguns and fired on the legs, beneath the positron reflector. Systematically… if he could just strip it of its ability to fight…

However, Stella shifted the Destroy closer to the Freedom at the same instant Kira fired, and the slugs slammed into the machine too high, too close to the cockpit.

"Stella!" cried Shinn and Neo, even as Kira and Cagalli both cried out for their sister with her true name.

"I didn't… Ami…" murmured Kira. Neo knew he wouldn't hurt Stella if he could help it, but he still had a task to finish this mission. He just hoped this could end on an overall positive note (though one positive note had already come forth, now that Gyunei had gone down).

Neo charged forward, firing on the Freedom with his rifle. Kira dodged the first shot, then blocked the second with his shield. Neo responded by springing his Stiletto and tossing it at the Freedom, embedding the penetrator in the shield just before it exploded, taking out the Freedom's main defense.

Kira though, had sensed the same thing from this pilot as Makoto had, especially now that his attention was focused on him. He'd gotten this feeling a few times before as well…

"Miss Murrue, come and get this pilot," he said. He could sense her confusion, but didn't elaborate as the Windam fired at nearly point-blank range, too close for virtually any pilot, even the Crimson Knight, to possibly dodge.

But Kira was no ordinary pilot, and the Freedom was most legendary of all for its mobility that had only ever been matched by the Sincerity.

Kira dodged the shot, pulling well under the Windam, and fired off a pair of pinpoint shots, taking off the arms and wings of Neo's machine, sending the Windam tumbling to the ground.

The Windam landed on its feet, but then went crashing to its knees. It separated at the waist from the force of the impact, and Neo punched open the cockpit, tumbling out as the torso slid along the ground, just in case the powerplant detonated. His mask fell off as he hit the ground hard and was knocked unconscious.

As Stella cried out for her father figure in horror, the _Archangel_ approached the location where Neo had crashed, and one of its cameras focused on the body of Neo Roanoke, the crew following Kira's orders (whether he'd phrased them that way or not).

Murrue gasped at the sight of the undeniably familiar figure in the black Earth Forces uniform.

"_Shinn, what's wrong?_" came Talia's voice over the Impulse's radio. Shinn continued to float passively in the air as the Freedom dodged the Destroy's attacks and attempted to disable it. The Sincerity deactivated its Hyperion Mode to evade a total power drain at the same time it took out one of the Destroy's arms.

Suiren, Heine and Nicol faced off against the three dozen Windams. They'd already taken out two apiece, but the others kept covering one another, keeping them from dealing with any of them individually. Heine evaded the shot of one, only to have another charge at him and nearly slice him in two. He turned the tables, taking out another Windam, but it opened him up to a pair of rifle shots that blasted off his machine's left arm and backpack, sending him soaring to the ground.

Nicol sliced a Windam in half, but the ZAKU Blitz wasn't built for this sort of engagement, and Nicol was having a hard time of things. A few brave Windam pilots suddenly charged forward, all at once as Suiren and Nicol were distracted by Heine's fall. Nicol noticed them, shot down one with his Hydra, sliced another in half… but the other three crashed into the ZAKU Blitz, trying to bring beam sabers to bear. Narrowly, Nicol shook them off, but the sabers cut into several points on his machine's body, taking out the flight pack, slicing off nearly half of the head, the left shield and the left arm at the elbow. Nicol struggled to control his machine as he, too, was sent towards the ground, while Suiren managed to take out the Windams Nicol had shaken off… and now found herself more or less alone against no less than twenty-two Windams.

But Shinn gave this no mind as Talia demanded to know why he wasn't moving.

He didn't care that Shiho and Saul had now fallen under the joint attack of the Strike Noir, Blu Duel and Verde Buster and were now threatened with the destruction. He didn't care that his sister was an Extended at the moment, for in his mind's eye, Stella and Mayu had fused together somewhere along the way.

That was all that he could think of… and Shinn had no idea what to do.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Sting fired off another shot at the Murasames, but again failed to hit. These pilots were incredible and now he saw the true power of Orb as they fought for something they believed in.

"Crap I'm in trouble," he cursed. "_Bonaparte_, I'm withdrawing." As he said this, the three Murasames, in mobile armor mode, suddenly descended from above in a tight-knit formation, rotating about some invisible center between them like a gatling, firing beam cannon and rifle down on him repeatedly. "What the hell?"

He just couldn't defend against that assault! The Murasames landed blows on his arms, hips, severely damaging the Chaos and knocking him completely off-balance as the three flew past him, grazing him close enough that it was being hit with a boulder, sending him soaring towards the ground like he was aiming for it at maximum thrust.

The lead Murasame shifted to mobile suit mode, drawing its beam saber.

"There's no escape!" cried the pilot, charging forward. Sting could do nothing to defend himself with his damaged machine as the Murasame sliced his machine apart at the waist… and both parts exploded, killing Sting instantly.

Stella finally began to lose control. Her stability, mental and emotional, already tentative from her long deprivation, began to snap. Not even truly aware of what she was doing, she began to blow the city around her apart with the Destroy's Super Scylla and Zorn Mk.2 cannons.

"Don't do this Stella!" cried Shinn. "Stella!"

"Damn it!" cried Kira, soaring in as Makoto cleaved apart the Destroy's remaining arm while it was detached. "Please! Stop it! There's no point in this!" But even still, Kira drew his saber and attempted a strike on the Destroy's reflector generator—if he could take it out, disabling the monstrosity that even now seemed to be consuming the sister he'd finally had a chance to regain would become easier. But the positron reflector, amazingly, held up against even the Freedom's saber. The one on the Destroy was much more powerful than normal, and this was the first time anyone had struck it with one of those weapons that would normally pierce it with ease.

"_You stop it!_" roared a voice suddenly. Kira's attention was drawn elsewhere, as the Impulse soared in and swung its saber wildly at him. "_You don't know what's going on here! The pilot! It's her!_" Kira remembered the reports from Nicol—that's right; Shinn cared about her. Kira backed off, wondering what Shinn would do.

The Impulse turned around and flew towards the Destroy.

"Stella!" called Shinn. "Stella! It's me! It's Shinn!"

"_N-no…_" came a weak voice over the radio. Kira's attention focused on the Destroy, and he felt his heart tearing. She'd been right there all along… and he'd failed her. Failed to realize, failed to… do so many things. "_I don't wanna die… I'm… scared…_" As she spoke, Stella fired the Destroy's circumference cannons at the Impulse, but Shinn evaded. Kira felt more than saw Makoto pull up alongside him as this was happening.

Meanwhile, as Saul, Shiho and Flay were on the brink of defeat, the Murasames that had now finished off the Chaos once and for all charged to their aid, the surprise attack crippling the three Earth Forces machines. The Murasames grabbed the Strike Raven, and pulled a grateful Flay back towards the _Archangel_. Saul and Shiho crashed their own near-crippled machines near their targets, each determined to pull the pilots out of there and get back their old friends.

But the Divina Guardian and Viola Surge attacked them, and their quarry managed to retreat. Saul let out a vicious curse at the crippled state of his machine, as Shiho began to cry her heart out for the first time in a very, very long time.

In the skies overhead, the Valiant's power failed it. Leon sighed faintly, not sure whether to be happy or sad at this turn of events even as Hotaru and Treize made sure he couldn't do anymore by taking off the Valiant's arms just as they'd already done the legs and tail binders, something he accepted calmly, knowing he could do nothing to stop it.

As his crippled mobile suit fell to the earth, Leon knew that Hotaru and Treize wouldn't—and couldn't—finish him off. A part of Leon wished they would, while another was glad that they didn't, giving him the chance to yet redeem himself. Instead, the three pilots all turned their attention to the Destroy, hoping that this would end.

"Stella! It's all right Stella!" said Shinn, even as the Destroy's Super Scylla began to charge. He was too close for there to be any hope. "You're not gonna die!"

At last, Shinn had spoken the words Stella needed to hear, the ones that would negate the fears Neo had been forced to play, the ones put there by the Lodonia Doctors.

"I gave you my word!" said Shinn. "I will protect you!"

Shinn's words broke through the ever-weakening veil on Stella's memories. The Destroy's cannons began to power down.

In the Freedom, Kira let out a relieved sigh, and smiled as he lowered his saber passively to his side. It was over… it would be okay… and glancing at the Specter nearby, Kira knew that his sister wasn't the only one they'd gotten back.

In the Destroy, Stella panted, staring at the Impulse. Shinn… he'd asked her to calm down. Begged her. He promised… he promised to protect her. She hated all of this… and now… now she didn't… didn't need to do this anymore…

Behind the Impulse, the Freedom floated into view through the crack in the Destroy's cockpit, one that the Freedom had put there, but it could've done worse, only to stop at the last instant.

Stella tensed on seeing the Freedom. That was the mobile suit that had attacked her. That had attacked Neo.

But something told that it would be okay. The Freedom's beam saber was still active, but the position was passive, as it had been since the fight with Neo… the pilot didn't want to fight anymore, didn't want to hurt anyone. He hadn't seriously hurt Neo, either… that's right… the Freedom didn't kill unless absolutely necessary. Neo would be fine. The Freedom… he was an Angel… a Divine Angel… just like Haruka… like Suiren…

But then, a horrific vision filled Stella's head.

_The Impulse, flying towards the Freedom, an aura of dark, evil hatred surrounding it, a sword held in hand. The Freedom raised its shield in defense, and its protective aura clashed with the dark one of the Impulse as the sword pierced the Freedom's shield and through the angelic mobile suit's back as the Freedom's saber cut through the Impulse's head and backpack in an attempt to stop it without hurting the pilot._

_Shinn aimed to kill. Kira… the Freedom's pilot… aimed to protect…_

"ARGH!" screamed Stella, uncertain of why this vision horrified her so much. But something told her she couldn't let it happen, no matter what!

Stella grabbed the Destroy's controls, and she felt rage twist her features as she charged the cannons, the activity from the massive weapon of destruction catching everyone off-guard. Stella took aim.

Not at the Freedom, the Sincerity, the _Minerva_, the _Archangel_, the ZAFT forces, the civilians, the Orb forces, not even at the Earth Forces… all of the Destroy's firepower was suddenly directed at a single definitive target, the one she now recognized as her true enemy, as it had always been: the White Devil.

The Impulse.

The _Minerva_ reacted instantly, moving closer and aiming its Tristans at the Destroy from an angle at which its positron reflector would do no good.

"Stella!" cried Shinn. "Stella! Don't do it!"

"_I won't!_" cried Stella furiously, catching everyone off-guard. "_I won't let you hurt him!_"

Nobody knew what she meant. Not Kira, not Shinn, Treize, Hotaru or Makoto. No one but Stella understood her words.

But Kira understood that many more people were about to die if the Destroy's wasn't stopped. And he had no time left to do anything else.

Murdering his own heart in the process, Kira charged forward, saber at the ready, eyes closed, feeling with his other senses, unable to bear the sight of his actions as he attacked the Destroy and claimed the life of his own sister.

But in those senses, he felt it: a slender sword shot through the air and embedded itself in the Destroy between the cannons and the cockpit, positioned as though to shelter the cockpit from explosions above it. Only four people knew that sword was there.

The Freedom's Lacerta beam saber crashed into the Destroy's central cannon. Power began to surge in the cannon as Shinn looked on in horror. Kira drew his second beam saber and stabbed it into the cannon as well, assuring the Destroy's destruction, and immediately dropped his machine just a little.

No one was at an angle to see it as the Freedom's hand fell in front of the Destroy's cockpit.

"_Everything's gonna be fine… Ami…_"

The Freedom pulled away from the Destroy as the Super Scylla overloaded from the damage and detonated, consuming the entire machine. Safety measures built into the reactor shut down the N-jammer canceller, and N-jammers still buried in the surface halted a nuclear explosion. The remains of the Destroy crashed to the ground, and Shinn found himself frozen in horror.

On the ground, crewmen from the _Archangel_ dragged the unconscious form of Neo Roanoke aboard the ship as they prepared to leave, before more enemy forces showed up.

The Windams Suiren was facing, all still intact (if slightly damaged) as the blonde focused on evasion all paused, shocked at the destruction.

Makoto, Hotaru and Treize all looked at the Freedom, and saw the delicate figure wearing a pilot suit clutched protectively in its hand.

Then, the voice of Yzak Joule, twisted into that of Silber Messa, crackled over the radios.

"_All remaining Earth Alliance Forces, your new orders are to destroy the Freedom and the __**Archangel**__, now!_"

The Windam pilots, perhaps blindingly loyal, hesitated only a moment before turning and shooting off to attack the Freedom. Kira gasped, knowing he couldn't fight like this while protecting his sister, and the Sincerity was dangerously low on power.

Suddenly, as the Terminal mobile suits began to pull back, the Specter and Astarte moved in the path of the Windams and opened fire.

"Chris!" "Minako!"

"_Go!_" shouted Treize. "_We'll hold them off!_"

"_Get her out of here and get yourselves to safety!_" added Hotaru. "_Get to Orb! We'll catch up with you soon!_" The Astarte's Takusan launched off and began to attack the Windams, even as a trio clustered up and began firing, back to back, spinning about to hold the DRAGOON units off. "_Makoto… we'll finish this soon… maybe we can be the family we should've been…_"

"Minako… I…"

"_**GO!**_" cried Treize and Hotaru together, charging forward at the Windams. The Impulse landed on the ground, Shinn beginning a desperate search for Stella, unaware that she was in fact nestled safely in the hands of her brother's personal machine. Meanwhile, the _Minerva_ launched retreat flares. It was time for them to leave as well.

"_It's okay Kira,_" came Flay's voice. "_Please… come back. And Chris…_"

"_I'm not Chris,_" said Treize, deflecting a saber slash by a Windam and cutting it in half. "_But I'll listen to what you have to say._"

"_Come back to me._"

In the Specter, the first genuine smiled formed on Treize's lips.

"_I will. It's a promise._"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! I've been wanting to get here for long, _long_ time. There's a lot that comes up here: we have Kira rescue Stella. Treize discards his old passionate belief in Blue Cosmos and strikes down Gyunei to save Flay, defying Blue Cosmos and choosing to side with the comrades of his old self. Makoto's cousin, the dangerous mercenary Hotaru Aino, defends Treize and reveals the true reasons she joined Phantom Pain.**

**Some of you predicted Stella was, in fact, Ami Hibiki all the way back when I first revealed the existence of Kira's younger sister. I wanted so badly to tell people, but knew I had to keep quiet on it. If people want to complain... well, screw them. If you actually examine things closely, it doesn't seem like a very longshot that Stella was Kira's sister in canon-her eyes bear a shocking resemblance to his, with her hair, she looks a lot like Cagalli. If Kira's parents really were killed by Rau in the same fire that killed Mu's parents, there was no doubt enough time for them to have another child, as it seems obvious they stayed together. Even more interesting: Stella's bloodtype even matches up with them. Sadly, SEED Destiny was so mishandled and zilched off of Zeta Gundam that these possibilities never had any chance of bearing fruit in canon. And so, I do it here.**

**Treize's defection is something I've planned for awhile as well. One major theme in my stories is that no one is necessarily truly evil, nor irredeemable. I did much the same with Zane Scirocco and I have done it here with Treize Zabiarov. Chris hasn't returned-there isn't even any guarantee that he _will_ return. But until then, at the very least, the greatest foe the Divine Angels have ever had to face down is no longer an enemy, but once again the ally-if not the friend-that he'd been once before. And, in some respects, Treize and Hotaru charging against the Windams to buy the rest time to escape pays tribute to when Zechs Merquise did the same thing in Gundam Wing, though without the Leo Destruction Factor that allowed him to face off with a hundred suits *shakes head*.**

**And furthermore: Shinn and just about everyone else is ignorant to the truth! Even without finding a body, Shinn _will_ think that Stella was killed by Kira. If nothing else, it's justification in his mind, and Shinn did a lot of that sanctimonious stuff. A lot of others finally meet their match. I glossed over most of the fights, giving them only as summaries, so sadly, the ZAKU Surge, ZAKU Duel Arms and ZAKU Blitz go out in a rather lackluster manner, but what do you really want? They're just ZAKUs, and of them, only the Duel Arms was really cool. The ZAKU Blitz was little more than a ripoff, though it was pretty cool visually.**

**In any event, there's enough of all that. A lot of people were glossed over to focus on the more important ones. The _Minerva_ crew will get plenty of spotlight soon enough, so Destiny/Shinn fans can be comforted by that.**

**I am now done with this A/N. I hope you all enjoy, hope to get reviews from you, and hope to see you soon... maybe very soon.**

**Not long after this chapter is posted, another story will be posted on my profile. We've nicknamed it "Gundam SEED Insanity", but it's actual post name is "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Legends". Check it out, please!**

**Sayōnara, min'na!  
**


	32. Phase 32: The World Revealed

**Ha... sorry for taking so long on this. I had a decent chunk written out, but then a virus smacked my computer and the entire chapter was lost, except for the first scene. And I had to go camping. And then I was busy with a bunch of other stuff and, well, I think you get the picture.**

**Anyways, I'm sure those who have read this far have all been eager for this chapter to come out, so I'll be short: reserve any judgments you might have about some of the things you "don't see happening" until you've read the bottom A/N, which will explain some things that don't necessarily make sense. And with that, let's get on with things!**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13, as always, for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Now read!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Two: The World Revealed

December 16th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Kira knew that Neo had been taken aboard as he'd requested and was likely in the infirmary right now, but that didn't matter to him at all as he exited the Freedom's cockpit and dropped to the ground, where the Freedom's hand was currently held. Kira tore off his helmet, vaguely aware of Cagalli doing the same as she rushed out of the Strike Rouge, and dashed towards his machine's hand—and the young girl lying on it, staring at him with wide eyes—his eyes, save for the slight red tint to them.

Ami—or Stella as she'd always known herself—pulled her own helmet off, locking eyes with Kira, recognizing herself in them the same way he'd recognized himself in hers. Kira slowed, coming to a halt right in front of her, eyes still locked with hers.

"You're…" murmured Stella as Cagalli rushed up to them. "My brother… aren't you?"

Kira nodded. "That's right," he said. "I…" Cagalli stopped at Kira's side, and he corrected himself. "We'd thought you were dead."

"But I…" Stella looked away. "I have no family."

"That's not true!" exclaimed Cagalli, instinctively reaching out to her. Stella recoiled, and Kira put a comforting hand on Cagalli's shoulder as his twin pulled back, realizing she'd frightened the other blonde.

"This isn't exactly the place for this," interjected Makoto, walking up to them. Stella's eyes snapped to the redhead, who paused at the look in those eyes. Stella seemed confused.

"You're… like them," she murmured. Makoto blinked, as caught off-guard as everyone else. "Haruka… Suiren…"

"Oh." Well, that explained it—she was talking about Makoto's cousins. Makoto let out a small sigh, running a hand through her hair. She looked at Kira and Cagalli.

"Why don't you take her to the infirmary?" she said. "The doctor can check up on her, and you guys can get some more privacy."

"Yeah," said Kira, nodding. "Ami… uh, Stella…" Kira held out a hand to her. Stella looked at his hand, looked at Kira, and nodded, reaching out and accepting it.

As she did so, she knew that everything really would be fine.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Suiren let out a faint sigh as she stared up at the Rose, thinking back on what had just transpired.

First, that monstrous mobile suit sowed destruction across half of the Eurasian's major population centers. That was followed by an encounter with the _Archangel_ and its forces—save for a group of curiously absent machines.

Where was the Twilight? The Forbidden, Raider and Athena? Where were the Farsight and Talos? That was what Suiren really couldn't figure out, though she suspected it had to do with the Murasames, but even that didn't make sense—why retain the Murasames instead of the more powerful mobile suits employed by the Taiyonoha Fleet?

That wasn't all, though. There was also the matter of Shinn's actions. Suiren had pretty much been forced to actually grab Shinn in the Rose's hand and drag the Impulse back to the ship. His misconduct had been enough that even the laidback Saul had snapped and ordered him to be confined to quarters until further notice.

Equally troubling was the fate of their machines: all of the ZAKUs were now done for. The internal damage on the machines was so severe that, aside from Nicol's more experimental ZAKU Blitz, none of them were worth saving. Even Heine's GOUF hadn't escaped this fate, and that left their mobile suit force down to the Rose and Impulse. The Saviour would be out of commission for several more days.

And this was with the _Minerva_ still in territory filled with potential hostiles. The new Eurasian government may have taken a neutral stance with regards to ZAFT, but they weren't in a position to control any potentially radical elements, nor drive off every Atlantic Federation unit still hiding in their territory.

Nor had ZAFT's failed actions changed Eurasian opinion. The simple fact was that the Eurasians were best served not by accepting relief aid from ZAFT but instead by ZAFT keeping the Atlantics occupied. Furthermore, the ZAFT forces had done almost literally nothing—and in all likelihood, Shinn's reckless attack on the Freedom had generated negative imagery of ZAFT for the Eurasians, or at least of the 'White Devil', especially when he sat back as the giant mobile suit prepared to sow even more destruction.

Suiren sympathized with Shinn—he was suffering from some extreme pressure, and she wanted to protect Stella as well—but the boy was letting his emotions, his _impulses_ rule his actions, and it was the cause of all the problems they'd had on the warship lately, actual expected combat damage not withstanding.

The blonde let out another small sigh and left the hangar, heading for her quarters.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

After changing out of their pilot suits and finding something comfortable for Stella, Kira and Cagalli guided their younger sister to the infirmary. The blonde kept looking around, and was very closely nestled against her siblings, as best she could, very clearly afraid of her current situation, and feeling security from the two of them.

"Cagalli, please, let me handle this," said Kira when they arrived at the infirmary, drawing the attention of his sisters. Cagalli frowned for a moment before nodding.

"Okay," she said, gently taking hold of Stella's shoulders and turning the younger blonde to face her. Stella stared into Cagalli's eyes, fear evident in her own amethyst orbs, but Cagalli couldn't blame her for that. An eternity seemed to pass before Cagalli pulled the other blonde into a gentle hug.

"It'll be okay," she said, stroking the surprised Stella's hair gently. "Your big brother and sister are here for you now."

"I'm scared," murmured Stella.

"I know," said Cagalli. "That's why I'm gonna leave you with Kira for now. He won't let anything happen to you." With that, Cagalli gently released Stella and stepped back.

Stella couldn't believe the change that had wrought. She was terrified, but these two made her feel safe. It was a lot like when she was aboard the _Minerva_, but this time, these people wanted to help her. They weren't ZAFT. They were warm and kind and caring. Kira… Cagalli… they were her family. More so than even Neo and Haruka had been.

Kira placed a hand on Stella's shoulder, gently turning her back to the infirmary doors and opening them, stepping through with his sister…

Stella gasped when she saw Neo, unmasked, lying unconscious on one of the beds, being tended to by a doctor and two women, one in a Taiyonoha Fleet uniform, the other in a civilian dress.

"Neo," she whispered, drawing their attention.

"He'll be alright," said the doctor reassuringly. "He just got a little shaken up, that was all." The doctor stood up straight, turning to her with a warm smile. "I heard I'd be getting another visitor. If you'll sit down, I just need to run a few quick tests, and then you'll be free to stay here or move to some quarters, at least, as I understand it."

"Yes, that's right," said Kira, looking at her. "Stella, right? Doctor Hunnicutt won't hurt you, and we can stay here to keep an eye on Neo if you like."

The blonde was silent for a moment, staring at Neo before slowly turning her head to look into her brother's eyes.

"Ami…" she murmured, surprising everyone. "Call me Ami."

**

* * *

**

Steppes of Russia

Two hours later

Throughout Eurasia, there were many abandoned military bases, most of them leftovers from the Reconstruction War in remote locations. Others were more recent, only half-complete, built during the Bloody Valentine War. A third group were bases from the Reconstruction War repurposed to serve as a supply depot for mobile suits.

It was this third variety that Hotaru and Treize had sought out to rest, recuperate, and restore the Specter's power at. However, the base's age was such that it was pretty much literally falling apart without maintenance, and the two had used the Specter's shield and Astarte's mega sword and body to provide the most intact building (a barracks) with some shelter from the icy, unforgiving winds while Treize's machine recharged. Unfortunately, energy was all they could get—the actual munitions stocked were missiles and 75mm rounds for the Igelstellungs used in the first war, making the ammo stock useless to their mobile suits, and both were already sufficiently armed for personal combat as well.

"Here," said Hotaru, handing Treize a can of beans. Not the best meal available, but that was what she had stocked. At least they'd been able to get a small fire going, so they weren't eating the food cold.

"Thanks," he said, accepting the can and letting out a small sigh. "So, will you tell me your story? Time seems to be something we have in abundance right now."

"I'd rather save it for when we catch up with our 'friends'," she replied easily, taking a bite of the beans from a second can, grimacing slightly in distaste. "But as you already guessed, my entire motivation was centered around Stella, or to be more precise, Ami."

"You knew who she was when no one else did," he commented, taking a bite from his own can of beans. Hotaru snorted.

"Andras knew who she was," she said. "So did the old Blue Cosmos higher-ups. I'm not sure if the current ones are aware, though. In any event, Andras was never interested in her because she was a Natural, and her entire generation were so slow to get out that they got set aside in favor of a quicker solution." Treize's head snapped up, his mismatched eyes locking on Hotaru's soft features.

"How do you know all of that?" he asked. The brunette shrugged in response, idly reaching up and tucking some hair behind her left ear.

"My backers," she said. "The ones who provided me with the resources to put the Astarte together. Like I said, I'll tell you more later, so I don't have to explain myself again." Shrugging again, she took another bite.

"You plan to go the _Archangel_, then?" questioned Treize after a moment.

"Don't you? You made that promise, after all."

"I'm not sure I did," muttered Treize, drawing Hotaru's full attention. "Lately, I don't even know who I am."

"You're Treize Zabiarov," the brunette said firmly. "We've already established that." She pointed her fork at him. "The problem is that you're not the only one in there." The white-haired pilot let out another sigh.

"That seems to be just the problem," he murmured. "I'm not the only one in here, and I can't recognize the difference between Chris and myself anymore."

"I see," murmured Hotaru softly. "Well, worrying about it won't do you any good. Come what may, for better or worse, and all that stuff." She smiled slightly at the incredulous expression she got from him. "If you don't live every moment freely, then you're wasting a life of happiness, no matter how long or short it may be."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Suiren let out a faint sigh as she studied the records from earlier. The Specter and Astarte took down almost all of the Atlantic Windams before retreating, in a different direction from the _Archangel_. The two had been cutoff from their new allies.

But that wasn't Suiren's present concern, more an interesting footnote than anything else. No, her concern right now was trying to connect the dots, figure out the elaborate puzzle. Because she had little doubt that there _was_ a puzzle there.

The _Minerva_. The Gundam pilots. The _Archangel_. The Extended. Logos. All of it was connected somehow, she could feel it, but she didn't understand _how_ they were connected. All she knew was that it was all tied into the greater purpose behind this war. Logos. ZAFT. That covered almost everything, but where, exactly, did the _Archangel_ fit into the puzzle? They fought for neither side, instead standing against injustice, no matter who delivered it. Guardian angels didn't begin to scratch the surface on who these people were. So, beyond Orb and the latest incident, how did they tie to everything else?

Suddenly, sensing someone approaching, a new presence, Suiren shut down her computer.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Luna walked somewhat unsteadily down the corridors. Meyrin had just come to her and given her some news that greatly concerned her.

After seeing Athrun leave Shinn and Rey's quarters, Meyrin had walked over there to ask about what was going on. Before even opening the door, though, she heard Shinn swear to defeat the Freedom, and when she'd actually gone inside, she'd found him studying footage of the Freedom's battles. Afterwards, Meyrin had come and told Luna about it.

A part of her wanted to talk to Athrun about it, but she'd soon discarded that idea. In all likelihood, he'd feel much the same as her about the situation. Heine had already distributed his advice, and was apparently busy looking into acquiring GOUFs to replace all the lost mobile suits. That left only one person Luna felt she could talk to.

Arriving at her destination, Luna took a deep breath and reached out to press the call button…

And right before she did, the door slid open to reveal Suiren in a skintight black shirt and blue jeans standing on the other side. The blonde let out a small sigh and stepped aside, motioning the redhead in. Luna glanced around before listening.

"Somehow, I knew you'd be coming," said Suiren, sitting down on her bed and patting it right next to her, telling Luna to sit down as well, the Redcoat obeying without question. "What's wrong?"

"Well first of all, how do you know what I'm feeling?" asked Luna softly.

"Besides the depressed aura you're giving off you mean?" Suiren shot back with a teasing smile. Luna couldn't help but smile in response, reaching up with her good arm to flip some hair out of her face.

"Okay, okay," she said. "It's like this: Meyrin saw Athrun leaving Shinn's quarters, and something seemed off, so she went to ask Shinn and Rey about it. She overheard Shinn swearing to defeat the Freedom, and he was studying footage of its battles and…"

"And you're worried because your friend is on a vengeful collision course with your crush?" supplied Suiren. Luna nodded. It wasn't like there was any point in hiding how she felt about Kira Yamato. Suiren looked away…

Of course. There it was. Suddenly, the blonde began giggling lightly in the back of her throat, catching Luna by surprise.

"I see," she said. "Now I get it. That's where the _Archangel_ fits into the desired puzzle."

"Suiren…?"

"Think about it Luna," said Suiren, lying back on her bed. "The _Minerva_. The _Archangel_. The Impulse. The Strike. Did you know that the White Angel of Freedom used to be the Strike pilot?" She smiled lightly. "The Chairman does. And he had a hand in the plans for this warship and a few of the mobile suits. Interesting coincidence, don't you think?"

"You mean the Chairman intentionally…?" Sufficed to say, Luna was caught off-guard in spite of herself. Suiren nodded.

"In all likelihood, we'll soon be assigned to bring down the _Archangel_," said the blonde. Luna gasped in shock. "I believe the Chairman wants that ship brought down by _this one_. The assignments, the lone missions… he's trying to glorify us. And now, Shinn is very critically motivated to bring down one of the Angels."

"Kira…" murmured Luna. Suiren giggled slightly again, amused at Luna referring to the crush she never actually met in person by his first name.

"Well, it's a wasted effort," commented Suiren idly. "Shinn's good, but only a fool would think to go one-on-one with the White Angel. At a guess, if the mission goes off before we get replacement mobile suits, the pilots will be myself, Shinn and Heine in the Saviour. Athrun won't participate in this mission."

"But if the _Archangel_…"

"The _Archangel_ will be fine, Luna," said Suiren, sitting up and turning to the girl sitting next to her. "That ship won't be brought down by anything, I guarantee it. And Kira Yamato isn't just the White Angel of Freedom: he's _the_ Ace of Aces. Shinn's a marvelous pilot, and if he plans ahead, he can be a brilliant strategist at times as well. But the White Angel can compensate for pretty much anything. He's got better reflexes and more natural talent than Shinn, a stronger mobile suit, more experience, presses himself harder, and he's one of the most powerful Newtypes I've ever known. The only pilot in the world who could possibly defeat him one-on-one without a radically superior machine is Makoto."

"I… I guess you're right," whispered Luna softly. Suiren smiled.

"Hey, don't worry about it too much," she said. "We may not even get the chance. If the _Archangel_ reaches whatever base it's using before we find it, it's all a moot point. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Luna. Suiren's eyes flashed mischievously, catching the redhead off-guard, and suddenly, the blonde went into a comedic 'mother mode'.

"Ah, my cute little Luna is growing up," she said, grabbing Luna in a mocking hug. "A crush, seeing reality… you're not a disillusioned fangirl anymore, right?"

"Ah, Suiren!" cried Luna, struggling to escape her Commander's iron grip.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"I'm sorry it took so long," said Hunnicutt, stepping back into the infirmary. "Even with Faith's help, finding and confirming some data was difficult."

"It's fine," said Kira, glancing at where Murrue and his sister were watching over Neo. "What did you find out?" His words drew the attention of both women.

"Well, despite our patient's claims to the contrary, his physical check shows a one hundred percent match to the data in the records," said Hunnicutt. "Our patient is indeed Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga." Murrue glanced away at Hunnicutt's words, while Kira nodded, unsurprised. Shocking though it was given the more extreme circumstances, since all the other reinforced cockpits had held up to the destruction of the machine around them, it really wasn't much of a surprise that the Strike's had held up as well. His sister eyed them curiously.

"Neo is… Mu… La Flaga?" she questioned. Kira glanced at her and nodded.

"Yeah," he said, walking over to her and gently guiding her to the other bed to listen to the rest of what Hunnicutt had to say.

"Ah yes," said the doctor. "I checked over all of the records we had on the ship and that Faith could gather via the Terminal in a short time, and it all checks out, despite the modifications on the part of Blue Cosmos. Miss Loussier, I can confirm that you are Kira's younger sister, and were born under the name Ami Hibiki."

The blonde tilted her head slightly, before glancing away. Kira somehow had the feeling he knew what was wrong, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, let's take you somewhere you can rest more comfortably, okay?" he said, smiling at her. "Murrue will look after Neo just fine."

"Y-yes," she murmured softly, allowing Kira to pull her to her feet and lead her out of the infirmary. He briefly toyed with the idea of calling Cagalli, but decided it was best to handle this by himself for now. Fortunately, the corridors were empty, and it only took a few moments to bring her to some of the larger and more private officers quarters.

"Sit down," he said gently, walking over to the sink and filling a plastic cup of water for her. Turning around to find her on one of the beds, he sighed and sat down on the opposite bed, handing her the glass. "What's wrong?"

"I… I remember," whispered Ami, so softly he barely heard her. "Everything… I…" She dropped her glass, reaching up and clawing at her head, prompting Kira to immediately move to her side and pull her hands away. "I killed them… they were… they were scared… I was wrong… I was… Neo… he…"

"Shh," whispered Kira soothingly. "Hey, listen. What happened was horrible. But you're not the only person who's done things you've come to regret. That's what war is. And the person who did that isn't who you really are, is it?"

"It is, though," murmured Ami, voice quivering in fear. "I did that. All of it… I killed them… I killed them…"

Kira really didn't know what to say to that, so he simply held her, wondering if there was anything that could be said to comfort her, or anything that could be done to alleviate her guilt.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Makoto let out a sigh as she stepped into the infirmary after seeing Murrue leaving with Mir. The redhead stared down at the now-conscious figure lying on the bed, who eyed her with a slight smirk.

"Are you gonna try and demote me as well?" he asked lightly. Makoto let out another sigh.

"Actually, I thought I might congratulate you on your promotion," she said lightly.

"Huh?"

In the next instant, Makoto's hand snapped out, grabbing the front of Neo's shirt. She lifted him roughly before slamming him against the bed, glad the doctor had stepped out and no one would be bothering her.

"You bastard," she said, glaring at him. "You're just like the rest of them. A bunch of no good assholes out to break women's hearts."

"Hey, hey, lighten up, I was just joking with that woman!" said Neo, sounding defensive.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" said Makoto, releasing him and snapping around so that he couldn't see her face. "The Strike, Duel, Buster and Raven. We upgraded them with reinforced cockpits to increase chances of survival, but then each blew in a manner that we didn't think could be survived. Congratulations, _Captain_," the last word came out as a snarl. "You're gonna be the first to sample the wrath of the woman you scorned."

"I'm not Mu," snapped Neo, sounding irritated. "No matter what you say to the contrary."

"Maybe not," said Makoto, turning back around. "Maybe Mu La Flaga really is gone. But that _is_ Mu's body. His voice. His behavior. It's enough to tear Murrue's heart open again, and it's enough to get you the same pounding that Chris, Yzak and Dearka have waiting for them."

"Well gee, isn't that pleasant?" said Neo sarcastically. "You make it sound like some cheesy soap opera."

"Oh, it certainly sounds that way," agreed Makoto. "But that's the situation."

"Not all of it," commented Neo. "Can I ask what I'm missing out on?"

"You mean other than the aftermath of your little rampage through Europe?" snarled Makoto, feeling her temper flare. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, while Neo shrugged.

"Orders and all of that," he said. "If we hadn't done it, someone else would've."

"That's a ridiculous excuse," said Makoto, sighing. "I can admit to you having a point. And it's all we have to offer for Ami."

"Ami? You mean Stella, right?" questioned Neo, curious about the blonde's current condition. Makoto nodded.

"She's safe," explained the redhead. "For the moment, but she's been severely emotionally scarred by the realization of what she's done."

"I see," said Neo. He shook his head lightly. "So Stella really is the sister of the White Angel, huh?"

"That's right," said Makoto. "DNA analysis has confirmed it, despite the Extended modifications." She shook her head. "But I'm not certain how she's gonna deal with what she's done, now that she's beginning to see again."

"Hmmm." Neo glanced at her. "So, 'Lady Setsuna', you're the Dauntless Angel, huh?"

"Heh, did my cousin tell you that?" asked Makoto.

"Minako? Who else?" answered Neo easily.

"You're awfully calm about your situation," commented Makoto, leaning back against the bedpost.

"Well, I honestly expected to wake up back on the _Bonaparte_ when I faced off with the White Angel, but hey, prisoner or not, survival is still possible as long as you're alive." Neo chuckled. "So, will you tell me more about what's going on? Where's Minako? Or Treize? I expected them to be here as well."

"We got separated when the Windams from the _Bonaparte_ attacked," said Makoto. "They held them off while Kira and I pulled back with Ami. Managed to take out almost all of them, too, but vanished. We're not sure where they are right now."

"I miss anything else?"

"Only the destruction of the Chaos," answered Makoto, eyeing him curiously. Neo's eyes widened.

"What about the pilot? Sting?" he asked. Makoto just shook her head, and Neo let out a small sigh.

"That means Stella's the last of them," he said sadly. "Those three were the only ones left, and if Sting's dead, then…"

"I see," murmured Makoto. She turned around to leave. "Well, this has been an interesting conversation. It was nice and, to be honest, a little strange talking to you again, Mu." With that, the redhead left the infirmary.

"How many times do I have to tell you people that I'm _Neo_ _Roanoke_?" muttered the blond in frustration.

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

The next day

Durandal removed a pawn from the board in front of him, frowning slightly in annoyance. The incident with the Destroy had not gone as planned, a consequence of his own surprise. Logos had been playing the game with much more finesse than he'd originally expected, so this incident with the Destroy was not in his predictions.

This was going to be difficult to handle, doubly so with the Alliance propaganda campaign, and triply so with the video leak courtesy of a certain annoying redhead. His ZAFT forces had landed only one actual blow on the Destroy, and he doubted anyone would be foolish enough to fall for the idea that a single rifle shot could destroy that monstrosity. Manipulating the video evidence just right would be difficult, but fortunately, not impossible. Instead, the bigger danger was the risk of alienating some of his pawns, especially once he put forth Angel Down—an absolute necessity for his plans that would likely be complicated by the Council. Durandal sighed.

The political game was not an easy one, but it was necessary for him if he were to win this dangerous game of chess that was humanity's only hope. He closed his eyes, thinking, calculating.

Alliance propaganda… he could counter that with the Destroy incident itself and what data he did retain on Lodonia. Revealing Logos would be the crushing blow, but he had to make sure they wouldn't be able to hijack the transmission again.

The actions of Lacus Clyne and Makoto Taiyonoha were another matter, though. Although Meer had been restoring her image and that bishop was out of danger for the moment, there were still quiet voices of uncertainty. Could he…?

No, he couldn't use Meer in what was about to come up. There was too much chance of people realizing he was attempting to take advantage of Lacus's influence. No, he'd keep Meer in reserve for now while her standing was rebuilt and brought into the protection of his other pieces.

Opening his eyes, Durandal moved three of his pieces across the board, putting his Queen in position to take one of the enemy rooks, his favorite Knight ready to take the enemy's favored Knight, and his King into a dangerous position that should force the Logos-Bishop into retreat regardless. Examining the board, he nodded.

It was risky, but it was the only way to proceed. Now, it would simply be a matter of manipulating the evidence just right.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Kira had hardly left his sister's side since she was brought onboard. The girl was still dealing with the trauma of knowing what she'd done, and at Makoto's suggestion, he'd decided to follow his gut instinct and go to the one person who it seemed could likely help her: the man who ordered her to perform the massacre in the first place.

Ami was shaking, as they stood at the door to the infirmary, but Kira kept a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go," he said. "I know it's hard, but we all have to face our sins. I'll be here for you."

Ami nodded slowly in response, and Kira opened the door, the two stepping through to find Neo lying on a bed idly. The blond, surprised, glanced at the door to see who was visiting. His eyes widened, and he pulled himself into a sitting position when he recognized the blonde.

"Stella…" he murmured, shocked even though Makoto had told him the girl was okay. The blonde shook her head, and fixed Neo with a glare, which caught him equally off-guard.

"My name is Ami," she said. Neo glanced away.

"Sorry," he said. "I'll keep that in mind." Ami glanced away as well, even as Kira walked her over next to Neo's bed.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you make me do that?"

"Because if I didn't, someone else would've," said Neo, staring at the ceiling. "Because if you hadn't done that, you would've been discarded. Because I'm not perfect, and you were more important to me than thousands of lives that would've been callously murdered regardless of my actions."

"That's your excuse?" cried Ami, breaking from Kira's grip to smack Neo. "I… I killed… I… I…" The blonde broke down sobbing, throwing herself back against Kira, who wrapped his arms around his sister for comfort.

"Look, I know it's a flimsy excuse," said Neo, ignoring the stinging in his cheek. "It's all I've got. Look Ste… Ami. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry I made you do that. The only thing I have to offer is that you can't be blamed for that." He smiled, ignoring the increased sting he got for his troubles. "After all, Stella Loussier wouldn't have smacked me, right?"

It was all he could offer. All that was left was to hope for the best as Ami continued to sob. Neo's smile faded, though, because the girl cradled in the arms of the White Angel was doomed without something to stave off her drug addiction.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The next day

Suiren stood on the uppermost deck of the hangar, staring across the expanse at her machine. A part of her wondered what she was supposed to do right now.

Despite the assurances she'd offered Luna, the truth of the matter was that she was scared. If she went out there, if she fought Makoto, would Reine try to come back to the surface? Would Suiren have to struggle with herself again?

And what if she was wrong? What if they really did succeed when the order to destroy the _Archangel_ came through, as Suiren was sure it would? Shinn's ego would explode to unmanageable levels, Athrun would be crushed, and Luna… well, Suiren really didn't know.

At that point, Suiren sensed the approach of the redhead in question behind her, which brought a frown to her face.

"Suiren?" voiced Luna softly. The blonde glanced back over her shoulder at the younger girl and motioned for the Redcoat to stand next to her, turning her attention back to the Gundams.

"How's the arm?" asked Suiren. Luna shifted slightly.

"A little better," she said. "Of course, it'll be awhile before I'm able to pilot again. It's only been a week since that battle."

"Yeah," murmured Suiren.

"What about the Saviour?" asked Luna, staring out at Athrun's mobile suit, which now seemed complete again.

"Aves says they'll be done with it by the end of the day," said Suiren. "Once that's done, we'll have three Gundams available to us."

"Gundam…" murmured Luna, staring out at the two mobile suits and the Core Splendor. A slight smile tugged at Suiren's lips—the name was spreading. "Do you think I'll ever get to pilot one?"

Suiren giggled slightly. "Yeah," she said as Luna stared at her. "You're a good pilot, Luna. I'm sure you'll get your shot at piloting a Gundam one day."

"I'm grateful that you say that," said Luna. "But I'm nothing special. There are plenty of other Redcoats."

"You're wrong," said Suiren, turning around to lean back against the railing. "You are special, Lunamaria." Shocked, Luna's eyes turned to Suiren, who smiled at her warmly. "When this is over… whatever 'this' is… would you like to join the Kyusai Team?"

Lunamaria's eyes widened in shock. Any chance at an answer, however, was cutoff by the voice that suddenly boomed over the speakers.

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

Durandal sat at his desk, taking deep, calming breaths. This was it, the second phase. He'd feared he wouldn't be able to get here, until he found Lodonia, but now, it seemed he would succeed, and the plan could go forth without a hitch. Now, he just had to present it right. Meer, sitting on one of the couches as the camera crews prepared to begin the broadcast that would be forcing its way onto every network on Earth, looked up at Durandal, frowning. Her personality was tiresome at times, but she was a good girl at heart, and a very useful bishop. He gave her a soft smile and nodded, but the smile faded as he turned his attention back to the cameras.

"In three," said the camerawoman. "Two…" A second later, one of the cameramen waved at him, indicating to him that it had begun.

"Everyone, I am the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council; I am Gilbert Durandal," he introduced himself, throwing the dice. His people knew what to do, what images to capture, and this time, no one would interfere with the broadcast.

**

* * *

**

Kyoto, Japan, Republic of East Asia

"_I know it's unseemly for me to be broadcasting this message at this time given that a state of war still exists between the PLANTs and the people of Earth,_" said Durandal, voice and image broadcast throughout the city, everywhere one looked. A young girl, Hayate Yagami, frowned as she stared at the screen, surprised by what was happening.

"_Please, forgive me,_" continued Durandal. "_I beg your indulgence. Please listen to what I have to say._"

**

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**

The _Minerva_

"Captain," said Meyrin, turning her chair to face Talia. "Chairman Durandal is broadcasting an urgent message from the PLANTs."

"What?" gasped Talia.

"It's being transmitted worldwide via every form of media," continued Meyrin.

"But why would he…?" gasped Arthur.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"_I would like to explain something to all of you,_" continued Durandal as Terminal officers and a few others gathered on the bridge of the assault ship.

"What's this? What's going on?" asked Murrue, rushing to Kira's side next to the captain's chair. At the front of the bridge, Ami watched the screen with as much curiosity as anyone else, with Makoto and Cagalli on either side of her, but Cagalli stepped away, moving closer to the monitor.

"Chairman Durandal…" muttered Kira darkly.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Pipe it throughout the ship," ordered Talia. "As many people as possible should be hearing this."

"Yes ma'am," said Arthur.

"_Allow me to explain the reason why this war has not yet come to an end,_" came Durandal's voice over the PA. "_The true reason is why we once again found ourselves at war again in the first place._"

"What?" gasped Luna.

"A broadcast from the Chairman?" questioned Suiren. The two pilots immediately turned and rushed out of the hangar, heading for the lounge.

"_I'm certain many of you do not know the real reasons,_" continued Durandal. "_Because it is not the policy of most nations to reveal this information._" The screen suddenly started to display the Destroy moving through a city, being attacked by Eurasian forces. The clip switched ahead, and suddenly, they were watching ZAFT forces attacking the Destroy, just as ineffectively, and the massive transformable mobile armor slammed its foot down on a fallen BuCUE.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"No way," whispered Chiaki Shirai in horror as she watched the broadcast with her friends, Atsuko Kawamura and Risa Saeki. Others watching the broadcast all over the world were just as horrified… and some who knew of the reality surprised that ZAFT would be bold enough to add in themselves, even though ZAFT had never engaged the Destroy directly.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Ami shuddered with horror at the images of what she'd done. Kira, sensing her turmoil, turned to face her, but saw Makoto holding the blonde in her arms, soothingly stroking her back, the color of her eyes shifting ever so slightly, and he realized the redhead was expending her own energy and peace into his sister.

"_These images were taken a few days ago when the Alliance's new superweapon emerged from Central Eurasia and advanced westward, destroying whole cities in its path._"

"ZAFT… ZAFT was never there…" whispered Ami, still shaking despite Makoto offering all of the quasi-mystical comfort she could.

**

* * *

**

Djibril's Bunker

"WHAT IS HE DOING?" shouted Djibril, eyes wide, unable to believe what was happening.

"_This weapon of annihilation attacked without warning,_" said Durandal. "_It wiped out three cities, killing many of the citizens who had no time to evacuate._"

"Cut him off!" shouted Djibril, hitting an intercom switch. "Intercept the broadcast, and quickly!"

**

* * *

**

Amaterasu Three

"_As soon as we became aware of it, ZAFT forces engaged the weapon in battle,_" said Durandal while the video displayed mobile suits launching from the _Minerva_, focusing in particular on the Impulse and showing a shot of it firing its rifle at the Destroy before the image switched back to Durandal. "_Though we did stop it, regretfully, many lives were lost before it was destroyed. The cities of Earth were attacked by the Earth Forces. Why did this happen?_"

Sitting at an outside table of a restaurant, Nanoha Takamachi stared up at the screen, surprised by what she was seeing. That machine was some kind of monster, but she also knew Durandal was lying—a friend of hers had told her that the Taiyonoha Fleet had destroyed that thing while most of the ZAFT forces were preoccupied with its escort, except for the Impulse, which had basically 'floated around looking pretty'.

"So the bastard's manipulating evidence?" questioned the friend in question, Signum Okita. "I wonder what this means…"

**

* * *

**

The _Winter Eagle_

"_The Alliance has put forth no excuse for striking at civilian targets, citing only a state of war with the Eurasian Federation,_" said Durandal as the video of the Destroy continued with several explosions and the mobile armor firing its beam cannons into the sky. "_But after the tragedies we have already experienced, we all know that there is no excuse for this massacre. The people of Eurasia have made their voice heard by their leaders, their desire for an end to this war, for the return to a life of normalcy and peace. They no longer wish to fight. All they desire is to live in peace with their loved ones. These are the kinds of people whom the Earth Alliance has chosen to murder for pursuing their desires._"

At this point, the video switched to showing civilians who were victims of the 'incident', and Sakura Noriega raised an eyebrow curiously at that. Well, well, the Chairman sunk ever lower—or were the Eurasians really so grateful to the force that had sat there looking pretty while their people were slaughtered that they allowed them to obtain plenty of free propaganda footage? Then again, perhaps it would benefit the Eurasians more.

""You're playing a dangerous game, Durandal…"

**

* * *

**

Djibril's Bunker

"_But the Alliance has scorned our desires and the desires of Eurasia for peace,_" said Durandal forcefully, the displayed image switching back to the Chairman. "_And when Eurasia left the Alliance because it recognized their corruption, the Alliance retaliated with a meaningless slaughter! The Alliance has judged them, sentenced them to death and burned them in their own homes! Even children!_"

"What are you doing?" shouted Djibril. "Cut him off right now!"

"_Djibril, do you have an explanation for this?_" demanded Mr. Gradenko.

"_This is your mess Djibril and now you have to clean it up,_" added Mr. Lorne coolly.

"_Where is Serena Ryker, Djibril?_" added Mr. Hoffesommer coolly. Djibril grit his teeth furiously, features twisting in rage at the mention of Ryker. The woman had disappeared just after the deployment of the Destroy, along with the Wolfpack Team and a number of other forces here and there. It was the reason Djibril hadn't beaten Durandal to the cut with regards to this 'incident'.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The video footage of the Destroy battle continued. Now, it showed the Impulse floating towards the Destroy, beam saber held in hand. The Destroy fired its backpack cannons at the Impulse, but they passed by on either side of it.

"The Freedom's… gone…" murmured Athrun in shock. Luna, standing next to Suiren on the other side of the lounge, noticed the same, gasping in surprise. The next instant, the Destroy was shown exploding, and Shinn grit his teeth in fury, thoughts flying back to how the Freedom pilot had _murdered_ _Stella_!

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_, docked with the Terminal

"_Why? Why does it have to be this way?_" cried Durandal, slamming his hands on his desk before jumping to his feet. "_Why can't we be permitted to live in peace? Why must we fight without end?_" He sighed, seeming to calm himself. "_It is true that this war began with a single terrible act, one caused by a few Coordinators. But to accuse all of us of being responsible for their actions is the same as accusing all Naturals of being responsible for the Bloody Valentine. It was the path taken by the genocidal leaders of both sides of the conflict in the last war. Accusing all Coordinators for the actions of a few is no different, and it is no different than accusing us of forgetting the tragedy of Junius Seven._"

"Well…" commented Andy, leaning back slightly. "That's almost promising. He hasn't brought out his faux Lacus brat."

"Please be polite," said Lacus.

"Everyone's riled up by it, Miss Lacus," commented Canard, leaning against a bulkhead. He'd arrived earlier that day, delivering the Gaia to the Terminal. "It looks like we're getting to the meat of it. Let's see what the good Chairman has to say today."

**

* * *

**

Copernicus City

"_Peace is what all people seek,_" continued Durandal. "_It is the one thing that all people have in common. But there have always been those who let this desire been clouded and corrupted. Those who would prevent such peace and harmony at all costs. They've been with us since antiquity._"

The two individuals watching the broadcast knew that people everywhere would be gasping in surprise.

"Everything's flowing according to your predictions," said Eve Walser, turning to the woman lying bedridden next to her seat. "And everything will continue to flow as such. I promise you." She reached out and held the hand of the figure on the bed, who gently squeezed back in appreciation.

**

* * *

**

The _Bonaparte_

"_They have demanded that people fight because of the __**profits**__ that can be generated,_" said Durandal, his disgust evident with the emphasis he put on that word. "_You're a coward if you don't fight and you're a traitor if you don't follow orders. They use those words when they hand you a weapon and tell you to attack. That is what they say when they invent enemies out of nothing. The last thing they want is a world of peace. It is clear that __**these**__ are the people that are behind this latest tragedy in Western Eurasia._"

_So…_ thought Leon. _We've reached that point. It's about time… at least I'll be able to leave this soon… Hanako… please hold on just a little while longer…_

**

* * *

**

Djibril's Bunker

"_Djibril!_" roared Gradenko furiously.

"Shut it down!" roared Djibril over the intercom. "Cut this broadcast down at once! What's wrong with you?"

"_The organization Blue Cosmos is well known,_" said Durandal. "_They detest Coordinators and say they shouldn't exist, but what you don't know is that it was invented by these same people. These individuals hide in the shadows. They're constantly inventing new enemies, insuring war is always raging somewhere. The merchants of death: the military industrial complex. They're known as Logos. __**They**__ are the true enemies of anyone who loves peace._"

As he spoke, a list and accompanying images of people Djibril knew to be part of Logos came up… and his eyes widened in terror when he recognized himself among them.

**

* * *

**

Unknown Location in Eurasia

"So this is it," murmured Hotaru. "This is the first enemy."

"_First enemy?_" questioned Treize. "_They seem like the true enemy to me._"

"Logos… then Durandal," said Hotaru. "After them… the true enemy will finally have to step out of the shadows and get its own hands dirty."

"_What are you talking about, Haruka?_"

"We have to find the _Archangel_, immediately!" said Hotaru instead of giving a straight answer.

**

* * *

**

Pilot's Lounge at Gibraltar

Zane and the rest of the Kyusai Team sat in the lounge, surrounded by many other ZAFT soldiers watching Durandal's broadcast. In spite of himself, Zane found a smile tugging at his lips.

It was time to payback the monsters that took away his old life by tearing apart everything they had fought to guard.

"Then that's… the next stage of this war, is it?" murmured Murase. "A war to end all wars…"

"Foolish," murmured Auron, standing next to his long-time friend.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Chairman…" murmured Shinn, a delighted, fond smile on his features now. Finally, they would be destroying those bastards. He just hoped that they'd get a crack at the Freedom and the _Archangel_ who'd forced such great and unnecessary losses to be suffered by ZAFT with their interventions.

"_I wish for a world that never again knows the scourge of war,_" said Durandal. "_Since Logos continues to block our efforts, I am taking this opportunity to announce a military campaign with the specific goal of eliminating it __**and**__ its members._"

The video now switched to people in an unspecified location.

"Luna…" whispered Suiren in the other girl's ear, causing Luna to stiffen slightly at the feeling of the blonde's breath so close. "This is propaganda at its finest. Remember that the victims are the people who see it instead of always those who suffer, and don't forget what it looks like so that you're never a victim yourself."

"Yes… Suiren," said Luna softly as the people displayed in the broadcast hefted weapons and chanted Durandal's name.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"A military campaign?" exclaimed Cagalli. "This is gonna be big trouble." She turned to Murrue. "Captain!"

"We need to head back to Orb anyway," said Kira, turning to face Murrue as well. "But it's even more important now. We didn't expect this."

"He's lying…" murmured Ami, clutching at her head. Kira turned his attention to his sister and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. "He's saying that Shinn killed me… he's…"

"There's one good thing in this for us," said Kira softly. "Stella Loussier is dead. You can start again, without those sins."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate, Orb Union

"Fascinating…" commented Serenity, turning to look at her friend. "It seems some purges are in order."

"I'll look into it," said Mina, sipping her tea. "I'm not sure what can be trusted from him, but my family has had dealings with Blue Cosmos in the past. Certainly not a stretch of the imagination that members of the branch houses could be affiliated with this Logos group."

"Hmmm," murmured Serenity. "And then there's that rather interesting Athha in that list…"

"You look into that one," said Mina. "He wasn't fool enough to accuse any of the Taiyonoha."

"Hmmm, we'll see what happens," said Serenity, standing up and walking over to the balcony.

"Yes… we'll see what happens."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Ha... haha... hahaha... Mwuhahahahahahahaha! Ohohohohohoho!**

**Yes, I've had too much fun with this. Anyways, the big explanation at this point is that, no, the people of Earth have not all suddenly gone to supporting Durandal-put simply, the only people actually _shown_ in that broadcast were the ones supporting Durandal. Propaganda says you only show the stuff that makes you look better, not worse. Certainly nothing to instill doubt at this delicate stage? The more it looks like people support him, the more likely people are to support him.**

**Anyways, moving past that, we've got a fair bit going on. Stella, remembering her name and instinctually recognizing Kira and Cagalli, but nothing else, asks to be called Ami. At this point, now that her empathy has been, essentially, restored along with her ability to recognize right and wrong (Shinn did one good thing in that fight, and that was it), trying to be someone else is all that's keeping her sane. Neo is clearly shown sympathetically... not that Makoto doesn't want to smack him around.**

**Anyways, we see a lot of things from different characters. Changes to the Shinn-Athrun scene with regards to Freedom were relatively minute, so I ultimately decided not to bother. What purpose would it have served? Only to make extreme Shinn fans a little happier, but I hate Shinn at this stage (always have hated mid-series Shinn, he's better at the beginning and end), and there's no reason to make people read that again. The only reason I bothered with Durandal's full speech was because of all the necessary changes. Also, it was convenient for lengthening the chapter and throwing a bunch of random scenes and characters out there. ^_^**

**In any event, Ami clearly finds comfort with only three people, since she's angry with Neo for what he made her do as Stella. Hopefully, that'll clear up soon, but that's not the concern of this A/N.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter, we get another of those moments you've all been waiting for: Freedom vs. Impulse, Sincerity vs. Rose and Strike Raven vs. Saviour. Look forward to it! ^_^**

**Please leave a review! Say****ō****nara, min'na!  
**


	33. Phase 33: The Ace of Aces

**_YES!_ I'm sure you've all been waiting for this as well. Finally-FINALLY!-Kira and Shinn go head-to-head. I'm not even gonna bother with much of an A/N up here, other than to indicate that I'll talk more at the bottom, and also that I have a lengthy explanation during the chapter as to what I feel is logical reasoning for the high performance of Gundams in SEED. ^_^ Well, and some messages to send out.  
**

**Oh, and something else: to F-14 Tomcat Lover, SamuraiGundam, Mega1987 and FlawlessCowboy2552: I hear what you're saying, but there is a slight problem with the Windam idea; well, two, actually: the first is that the Windam pilots on the _Bonaparte_ did not actually know Neo that long. It's unlikely they'd be that loyal to him. Second is that none of them would be able to make that journey and come to the _Archangel_'s aid. As for the rest... well, just read.**

**Also, there is an anonymous reviewer referring to himself as "Red Letter Reviewer". I'm not sure if he's reading this right now, but I'd just like to indicate some things, and quite a few people have voiced agreement: whoever "Red Letter Reviewer" is, he's a rather immature brat (I don't care how old he is or claims to be). He bitches up a small storm when I deleted his "reviews" which were really just flames that showed he hadn't even read the story (_Gundam SEED: Legends_), since he got nine out of ten things in it wrong (remember, several people I've discussed this with have voiced their wholehearted agreement with my assessment). He basically declares my stories a plague upon the internet (though _SEED: Legends_ was written with Kiiroi Senko and has only just begun), and apparently they're so much worse than anything else out there that he feels the need to come back when I finish _SEED Serenity_ and, to quote him, "**strike with such an iron fury you(I) will most likely stop writing forever.**" He apparently feels that only he knows what a good story is, and if anyone else enjoys it then "**The time for action is now...I will review you again in a year when you finish Serenty...have fun unitl then. THen I will expose to everyone the truth. The much needed truth.**" Honestly, the sheer ego behind it all had me laughing my head off, not to mention the fact that, if he really thinks its so bad, he should find something else to read. *Shakes head* Anyways, he had some good points the first time I got a review from him-on this story, back in Phase 28-which is why I left that review there. Regardless, if anyone is interested, I'll share his deleted "reviews" (*cough* flames *cough cough*) and you can give me your opinions on it.**

**Regardless of that: I'm not gonna tell you my story is great. If you enjoy it, great. If you don't, that's fine. I enjoy this, and I'm hoping others enjoy it as well, which is why I'm posting it. If one measly guy feels so self-righteous in his dislike of a story that he feels the need to try and make everyone else see things his way than... *shrug* Well, I'm not sure how people describe such folk, but I'm gonna go with "flamer" here, because it's the only thing I can think of that fits the bill. Maybe an ego-maniac. It's not gonna stop my posts, especially as long as other people continue to enjoy the story, even if said ego-maniac is convinced those people must've been brainwashed or something.  
**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13, as always, for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Who cares? Let's get on with it!  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Three: The Ace of Aces

December 20th, C.E. 73

**

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**

Location Unknown

Gabriel smiled thinly at the monitors displayed in his conference room. He wasn't alone in here, but his two cohorts were standing back, out of sight of the cameras sending his image back to his favored pawns.

"It seems things are going well," he said lightly. "Michael, I trust everything's proven… satisfactory?"

"_Extremely, Gabriel,_" replied Michael, grinning sadistically. Gabriel's smiled grew a touch more prominent—Michael was one of the best pawns he could've hoped for.

"What about your toy, Raphael? He's failed us… repeatedly." Despite the underlying threat inherent in the words, Gabriel's tone was as light as ever.

"_I wouldn't say that, Lord Gabriel,_" said Raphael just as lightly. "_After all, the boy only __**thinks**__ we don't recognize him as a failure. For the remainder of this war, he has some potential use._" Gabriel nodded, glancing at another monitor.

"What about you, Prophet?" he asked. "How have your people been coming along? And what sort of technology has Ragnarok produced?"

"_My people have done well,_" said Prophet, frowning. "_I have a new agent, Seth, aboard the __**Minerva**__ as well. Along with Jester, Seth is positioned to deal with the nuisances aboard that vessel when the time comes._"

"What about Void and Harlequin?" questioned Gabriel.

"_Harlequin has withdrawn from her previous assignment with a number of considerable boons,_" answered Prophet. His frown deepened. "_However, she's begun to question where I'm sending her toys._"

"Go ahead and tell her the truth," said Gabriel. "Well, as much as you're supposed too." He chuckled as Prophet's frown deepened further. "And what about Ragnarok? Void's been the one monitoring that for us."

"_An interesting piece of technology, at the Chairman's request,_" said Prophet. "_A device they are calling a 'Psychic Monitor'. It seems Durandal hasn't lost his interest in Newtypes._"

"Hmm, we'll have to make improvements," muttered Gabriel. "Please have it sent to Raphael. That's his field of expertise."

"_Yes sir._"

"_What of the __**Archangel**__ and the Children of Divinity?_" questioned Noah. Unlike the rest, the voice of this pawn was distinctly female.

"_Durandal has launched a campaign against them,_" said Enoch. "_Operation Angel Down. Heh. Waste of his time._"

"_But that serves our purposes as well,_" added Lucifer. "_But why hasn't the Knight been eliminated? Or Kamakura, for that matter?_"

"_Patience,_" chided Prophet. "_Jester and Seth will deal with those two when the time comes, along with the rest of ZAFT's more troublesome forces._"

"Hmm, all seems well then," said Gabriel. "Gentleman, my lady. It was good to see you again. I look forward to the day we can all meet face-to-face once again." With that, Gabriel shutdown the communiqué and turned to his cohorts as a pair of slim figures, one of them with the sensuous walk and curves of a rather seductive woman, walked into the center of the conference room.

"So? What did you think?" he asked them lightly. "Adam, Eve."

"It's all a waste of time," said Adam. "We could've sat all of this out, merely recruiting agents. Even with us pulling him around by his nose, Djibril is so foolish that it changed nothing."

"On the contrary, it allowed us to gain some interesting resources," said Gabriel. "And it's not like we truly expended anything at all ourselves, other than a bit of minor effort."

"I didn't come here to argue such things," interjected Eve. "Gabriel, I want the orders to eliminate Dante rescinded. He belongs to _me_."

"You'll have to deal with Allster if you want him," said Gabriel, clearly amused. Eve snarled in disgust.

"Allster _and_ her child will not stop me," she spat. "Dante is _mine_."

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

Durandal couldn't suppress a slight smile. Meer was off at one of her concerts right now, leaving him with a single, trusted FAITH agent, one of two that had known the whole truth of this war from the beginning.

"Our friend Gabriel has dropped off the radar," commented Durandal, fingering the chess pieces on the board. "And he's taken Ragnarok with him." Durandal scowled at that thought.

"I know sir," said the FAITH agent. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to find any information for you." Durandal shook his head.

"It's alright," he said. "Ragnarok was nowhere near as valuable as Gabriel thought it was. Its only boon was in its secrecy."

"Of course, sir."

"And how are things coming regarding the Destiny Project?" asked Durandal. This particular agent was the one heading that project.

"Sir, it's coming along fine," said the agent. "Destiny, Legend, Reckoning and Avenger will be done with time to spare for the assault on Heaven's Base, Orb and the lunar bases."

"Excellent," said Durandal, smiling coolly.

"But sir, I have to ask… Angel Down? I thought we agreed that the Dauntless Angel was mine?"

"I don't expect Angel Down to be a complete success," said Durandal. "However, Rey has been working closely with Shinn. He'll at the least be able to defeat Kira Yamato. The boy is foolish, idealistic and naïve, while Shinn recognizes the reality, and that will allow him to attain victory." The agent chuckled.

"The White Devil will triumph over the White Angel?"

"I'm certain of it," said Durandal. "We'll have to get Rey's report in person before we know if we should accept Athrun as the pilot of the Legend or not. I suppose it will all depend on how he reacts to Angel Down. Fortunately, there were only two dissenters in the Council." Durandal turned his attention away from the chessboard and focused on his agent. "Will you be able to, though? Will you truly be able to slay the Dauntless Angel?"

"Of course," said the agent. "The power you have put in my hands will be more than sufficient."

"Let us hope so," said Durandal, turning back to the board. "But… I wonder…"

"Hmm?"

"Gabriel has a vested interest in Makoto Taiyonoha as well," he explained, picking up the White Knight representing the young woman. "If they can take hold of her… I wonder, does he seek the creation of a Fallen Angel?" He placed the knight back on the board, but turned it to face one of the other white knights. "If so, it's rather clever." He chuckled. "Perhaps I should've sought as much. The SEED offers great strength but I have already discerned its weaknesses and how to exploit them. Perhaps I should've looked into it more. What better way to crush the Angels than to have them destroy each other?" Durandal sighed. "But… it's a rather disappointing thing as well. Things are too far along for that."

"I prefer it this way," said the agent. "I told you: the Dauntless Angel of Faith will die by _my_ hand." The agent smiled sinisterly. "I owe her a painful death for everything she's taken away from me."

"Hmmm, you know, of course, that you have no place in the Destiny Plan?" questioned Durandal. The agent shrugged, but didn't seem concerned.

"Of course sir. Just like Rey. Just like Kira Yamato and Makoto Taiyonoha. The four us will be stricken from the world, heralding the coming of Destiny. It's as simple as that."

"Yes, I see," said Durandal softly.

"Sir? If I might ask, how is the campaign going?" Durandal smiled thinly.

"Not as well as I'd originally hoped, but as good as could be expected, given the current situation," he said. "Oceania of course has declared its continued support, while North Africa and South America have both declared a switch in allegiance. The Kingdom of Scandinavia, Equatorial Union and Eurasian Federation have declared neutrality in the matter, but I suspect they won't interfere with our strikes at Logos in their territory." He sighed. "The Atlantic Federation, Republic of East Asia and Orb Union have been more resistant. Well, all things considered, only East Asia is a surprise in that regards."

"And what of the Taiyonoha?"

Durandal frowned slightly. "I'm honestly not sure," he said. "Individuals have been disappearing from everywhere for some time, most notably in Orb and East Asia. I suspect they are people moving to L3, undeniably the most peaceful location anywhere on Earth or in space. Once Orb has been destroyed and Logos crushed, the Taiyonoha will be the only opposition to the Destiny Plan. I guarantee it." Durandal smirked. "And they can't possibly hope to defeat ZAFT and the allies we'll attain in support of Destiny."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"We've just received our new orders," said Talia, catching the pilots' off-guard as she entered the briefing room. It was unusual for the Captain to participate in these briefings personally, usually relegating the task to Saul, one of the FAITH agents, or Arthur. The fact that she didn't here made them tense. "Before joining the campaign against Logos, the _Minerva_ is to participate in Operation Angel Down." There were universal gasps of shock from the pilots—it didn't take a genius to figure out what sort of objective an operation named 'Angel Down' would have.

"Ma'am… does that mean…?" questioned Shinn hopefully. Talia nodded grimly.

"The objective of Operation Angel Down is the destruction of the _Archangel_, the Freedom and the Sincerity," she said, drawing more gasps as their suspicions—and for some, fears or hopes—were confirmed. "We're being deployed alongside the Willard Team, the Dominique Team and the Sinclair Team. We've already determined the location and course of the target." The display screen behind Talia switched to a snowy, turbulent region. "This is the area we expect to intercept them at. There isn't any solid battle plan here—as they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy, and the enemies here are perhaps the greatest we'll ever have to face. On top of that, we only have three mobile suits."

"Captain, I have to object to this mission!" said Athrun, jumping to his feet. "There's no reason to destroy the _Archangel_! They're not the enemy! If anything, I'd think they would support us against Logos!"

"But… aren't they already aware of Logos, yet still opposed to ZAFT?" answered Talia icily. Athrun's mouth snapped shut, and Shinn barely suppressed a snicker, while Athrun wondered how she'd found out… she was spying on him?

"The _Archangel_ is opposed to war and looking to protect their friends," said Suiren idly. "That is all."

"Besides… we lied and took credit for their work," said Saul. "ZAFT's participation in that battle basically amounted to getting knocked around a lot while the _Archangel_ and its machines did all the work." Shinn grit his teeth in annoyance.

"I know that," said Talia coolly. "But this is war and this is reality. The _Archangel_ is our enemy. Our orders are clear. Athrun, Suiren, if you don't want to participate in this mission, that is your right. But I'll have to assign your machines to someone else—we can't afford to have them sitting idle."

"I'll fly," said Suiren. Her eyes were cold enough to freeze hell as she fixed a glare on Talia. "And _nobody_ touches my Rose."

Talia gulped nervously at that ice. At that moment, it wasn't Suiren Kyusai of FAITH looking at her—it was her 'niece', Reine En Creuset, the Golden Rose of War and one of the deadliest aces ZAFT had ever fielded. The young woman was not without sins weighing on her soul, and the most notorious was the time she gunned down one of her wingman—who was later found out to be a spy. Nevertheless, the Golden Rose was not someone that any person would cross lightly.

"Athrun?" questioned Talia, professionally covering her nervousness.

"I won't fly," said Athrun coldly. "This Operation is a mistake."

"The Freedom has cost us the lives of a lot of good people!" said Shinn, snapping to his feet and glaring at Athrun. "How _dare_ you say something like that!"

"Shinn, you're out of line!" snapped Heine, stepping up to the Redcoat and putting a hand on his shoulder, forcing him down slightly. The tension in the briefing room was thick enough to cut with a knife. "Now calm yourself or I'll have you sitting reserve for the rest of the war!"

"Heine, please calm down," said Talia. "Shinn's been reassigned to the Impulse for this operation." That seemed to calm Shinn down, who smirked broadly as he took his seat back. Finally! He would be able to destroy the Freedom and avenge Stella!

"But as a FAITH agent in the field, I am authorized to rescind certain orders, even if they come from the Chairman himself," said Suiren, surprising everyone present. "Shinn, another act of insubordination and I _will_ have you out of the Impulse for the rest of the war. If you can't keep calm and follow orders, you have no right to be flying. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," said Shinn, calm and content in the knowledge that he'd be able to avenge Stella, his family… hell, at this point, he practically saw it as avenging the entire world against the evils the Freedom had committed.

"Good," said Suiren. "Athrun, if you won't fly the Saviour, then I'll have it assigned to Heine."

"That's your cousin out there," said Athrun. "How can you…?" Suiren ignored him.

"If that's all, ma'am?" she asked. Perhaps somewhat reluctantly, Talia nodded. They understood the situation now—all that was left was to deal with the tension, which was better left to Saul and Suiren.

"We expect to intercept within two hours," she said. "Be ready." And with that, she left.

"Shinn… good luck out there," said Suiren. Shinn stood up, smirking.

"Thanks," he said, leaving the briefing room with Rey. Everyone else stared at Suiren, who smirked in response.

"Shinn's been in desperate need of a very good humbling," she said. "It's the only reason I'm letting him fly on this mission. He'll gun for the Freedom… and learn that he's nowhere near as good as he thinks."

"Yeah… I wish Jessie were here," said Tristan softly. "The way those two were… I miss that, and I think Shinn does too."

"You're probably right," said Suiren, just as softly before turning her attention back to the group at large, particularly Heine. "Heine, I want you to go for the Strike Raven, but try to avoid anything lethal if you want to keep your head. I'll deal with Sincerity, and the other teams can worry about any additional mobile suits they launch."

"It's a moot point, right?" interjected Luna before anyone could speak up again. "This mission…"

"Hmm, you don't think you can take on the Sincerity, do you?" questioned Nicol, leaning back slightly in his seat.

"I know I can't," corrected Suiren.

"And this ship is no match for the _Archangel_," said Shiho. "The way things have gone, we know that Durandal will want as much left to the _Minerva_ as possible."

"Right now, it's not necessarily a bad thing," commented Saul. "Put on a good show, let everyone think the _Archangel_ is dead, maybe garner some more support against Logos…"

"Or lose support," said Aleksi. "The _Archangel_'s still a popular force, and the Eurasians…"

"The Chairman is gambling a lot on all of this," commented Suiren. "Well, figuring that out isn't our concern. Suit up and prep for launch."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"Operation Angel Down, huh?" murmured Murrue. "Guess we'll have to redouble our speed."

"Looks that way," said Kira. Makoto shrugged.

"We suspected something like this would happen," she said, glancing at Ami, attached to Kira's side. "It's why we haven't performed… well, whatever you want to call it. I don't want to be bed-ridden when the shit hits the fan."

"I wouldn't either," said Flay. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, to start, we should go for nonlethal force," commented Murrue, surprising Amagi, who was commanding the CIC in Natarle's place. "ZAFT may be looking to provoke us into aggressive actions, so if we don't need to kill, we shouldn't."

"That will severely deplete our ability to fight back," commented Amagi uncertainly.

"Kira and Makoto can handle it," said Cagalli. "Kira specializes in that sort of thing, and they're not the Angels for nothing."

"Ah, Cagalli, such confidence!" said Makoto in an overly sugary tone. "You're making me blush!"

"Shut up."

"Any idea how long before intercept?" asked Kira, glancing at Faith. The AI shrugged, image flickering slightly.

"That depends on whether you want the forces that are actually worth noting or not," she said. "By my estimates, the first ZAFT forces will intercept within the hour. But the only real concern is the _Minerva_, which will intercept in about two—at an estimate, we'll have ten minutes after they arrive before we reach the ocean."

"I see," murmured Murrue. Ami spoke up.

"Let me launch," she said, drawing surprised looks from everyone present. "I can help."

"No," said Kira firmly. "Combat will strain you, and the drugs in your body right now will dry up sooner. We can deal with the issue, but I don't want you on death's doorstep when we reach Orb." He locked his eyes with Ami's, making sure she understood every word he spoke perfectly. "All of this will be a moot point for me if you're not okay. Understand?" The two continued to stare one another down but, as strong as Ami was, she wasn't nearly as strong as Kira, and the younger of the two backed down first.

"Yes," she said softly. "I understand."

"When the enemy arrives, we should have Kira and Makoto launch," said Shizuka. "Do you want Faith uploaded to the Sincerity?" Makoto shook her head.

"No, keep her here to coordinate the CIWS," she said. Shizuka nodded.

"When the _Minerva_ arrives, Flay, Cagalli, you should launch in the Strike Raven and Strike Rouge," continued Shizuka.

"No," said Kira sharply, surprising everyone. He fixed a pointed stare on Cagalli. "I want you to remain here. Keep an eye on Ami, and make sure you get back to Orb."

"Kira?" questioned the blonde uncertainly.

"Our highest priority is getting you back to Orb," said Kira. "Everything else is secondary right now."

"I agree with Kira," said Makoto, glancing at the brunet. "Don't worry. If our assessment about the Chairman is correct, then the forces we deal with shouldn't be very tough until the _Minerva_ shows up. If we're quick, we can deal with them first."

"You'll have, at most, an hour to work in," said Faith. "Are you planning to…?"

"I'm taking Sincerity to her limits," said Makoto. "Kira, let's get ready to fly."

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later

"You're not gonna wear a pilot suit this time… are you?" questioned Makoto, sitting in the pilot's lounge, which was vacant outside of herself and Kira. The brunet nodded.

"The first time I piloted a machine, it was without a pilot suit," he said softly. "And I've only done that once since, when I dealt with those assassins coming after Lacus."

"So why start now?"

Kira shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "I suppose I just… don't like the restrictions. I've only gotten actual use out of pilot suits twice, when Athrun detonated the Aegis and at Jachin Due."

"It saved your life both times." Kira shrugged, and the two fell silent after that.

There was still a tense air between them, one they escaped by reliving the past before they were swept up in conflict or by becoming the Angels the conflict had forged them into. The one thing they couldn't be around each other was Kira Yamato and Makoto Taiyonoha. Fortunately, with Lacus, Liz and Louisa elsewhere, no one was taking notice—or so they thought.

Sitting in the comfortable silence for so long, the two were only mildly surprise when the enemy showed up.

"_Enemy silhouettes detected,_" came Mir's voice over the PA. "_All pilots, prepare yourselves for takeoff. Kira, Makoto, to your machines please. Mechanics, prep Freedom, Sincerity and Strike Raven for launch._"

A few minutes later, and their two most powerful machines were loaded into the catapults.

"_Kira? You're flying without a pilot suit?_" questioned Miriallia, surprising the bridge crew as well. They were used to Makoto flying without one, but Kira had never been that bold.

"Yeah," said Kira. "We ready?"

"_Affirmative you two, you are go for launch._"

"Roger that, Kira Yamato, Freedom, let's do it!"

"Makoto Taiyonoha, Sincerity, let's go!"

The Angels launched, side-by-side. They were outnumbered more than ten-to-one and simply outgunned in general.

The ZAFT forces never stood a chance.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Pretty impressive," muttered Heine, going over the Saviour's systems. "I'm surprised Athrun hasn't pushed this thing farther." He shook his head, not worrying about it too much, and instead focusing on familiarizing himself with the mobile suit. Well, it wasn't his GOUF, that was for sure—this was a much finer machine. Given this, he was honestly even more surprised he'd done so well against the Gaia in his first encounter with the stolen prototypes.

On one of the balconies overlooking the hangar, Suiren leaned against the railing, staring at the Saviour, wondering if Heine would be able to bring out the red Gundam's latent potential. Standing next to her, Luna shifted slightly.

"Aren't you going to make sure the Rose is ready?" she asked. Suiren shrugged.

"I'm not worried," she said. "Heine just needs to familiarize himself with the Saviour, and Shinn's so obsessed with destroying the Freedom that he's triple-checking everything."

"Well, that's a first for him," commented Luna. Suiren giggled slightly.

"What? Not worried that your wanna-be-boyfriend is trying to kill your crush?" she teased. Luna scowled.

"You're the one who said Kira would be fine," she said. "And Shinn is definitely _not_ my boyfriend. He's an impulsive, egotistical, self-centered 'woe-is-me' _brat_! I don't care if his sister being an Extended justifies it! Shiho's freakin' _in love_ with that Yzak guy, only an idiot—like Shinn—could possibly miss that and she's handled it just fine!"

Suiren couldn't help it—she laughed. She laughed harder than she'd laughed in a long time, and there was no sinister undertone to it—just pure joy and amusement. It was enough to draw shocked looks from all over the hangar.

"S-Suiren?" stuttered Luna, surprised.

"Gomen, gomen," said Suiren, then caught herself and switched to the traditional trade language. "Sorry about that. I just can't believe you're so passionate about it." Suiren's eyes narrowed in a playful manner. "But you know, if you accept my offer, you're gonna have to deal with Yuki. As it happens, she's got a bit of a crush on Shinn."

"What? How could anyone…" Luna trailed off, shaking her head as she realized she was applying her own standards to others in her mind.

"Yuki's able to see things more clearly than you, Lunamaria," said Suiren. "Hmm, but who knows? Maybe one day, that'll change." The blonde smiled. "Yeah… it'll change… I'm sure of it."

**

* * *

**

Eastern Eurasia

The fight really wasn't fair.

ZAFT had deployed three _Compton_-class land battleships, the Willard Team's _Uhlenbeck_, the Dominique Team's _Ornstein_, and the Sinclair Team's _Van Vleck_. Not only were these ships heavily armed, but each carried just over thirty mobile suits—meaning that, at the end of the day, they'd outnumbered the _Archangel_'s two deployed mobile suits over _forty-to-one_.

The _problem_, for ZAFT anyway, was mobile suits meant numbers counted less than skill. This was doubly true when those same highly skilled enemies were genetically superior, naturally gifted, possessed superhuman degrees of spatial awareness, 'super prototype' mobile suits, and… well, the list went on and on.

When you got right down to it, missiles were little more than a warhead with guidance systems and explosives packed in, attached to a cylinder filled with fuel, attached to a rocket engine. Oh, they were quite deadly, before the advent of the N-jammer disrupted guidance systems, robbing the weapons of standard computer guidance and forcing manufacturers, pilots and gunners to find alternatives.

Though not the only weapon to be weakened by the N-jammers, missiles were by far the most notable because of the loss of advanced guidance systems. Prior to that, Earth Forces Moebius mobile armors were equipped with super-guided missiles that could even hold targets behind them. The improved ECM disrupted this guidance, and now, if you could sideslip a missile, you could break the target lock—it wasn't like the things could turn on a dime.

Prior to the mobile suit, this wouldn't be an issue. But unlike fighters and mobile armors (or at least the old-style Moebiuses), mobile suits could practically halt their movement on a dime, take advantage of AMBACs to adjust position, and move in a fashion similar to humans. Ergo, missiles were rendered moot points, doubly so with the advent of Phase Shift armor.

As unguided weapons went, one just had to sideslip them. With sufficient distance and practice, anyone could do this, just like they could missiles, especially if they weren't a particularly large target (which was just another reason mobile suits were superior to mobile armors, both new and old). The hardest to dodge, easily, were railguns with their super-accelerated projectiles—after all, just as in old aerial combat, bullets had a long way to travel, and contrary to popular civilian belief, beam weapons were _not_ as fast as light. Rounds fired from railguns were faster than any other weapon out there, but even they weren't impossible to dodge—just considerably more difficult than the rest. Again, Phase Shift rendered this a moot point.

To top all of this off, the Freedom harnessed raw power for incredible speed and mobility, while the Sincerity harnessed advanced technology and excessive energy to achieve much the same result, something no current mass-production model could boast of.

Another factor to consider, and easily the biggest in ZAFT's comparative military superiority, was the mind of the pilot. Coordinator pilots, when their adrenaline got pumping, could practically perceive the world in slow motion. It made evasion and determining where to shoot much easier. Newtypes, whether Naturals or Coordinators, possessed incredible levels of 'hyper sensory' or 'psychic' awareness that could achieve a similar effect, but the former were, surprisingly, much deadlier than the latter, because they were often pushed much further just to keep up, and became stronger as a result, in opposition to the 'lazy Coordinators'.

Kira and Makoto possessed far more advanced minds than ordinary Coordinators, on top of superhuman spatial awareness, and even an emergency 'berserker' state. The net result was that they actually had relatively little trouble dodging fire from all sides. The most trouble they received was against mass-fire tactics that left them little room for evasion, but that was what their shields and armor were for. Meanwhile, even when the ZAFT pilots managed to evade the first shot, the two Angels were often already reacting and putting a second shot in its place. While the gap was nowhere near as great as when they'd flown during the First War, their machines were superior, and with those two at the controls, well…

The results were plain enough to see as another three ZAFT mobile suits went down.

"That brings my total to eleven," said Kira. "How about you, Makoto?"

"_Ah, I've only got nine,_" said the redhead, vocally pouting. Kira chuckled slightly, pulling back from beam cannon blasts shot his way by a pair of BABIs. He switched to Full Burst and fired two volleys in quick succession, bringing down both enemy machines.

"Make that thirteen," he said.

"_Oh fine, I'll take care of the battleships so they can't hound __**Archangel**__,_" said Makoto.

"You do that, I'll take care of those BuCUEs."

"_Roger that. Sincerity, let's go!_"

With that, the Angels broke apart, Kira going low and drawing his beam saber to deal with the BuCUEs while Makoto flew over the small mountains, shifting the Murakumo to standby and drawing both of her Type 90K swords, switching them over to rifle mode.

The _Ornstein_ spotted her and opened up with everything it had. Makoto, calm, serene even, side slipped the shots with little effort—ship-based cannons were large, slow, lumbering things that would only get her if she were idling about. Still, the redhead nearly laughed when the _Ornstein_ launched a barrage of anti-aircraft missiles at her. She raised her rifles and opened fire, obliterating each missile in rapid succession as she closed in.

Then, she was in range, and opened fire on the machineguns, then the anti-air missile launchers, then started blasting apart the heavy missile launchers. The large, lumbering land battleship could do nothing as the Sincerity circled about at high speed, and soon, it was completely disarmed, including its launch catapults being reduced to wreckage. The redhead wrapped things up with her machine cannons, shredding one of the tracks, leaving the _Ornstein_ immobile.

Meanwhile, Kira's beam saber flashed, severing the legs of a BuCUE as he flew past so quickly the pilot only saw a blur flash past before he crashed to the snowy ground. The two accompanying BuCUEs spun about, one firing a missile barrage while the other fired its railguns at… nothing. The Freedom was gone.

"What the hell?" cried one of the pilots.

In the next instant, fire descended from above, taking off the hind legs of both BuCUEs. Shocked, the pilots turned their cameras upward and saw the Freedom descending, Balaena cannons deployed. The plasma cannons were stored back in the wings, then the White Angel unfolded his Xiphias railguns and opened fire, blasting off the turrets mounted to the backs of the two machines.

"That's sixteen," said Kira, grinning as he pulled away from the disabled quadrupeds.

"_So? __**I **__just finished bagging a battleship, thank you very much,_" replied Makoto evenly. The two chuckled lightly at the antics of it all. Somehow, despite the inherent danger, there was something… easy about this fight. Like it was just routine practice or something.

But neither forgot for even an instant that it was deadly serious. A pair of GOUFs rushed Kira, firing their Draupnir guns at him. He avoided the low-class fire easily, snapped into full burst, and fired a single barrage. The GOUF pilots evaded… and flew right into the blasts, taking off the legs and heads of their machines, reducing them to a torso with arms and an imbalanced backpack.

"_W-whoa! I can't control my machine!_"

"_Cut thrust to the backpack and bailout!_"

As Makoto flew at the _Van Vleck_, she saw it deploy a single mobile suit, which she immediately knew was Commander Sinclair himself: it was one of those black-trimmed white GOUF High-Maneuver Types, which swapped out the backpack for Silhouette System compatibility, on top of the additional thrusters. This one equipped the Force Silhouette, which meant it would be a remarkably maneuverable machine—not that that would help Sinclair against her.

The Force GOUF Ignited blazed straight towards the Sincerity, firing its beam rifle the whole way. Makoto easily maneuvered her incredibly agile machine through Sinclair's fire. She returned fire with her rifles, briefly driving Sinclair away, while the redhead retreated behind one of the mountains… then emerged over the top of it with her Murakumo in sword mode. Sinclair saw her coming and tossed away his rifle, drawing a beam saber. VPS sword crashed against intense beam saber, but Makoto clearly held the advantage as Sinclair was quickly pushed back towards the ground.

"_Kill me if you can, but this operation will succeed!_" said Sinclair. "_You and that ship will no longer intervene and bring confusion to the battlefield!_"

"All we were ever interested in was pulling our comrades from pointless battles and stopping a needless slaughter," said Makoto. "What does that tell you about your orders?" The Sincerity's eyes flashed brightly, and Makoto gave one final push, sending the GOUF crashing into the ground. She switched the Murakumo to rifle mode and fired on its arms, its Force Silhouette and both legs. Sinclair dealt with, she turned her attention to the _Van Vleck_, which desperately opened fire on her.

Not that it helped.

It wasn't even sixty seconds later that Commander Willard was forced to watch, unable to do anything as the _Uhlenbeck_ was systematically disarmed and immobilized by the Sincerity. His hand clenched into a fist. Commander he may have been, but contrary to popular belief, not all commanders in ZAFT were pilots. Just the most well known.

"_Hey Kira, how many you downed?_" asked Makoto, returning from dealing with the three battleships.

"Twenty-four," said Kira, ducking under fire from a formation of five BABIs. He snapped into Full Burst Mode and let loose with barrage after barrage. "Make that twenty-nine."

However, Kira was wrong—one of the BABIs managed to evade with only a broken arm. That was remedied a second later, a beam lancing in and piercing its backpack, sending it flying towards the ground.

"_Twenty-__**eight**__,_" corrected Makoto. "_Eleven for me, plus three battleships._" Kira snorted playfully.

"You'll never catch up," he said idly, ducking under fire as over two dozen BABIs and GOUFs charged their way.

"_On the contrary, seeing as we suspect the __**Minerva**__ will be showing up soon, we can't leave these guys in the air,_" said Makoto. "_Sincerity, activate Hyperion!_" In the blink of an eye, the Sincerity's body began to glow, shifted to a blue tint, and sprouted wings of blue fire… then shot off at the enemy formation, trailing afterimages in its wake and leaving them completely confused at the change in its capabilities.

Makoto threw herself into the fray, hacking off limbs, heads and backpacks. Whenever the enemy tried to fire on her, she pulled away, and they struck a blue afterimage instead while the Murakumo sliced their machine to ribbons. Kira shook his head, snapping into Full Burst and firing off a barrage, hitting several targets.

"Cheater," he commented as Makoto pulled away, the two finished dealing with their targets in about a minute. Those that still had power to do so were in full retreat.

"_Hey, while you dismembered mobile suits, I was busy dismembering battleships,_" retorted Makoto. "_Those things have a lot more to hack off you know! Oh, and by the way, twenty-seven for me._"

"Thirty-six," said Kira, grinning cheekily.

"_Well, what are we waiting for? We need about thirty more between us, let's go!_" With that, the Sincerity, still in Hyperion Mode, shot off to deal with more targets. Kira shook his head, scouting out a few of his own. A brave GOUF Ignited came up from behind a mountain and charged at him, Tempest sword swinging… through air.

"You're slow," said Kira. "In the future, keep that in mind." With that, he swung the Freedom's beam saber in an arcing slash that took off the arms, upper backpack and head in a single strike.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"Those two," said Murrue fondly even as she shook her head in exasperation at the way they compared 'kill' counts.

"Incredible," murmured Ami, handling one of the electronic warfare stations and watching the two at work. She'd known, of course, just how incredible her brother and Makoto were, but she'd always witnessed them going up against the prototypes—the Gundams. Now, she was truly seeing just _why_ these two were feared as the greatest pilots the world had ever known. She suspected that if one of them were to leave the battle, then it _might_ become fair for ZAFT.

Then she saw Kira snap the Freedom into Full Burst Mode, and Makoto flash the Sincerity past a ZAFT formation… and watched more ZAFT machines fall from the sky as the redhead finally let the Hyperion Mode switch off. Ami corrected herself—if ZAFT outnumbered them a _hundred_-to-one, _then_ it would be a fair fight (okay, she was exaggerating, but still!).

"_That makes forty-three for me,_" said Kira.

"_Ha! Only seven kills since we broke? You're getting slow! I've gotten up to thirty-eight!_"

"_What, even cheating with the Hyperion, you only got eleven kills?_"

Out of the corner of her eye, Ami saw most of the bridge crew shaking their head in exasperation, but like Shizuka, the blonde herself had a fond smile on her lips at the playful banter between the two… lovers, was it? Of course, she wasn't actually aware that the two already had other lovers, but when she looked at them, that's what she saw.

"Miss Shizuka," she said, drawing the attention of the ex-Orb noble, who descended to the CIC. "Can you tell me about the Sincerity?"

"Oh? Interested in my niece's machine, are we?" teased Shizuka. Ami nodded in admission.

"Yeah, it's amazing… and that light…" murmured Ami, who was torn between keeping an eye on her brother and keeping an eye on that incredible machine his partner piloted. Shizuka smiled and launched in an explanation on the Sincerity's capabilities.

Several minutes later, it was over.

"_Forty-nine,_" said Kira. "_That looks to be the last of them._"

"_Forty-four,_" added Makoto. "_Given standard capacity, I think you're right. Huh… that was easy._"

"_I win,_" commented Kira dryly.

"_Hey, I've also got three battleships! Those should be worth at __**least**__ two apiece!_"

"_Yeah, but you also…_"

"Incoming missiles!" cried Jackie suddenly. "Ma'am, our sensors…!"

"They're using jamming shells," said Sai. Murrue grit her teeth.

"_That means the __**Minerva**__'s here,_" said Makoto. "_Those land battleships have been completely stripped of weapons._"

"Understood," said Murrue. "Miriallia, please tell everyone to find something to hold onto or somewhere to strap down." Even as she spoke, missiles began to explode all over the area, but Arnold was more than good enough with the _Archangel_ to handle it—though a part of him wished Jeff were around to help. Arnold was good, but the _Dominion_ pilot was simply brilliant.

Well, that wasn't the concern right now.

"_**Archangel**__, we've got the Impulse and the Rose incoming! Any sign of the __**Minerva**__?_" questioned Makoto.

"None," said Shizuka, strapping herself in at the mobile weapon control station. "But they'll be here soon enough." The brunette grabbed a headset and put it on so that she wouldn't have to use the loudspeaker. She keyed the PA. "Flay Allster to the Strike Raven. Repeat, Flay Allster to the Strike Raven."

"All hands, brace for sudden evasive maneuvers," added Mir. "Repeat, all hands, brace for sudden evasive maneuvers. We believe the _Minerva_ has entered the combat area."

"_This is Flay, I'm ready to head out,_" said the redhead a moment later.

"Roger that," said Shizuka. "We'll move you to the cata…"

"Hang on!" shouted Arnold suddenly. The ship lurched to the side, rolling onto its portside, and it was obvious why—the _Minerva_ had suddenly appeared right in front of them through the snowstorm. "Sai!"

"Already on it," said Faith over the speakers. "Firing CIWS, loading aft missile tubes with Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles, acquiring firing solution… ready to fire on your orders, Captain."

"Why am I here again?" questioned Sai lightly.

Aboard the _Minerva_, things were not nearly so cheerful as the ship vibrated from the numerous bullets that had scored its hull during the brief pass.

"Damage!" called Talia.

"Starboard CIWS and missile tubes 1 through 7 are offline," said Arthur, disbelief in his voice. "How in the world could they have managed _that_ with only CIWS?"

The question hovered in the minds of everyone present, but Talia didn't let it distract her.

"Bring us about, get us on their tail," she barked. "Don't get too close, I don't want to find out just how effective their CIWS can really be. Keep an eye out for incoming missiles."

"Yes ma'am."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Kira dodged the fire from the Impulse with comparative ease, senses stretching out and recognizing the blind fury that seemed to consume Shinn Asuka. Meanwhile, Suiren drew Makoto away for the first true engagement between the cousins.

"_You! Today!_" shouted Shinn. "_Today is the day I shoot you down and make this world a better place!_"

"What the hell is this guy's problem?" muttered Kira, dodging fire from the Impulse. He returned fire with his beam rifle, two shots in quick succession, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the Impulse lift its rifle out of the way and raise its shield to defend the head. So… he was gambling on Kira being predictable?

"That might've worked," said Kira over the radio. "But… you assume too much if you think I can't adapt to that!"

Kira fired again. Shinn smirked, blocking or dodging the, oh so predictable attacks… and then his eyes widened as the Impulse's upper torso and Force Silhouette exploded, pierced by a single well-placed shot from the beam rifle.

"Wha-? No way, he doesn't fire like that!" cried Shinn. Growling in anger, he shot the remains of the Chest Flyer at the Freedom, detaching the Core Splendor. "_Minerva_, send out a replacement Chest Flyer and Force Silhouette!"

"_As soon as we're able,_" said Meyrin.

"What? I need them now!" shouted Shinn.

"_We're engaged with the __**Archangel**__,_" retorted Meyrin calmly. "_Give us a minute._" Shinn growled in annoyance as he fired on the Chest Flyer crashing into the Freedom's shield. The Chest Flyer exploded… and the Freedom's shield fell from the sky. Shocked, Shinn glanced around… and saw the Freedom descend on the Leg Flyer and slice it apart. Growling in frustration, he added a replacement for that to his list of 'requests' from the _Minerva_ as the Freedom retrieved its shield.

He just couldn't believe it—he'd studied every record of the Freedom's battles with absolute focus on even the smallest details, gone over everything with Rey, determined how to counter the Freedom perfectly and yet… this guy… he was faster, better, smarter… what the hell was going on? Was someone else in the Freedom?

Shinn would've been taken out of the fight then and there if the Saviour hadn't come screaming in, cannons blazing. Kira pulled the Freedom to the side instantly, staring at the red mobile suit.

_Athrun…_ he thought, mind briefly flashing back to his time on the moon, to Athrun and the other friends from back then whom he'd left behind…

**

* * *

**

_Flashback_

_Copernicus City, eight years ago_

"_Hey Kira, guess what? Tag! You're it!"_

_An older person might've looked at the game and called it silly, but to the nine and ten year olds playing, it seemed like the greatest game in the world. Even the Naturals, of which there were eight, had as much fun as the five Coordinators as they tried to figure out ways to outsmart their more 'gifted' friends and make up for the difference in natural abilities._

_Ten-year-old Kira Yamato grinned slightly as the boy who'd tagged him, a Coordinator, ran for it. That was the intelligent thing to do of course, particularly when Kira was involved—he was the __**king**__ of this game, always a cut above the rest… well, most of them, that nine-year-old girl with the light red hair was some kind of freaking demon at times, but she was the only one who ever gave Kira any trouble._

_Slipping through some bushes, Kira crawled quietly along. Of course, stealth was hardly perfect at his age, but the same was true for the other children's' ability to sense danger._

_The brunet leapt from the bushes…_

"_Tag! You're it Athrun!" Kira laughed, running off like some kind of maniac._

"_Argh! Kira, I'll get you for this!" called Athrun, trying to feign anger and utterly failing with the broad grin splitting his features._

"_Joey!" came a girl's voice. That was when Kira was tripped. He managed to avoid hitting the grass too hard, and looked to either side of him, groaning as he realized that that girl always giving him trouble in these games and one of their Natural friends had tripped him up for Athrun and were now running off the same way he had earlier._

"_Gotcha!"_

**

* * *

**

Kira shook himself from his recollections, cursing silently at allowing himself to be caught up, however briefly, in events long in the past during a battle. Less time had elapsed than he thought, though, and he dodged a blast from… Athrun? No, Athrun wasn't a Newtype. Whoever was in the Saviour now _was_, though far from the strongest Kira had ever encountered. But he was good enough to keep Kira preoccupied for those few precious seconds Shinn needed to reform the Force Impulse Gundam.

"Don't underestimate him again, Shinn," said Heine. "I'm going to support the _Minerva_."

"_Yeah, understood,_" said Shinn, anger evident in his tone. Heine shook his head, knowing this was going to end badly for the Redcoat, though likely without the boy getting killed.

Not far away, the Sincerity and Rose clashed, Makoto's VPS blade against Suiren's beam sword.

"I'm surprised… that you're participating," said Makoto, pushing back against her cousin. Suiren pushed off, snapping her Orca cannons into position and firing, but Makoto pulled up and away before the blonde had even squeezed the trigger.

"_Well… to be honest, I don't think there's any chance of this operation succeeding,_" answered Suiren evenly.

"Then what is it?" asked Makoto, opening fire with the Murakumo. The Rose evaded the shots, slipping behind a mountain. "Why are you here?"

"_Duty… family… this is all that drives me now,_" said Suiren. The Rose suddenly popped up from behind another mountain, firing a full burst barrage Makoto's way. The Sincerity twisted through it with perfect grace. "_Makoto… we need to settle this at some point._"

"Yeah… yeah, I guess we do," murmured the redhead.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"Flay Allster, Strike Raven, taking off!" called Flay, punching the controls and bracing herself as the sudden acceleration slammed her back into her seat. Once she'd cleared the catapult, she brought herself around, bringing the _Minerva_ in front of her. "What do you want me to hit?"

"_Hit the enemy's main cannons,_" said Shizuka. "_Faith can handle any missile attack they throw our way easily enough, but dodging those weapons is another story entirely._"

"Got it," said Flay, closing in on the _Minerva_. Its Tristans and Isolde lit the sky, but the Strike Raven was quick, Flay's reflexes had grown considerably since this war began, and her growing spatial awareness allowed her to evade with relative ease—just like when Makoto was dismembering the battleships earlier, those cannons were clumsy weapons and no match for the agility and speed of a mobile suit.

"The Strike Raven is approaching us on the starboard side," said Bart. Of course, that didn't surprise anyone—after all, they'd lost all their topside CIWS and half their missile launchers on that side. It was the best angle of attack.

Flay took aim with her rifle and was beginning to squeeze the trigger… when suddenly, a presence flashed across her senses, and the Strike Raven pulled away as the Amfortas cannons of the Saviour split the sky where she'd just been.

_Athrun?_ she thought. _No, this is someone else._

"Athrun?" cried Cagalli on the _Archangel_'s bridge.

"_No, someone else is in that machine,_" said Flay. "_Don't ask me how, but… I can feel it._" The Strike Raven's rifle opened up on the Saviour, which shifted to mobile suit mode and deflected with its shield before aiming and firing its own rifle at Flay, who likewise deflected with her shield.

Briefly toying with how best to handle the situation, Flay holstered her rifle and drew a beam saber instead. Then, she opened fire with her shield cannons.

Heine grit his teeth slightly as he shifted the Saviour to mobile armor mode and ran through a dizzying pattern of maneuvers, trying to keep ahead of the Strike Raven's aim. Who was the pilot again, according to Suiren? Flay Allster, was it? Well, in any event, she was actually a pretty good shot with those cannons, several rounds of which pinged off the Saviour's VPS. Bringing the red machine around, he opened fire with his own cannons, and got a bit of a surprise when the Strike Raven responded by detaching its backpack and sending it skywards, allowing the mobile suit proper to fall towards the ground.

But the pilot obviously had very good control of that thing, because Heine was now being attacked from two directions, the Raven Striker blasting away with its cannons as it flittered through the sky, the Strike Raven letting loose just as remorselessly while hovering over the ground at high-speed below, leaving a trail of melted snow in its wake.

"Damn, that girl isn't half-bad," commented Heine, shaking his head. "Alright, just keep her off the _Minerva_ and everything should be fine."

Point of fact: they weren't.

Faith had taken full control of the _Archangel_'s weapon systems with Sai supporting her instead of the other way around, and it was evident that it was completely unfair—also probably why Makoto generally tried to avoid such a thing happening, otherwise, they'd get complacent and over reliant on the AI.

The Igelstellungs easily swatted missiles from the sky, while Arnold's skillful handling of the assault ship kept them mostly out of line for the _Minerva_'s cannons. Murrue had given Faith permission to act as she saw fit, within the earlier set confines of trying to avoid casualties.

A barrage of Sledgehammers shot off towards the _Minerva_ and was shot down by the battleship's CIWS. But the smoke served to blind the ZAFT warship as well—the crew had gotten used to their own ship, which only had missiles and vulcans for rear-firing coverage. The _Archangel_? Not so restricted, and it was showing now as fire from the Valiants screamed through the air, cutting the smoke and smashing the Tristans, the explosion sending the _Minerva_ soaring towards the ground as Malik struggled against gravity and kinetic energy and the crew cried out fearfully…

Malik sighed in relief as he evened the _Minerva_ out with some fifty feet to spare and pulled back up.

"This is ridiculous," muttered Talia in disbelief. "What kind of crew does that ship have?"

Within the _Archangel_'s systems, Faith, as though hearing Talia's words, smiled to herself knowingly.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Things were simply going bad for ZAFT all around. Kira was knocking Shinn around with the utmost ease, and Suiren wasn't fairing much better against Makoto. Records of the Angels most remarkable performances had never been made—or, if they had been, they weren't public. Shinn was learning now just why people called the White Angel and his machine the greatest pilot and mobile suit in existence. Suiren had expected her beating.

Shinn grunted as another kick was delivered. Kira Yamato was going for nonlethal and still beating him around like some rookie piloting a mobile suit for the first time! It was infuriating… and humbling as well. No one, not even the Specter, had put him down like this. He fired his CIWS up at the Freedom, but no matter how accurate his aim was, his opponent was stronger, faster, just… everything.

This guy… couldn't possibly be human.

Kira fired his rifle at the Impulse, and wasn't surprised when Shinn blocked the shots. Kira was a dead accurate shot and able to handle easily a dozen weapon systems at once, but since his aim was entirely nonlethal right now, anyone who knew what to expect could get out fine.

That said, the VPS meant Kira didn't need to worry about his railguns proving at all 'lethal' as they knocked the Impulse to the ground.

"Damn it," cursed Shinn, dragging the Impulse back to its feet, snow falling from its body. "I… I can't…"

The Freedom landed in front of him, much to Shinn's surprise. Kira holstered his rifle and drew the beam saber on his machine's right hip, flipping it over into a forward grip and activating the fearsome blade of plasma. Shinn stared at the Freedom, wondering what was going on.

"_This is what you want, isn't it?_" said the White Angel calmly. "_Well, Shinn Asuka?_" Shinn growled, holstering his rifle and drawing a beam saber of his own.

"Today's the day, bastard!" roared Shinn, rushing forward and swinging his beam saber at the Freedom in a powerful horizontal slash. "The day I bring you down once and for all!"

Kira easily slipped the powerful but slow and clumsy slash and came up with one of his own. Shinn deflected with his shield, but was thrown back regardless, though he kept his footing. Steam spat from the vents of the Freedom as it flushed out excess heat, not that much built up in this icy weather.

"_The day you bring me down?_" questioned Kira. "_You can try._" Shinn growled in anger and charged forward once again. Kira swatted aside the younger pilot's beam saber, then bashed his shield into the Impulse's chest, knocking it to the ground. "_If you want to beat me, you're gonna have to calm down._"

In spite of himself, Shinn ended up taking the advice, backing off and taking a few calming breaths. He'd heard it before, too many times to count. The White Angel was right—if Shinn didn't calm himself, he'd keep getting schooled like this.

After a moment, Shinn rushed forward again, swinging his saber. This time though, there was a lot more control than the previous wild swings, and Kira found himself putting in some effort.

"Good," he complimented, blocking one swing, then another. "You're learning." Shinn was a remarkable pilot, his issue was the way he let his emotions control him. In a way, it was almost fun teasing the young prodigy, as Kira could sense him losing his temper again.

Kira pushed off Shinn's saber, then brought his own to bear, quick as lightning. Shinn would've lost another Chest Flyer and Force Silhouette if his shield hadn't already been in the path of the saber. The Redcoat was knocked off balance, and Kira immediately spun about, delivering a kick to the Impulse's chest and sending it slamming back against a cliff.

Kira couldn't help but chuckle lightly as the collision caused a small avalanche to bury the Impulse. Of course, such a thing wouldn't hold any mobile suit for long. Well, a sufficiently large one might, but this was only just enough to bury the Impulse.

Shinn roared, bursting from the snow, humiliated and once again angry as he swung his saber at the Freedom. Kira knocked the Vajra away with his Lacerta, then spun about and bludgeoned the Impulse with his shield. This time, it was Kira who went on the attack, swinging his blade horizontally, splitting air.

"_I won't lose!_" roared Shinn furiously, a bloody crimson jewel seed spinning and shattering in the back of his mind. Kira sensed this, and was completely unsurprised when the Impulse broke up to its three separate components and reformed behind him almost as quickly. Shinn roared, swinging his saber in a downward slash, but Kira twisted aside and bludgeoned the Impulse away with Freedom's wing, knocking it to the snow.

"The SEED won't win you this battle!" said Kira, coming around in the blink of an eye. He swung his saber down on the Impulse, and Shinn was forced to punch his verniers up to maximum, shooting back into the sky while the Freedom's beam saber cut through the snow, melting it and sending a stream of steam into the air.

"Damn it!" cursed Shinn. "_DAMN IT!_"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Flay and Heine locked blades, struggling against one another.

"Nothing personal…" said Heine through grit teeth. "But I've got a job to do!" With that, he reared back the Saviour's head and slammed it into the Strike Raven, making a mental note to apologize to Athrun for it later. The Strike Raven, meanwhile, was sent tumbling towards the snow, and Heine drew his rifle and snapped off a shot. However, Flay once again detached the Raven Striker, using the slight decompression to propel her away while the flight unit opened fire on the Saviour, pushing Heine back. He glanced at the power readouts—still good, but he couldn't afford any more hits from those hyper-velocity cannons, they'd drain his power quickly, and he wasn't certain the _Minerva_ would be able to supply a recharge.

Meanwhile, Flay landed atop the Raven Striker and shot up towards the Saviour, beam saber at the ready. Heine fired his CIWS, but they proved ineffective against the Strike Raven's TP armor and she reached melee range, swinging her saber. Heine blocked with his shield, but Flay immediately activated the shield-mounted beam trident claw and thrust it at the Saviour's head.

"Crap!" cursed Heine, pulling back. "Not bad little lady."

"_Being a mother, I don't think I'm necessarily 'little' anymore,_" answered Flay, firing her cannons. Heine chucked as he dodged or blocked with his shield.

"Maybe not," he said. "But it doesn't mean you're a match for me!" With that, he snapped the Saviour into MA mode and fired off the cannons as he charged forward. Flay was forced to leap off the Raven Striker to dodge, and then Heine resumed MS mode right under her, beam saber drawn. He struck, but Flay managed to block with her shield, and then the two were falling towards the snow, Flay punching up her thrusters to help along the way.

As the two pilots did battle, the _Archangel_ was demonstrating its tactical superiority to the _Minerva_. Although Faith was refraining from any lethal hits, she'd now swatted the Isolde in addition to the Tristans, leaving the _Minerva_ with missiles and the Tannhauser. Talia didn't want to use that weapon, but looking at the situation, she didn't think she had much of a choice. And if she was going to use it, this would be the place.

"Will we really be able to take out the _Archangel_?" she muttered to herself, too softly for anyone else to hear. She shook her head slightly, knowing they had to try.

But if they tried to use the Tannhauser here, it would be gunned down in an instant. They needed an open area where they'd be able to maneuver. At least the _Archangel_ hadn't been able to get at their engines with those cannons, or this chase would've been over real fast—though they might end it using missiles anyway, with the way the guy at fire control handled those systems.

"We need to get out in the open," said Talia. "Somewhere we can maneuver so that we can fire the Tannhauser." The rest of the bridge crew stared at her in surprise.

"But ma'am, wouldn't such an area allow the _Archangel_ to evade the Tannhauser as well?" questioned Arthur. Talia nodded.

"I know," she said. "But if we can't maneuver, they'll shoot out the Tannhauser the instant we deploy it. Chen, please start the charge, but don't deploy the cannon until I give the order."

"Yes ma'am."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Murakumo crashed against Tempest, then disappeared just as quickly, crashing against a shield. It was taking all Suiren had to keep up, which wasn't really a surprise—Makoto was a master of Shinsei Tsurugi, 'specializing' in the Seven Swords branch, which would be more accurately described as specializing in switching from one combat style to another fluidly and without vulnerability. It was the most versatile, powerful and difficult to master of all Shinsei Tsurugi's forms. And Makoto wasn't being complacent anymore, not after the Battle of Crete, and the same held true for Kira. As good as the Angels had once been, they were even better now.

"You know…" said Suiren through grit teeth as Makoto pushed her back. "When all of this is over… I'm gonna need some lessons."

"_Oh, that'll be fun,_" said Makoto. "_I get to tear you apart in person too?_"

"Since when did you get so cocky?" questioned Suiren, snapping her Signum cannons into place and firing, only to find the Sincerity gone. Her danger senses flared, and she spun about, firing her rifle, only to see the Sincerity's heat rod coil around the weapon and pull it from her hands.

"_I know,_" said Makoto. "_I'm making light of this situation. It's… strange, isn't it?_" As she spoke, the two exchanged fire with everything they had—which actually didn't amount to much for Makoto at this range, but she was quick to close back into melee, twisting left, right, up and down so fast that Suiren would've missed it all if she had so much as blinked. The Sincerity's foot slammed into the Rose's chest, sending the blonde tumbling back, the hair of her machine flying about as well, while Makoto opened fire once again.

"Actually," grunted Suiren, righting herself over the snow and blasting back into the sky. "I feel the same way."

Not far away, Kira continued to school Shinn. The Redcoat was frustrated, angry, losing focus and forgetting his own plan. How the hell did one defeat a pilot like the White Angel anyways? This guy, he was… he was just something else!

"Damn it!" shouted Shinn as Kira deflected another swing and countered with a kick. Shinn glanced at his power readouts… not good. All those physical blows were taking their toll. He had to get back to the _Minerva_, but…

Shinn threw his shield at the Freedom, surprising Kira, and immediately snatched up his rifle, firing at the shield. This had been part of his plan, catching the White Angel off-guard, and it was one of his better strategies to be sure. The beam hit the shield at just the right angle that it bounced off like a mirror instead of dissipating and scorched the Freedom's left shoulder, surprising Kira a second time, but it was a trick that would only work once.

"_Not bad,_" complemented Kira, kicking the shield away. "_But it takes more than one glancing blow to win a fight!_" Kira charged forward, and Shinn responded by firing his rifle repeatedly with pinpoint precision. Kira swung his saber, cutting each beam apart, astounding Shinn. He hadn't known that the Freedom pilot could do that!

Then Kira was in his face, swinging his beam saber. Shinn deflected, but then Kira flipped the Freedom over, kicking the Impulse again. As Shinn tumbled off-balance, Kira charged forward with another slash, which Shinn evaded by ejecting the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer. He sent the Chest Flyer backwards towards the Freedom in another brilliant maneuver of his ultimate plan…

But then the Balaena snapped halfway out and fired, obliterating the Flyer and Force Silhouette at point-blank range. Oh, an explosion still consumed the Freedom, but at best, it scorched the armor. Frustrated, Shinn sent the Leg Flyer soaring at the Freedom and fired missiles at it before turning tail back towards the _Minerva_. The Leg Flyer detonated, covering his retreat.

"_Minerva_, send out three replacement Chest Flyers, Leg Flyers and Blast Silhouettes," called Shinn.

"_Wha-? Three?_" questioned Meyrin, shocked.

"Just do it!" shouted Shinn, knowing the Freedom was on his tail once again. In retrospect, he should've kept the Leg Flyer and deployed it as he fled, but it was too late now. He'd just keep it in mind for the future.

"_Roger that,_" said Meyrin. "_Deploying replacement flyers._"

Shinn manipulated his connection with the Flyers, sending the spare Leg Flyers at the Freedom for cover while he docked with the third one. He immediately docked with the first Chest Flyer, docked it with the Blast Silhouette, drew the Kerberos cannons, then ejected it and repeated the process twice more, though the last one he didn't eject.

Meanwhile, Kira easily destroyed both Leg Flyers, then caught sight of what Shinn was up too. What was he…?

Shinn spread out the two legless Chest Flyers and had them open fire at the same time he did from several different angles. He'd become… rather inspired by the Chaos's weapon pods while he was devising tactics to facedown the Freedom, and the Providence had been notorious for being the only unit able to truly damage the legendary White Angel, thanks to its powerful DRAGOON system. This was the closest counterpart Shinn could manage.

An amethyst jewel seed rushed through Kira's mind and shattered in a nova of light and power.

The Freedom, moving in a way it had long been thought only the Sincerity could, twisted itself about, maneuvering perfectly through the assault… then, mid-maneuver, fired a Full Burst, destroying the spare Chest Flyers and both of Shinn's Kerberos cannons.

"Damn!" cursed Shinn, pulling back. He glanced at the power readout—he was running low.

"_Not bad,_" complemented the White Angel. "_A nice trick. Against most pilots, it would've been devastating. But…_"

Then, the beam from Kira's rifle shot through the Impulse's head and Blast Silhouette. Shinn immediately ejected the Chest Flyer.

"_Never underestimate your opponents! That's a surefire way to get yourself killed!_"

"_Minerva_, a Chest Flyer and Force Silhouette!" called Shinn. "And ready the Deuterion Beam!"

"_Understood Shinn,_" said Meyrin. "_But we're running low on Chest Flyers! There's only one more after this one!_"

"Got it," said Shinn. "I'll be careful."

Kira let Shinn reassemble the Impulse. He'd pulled away, ahead of the two warships and battling mobile suits accompanying them, and was looking at the Freedom's right arm, both on the status readouts and physically, as electricity faintly crackled at the elbow joint. Status readouts were warning him about microfractures.

"Freedom…"

The Impulse came charging in, saber swinging. Fast as lightning—or even faster in the eyes of those watching—Kira deflected the Vajra, cut the Impulse's shield in half, and delivered a fierce blow with his own shield, which he added to with the Xiphias railguns, sending the Impulse crashing into the snow.

At the same time, Flay momentarily got the upper hand on Heine, knocking his shield and saber aside with her own, then kicking the Saviour in the chest before slamming into with the Raven Striker and sending it crashing into the snow near the Impulse before recalling the flight unit and reattaching it.

Then, Makoto threw the Rose over a mountain, shouldering it right down into the snow near the other two. She pulled the Sincerity back up as the cloud of snow was blown away, and there they were, the Freedom, Sincerity and Strike Raven hovering over the Impulse, Rose and Saviour. Shinn stared up at their opponents, wide-eyed. The _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ crewmen also stared in surprise… and soon, everyone's attention was drawn to the Freedom's right arm, elbow joint crackling.

"_Kira, what's wrong with the Freedom?_" questioned Makoto.

"Freedom's… too slow," said Kira softly, hardly able to believe it. Makoto was just as surprised—_now_? Kira's abilities grew beyond the Freedom _now_? Sure, Makoto had done so years ago, but that was with the Cosmic SEED, and so maybe she'd expected this to happen a while ago, but… _now?_

Shinn, perceiving weakness where there was actually strength, took to the skies, beam saber at the ready. Not about to let their comrade get triple-teamed, though they knew it was a moot point, Suiren and Heine also returned to the skies, attacking their respective targets again, and the battle was rejoined.

Events played out much the same as before—except that Shinn was losing even more badly than before. Kira continued to push the Freedom beyond the limit, discarding his shield and assaulting Shinn from every direction at once.

"This guy… what the hell is he?" cried Shinn fearfully, narrowly blocking a blast from the Balaena, only to have the Freedom seemingly materialize behind him and cut away the Impulse's left arm with its Lacerta. It was impossible! Not even a computer could've managed this! How could a human handle those Gs? How could a mobile suit move like that?

Most couldn't, actually. The Freedom wasn't able to keep up with Kira's god-like reflexes, and it showed in the increasing number of microfractures spreading through the frame. But he didn't let that stop him.

And then, as Heine gained the upper hand on Flay and sliced off the Strike Raven's right arm, the _Archangel_ emerged from the mountainous valleys, the ocean now in sight and the _Minerva_ on its tail, a massive beam split the sky, slamming into a mountain and sending the top of it tumbling down directly ahead of the _Minerva_. Malik barely avoided a collision, but the _Minerva _lost almost all of its momentum as all eyes turned towards the source of the beam…

And Hotaru disconnected the Hakai Suru, charging straight towards the battle, the Specter directly at her side. Sufficed to say, everyone was thoroughly shocked.

Treize growled, seeing the damage to the Strike Raven, and gunned the Specter to full speed, charging right at the Saviour, drawing the Tempest beam sword subconsciously.

Before Heine could react, the Saviour's left arm was gone.

"Chris!" cried Flay in surprise.

"_Are you alright?_" asked Treize, grabbing the Strike Raven and pulling it away as the Saviour also pulled back.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," said Flay, immensely relieved to see her love back… well, mostly. She could now sense that it was still Treize, but… but he wasn't the Treize they'd all known in the past.

"_Everyone, please retreat, we'll halt the __**Minerva**__ here,_" said Hotaru.

"_Not this time!_" barked Makoto. "_You guys are coming with us!_"

"_Damn it, why the hell do you keep interfering?_" cried Shinn.

In the Freedom, Kira sighed as the _Archangel_ neared the ocean.

"Everyone, pull back to the _Archangel_," he ordered firmly, surprising them—he was broadcasting in the clear, so the ZAFT forces knew what he was saying as well. "I'll deal with the pursuit."

"_Wha-? Kira, what are you planning?_" demanded Makoto.

"Shinn," said Kira, ignoring the redhead. "I have one final lesson for you."

"_What?_" gasped Shinn.

"You say you want to protect, but in doing so, you've sown needless destruction," said Kira. "You've been praised as a super ace, but the truth is that your reflexes are so superb that your mind can't keep up." As Kira spoke, the Specter, Astarte and Strike Raven pulled back. Makoto was not so willing to go. The _Minerva_ readied its Tannhauser, as Shinn was caught by curiosity—and uncertain whether the White Angel was praising him or insulting his skills. "A super ace's foundation lies in the balance of skill, talent, instinct, reflex, awareness and higher thought. But the final component… the most important component… in being the ace of aces…"

The Freedom's eyes flashed. Kira wondered, not for the first time, if Faith's sentience was tied to the Faith Gundam, for there were times that Kira felt Freedom was alive… and sharing his determination. They both knew that this would be Freedom's final flight as he input a special coded sequence, and he knew it was one worthy of this machine.

"…is being ready to give everything to protect those that you love… including your life!"

In the Sincerity, Makoto's eyes widened, as did the eyes of everyone aboard the _Archangel_, all the retreating pilots and all the ZAFT forces as Kira's voice played over the PA of the two warships.

"_Kira, what are you…?_"

"Sorry Lacus… and Freedom… thank you… goodbye."

Kira pushed the final switch…

The Freedom's body glowed briefly. Micro explosions went off around the cockpit area… and then, the legendary Freedom, the mightiest mobile suit in existence, self-destructed, becoming the heart of a massive explosion.

The Sincerity, Impulse and Rose were all blasted away, guarding themselves with their shields, while the Saviour took shelter behind a mountain, and the _Minerva_ was blasted right back into the rubble dropped when the Hakai Suru blasted off a mountaintop. The _Archangel_, which had just entered the water, was pushed down quicker by the explosive force, while the Specter, Astarte and Strike Raven dropped into the ocean for protection.

The explosion faded… and all anyone could do was stare in horror at the remains of the Freedom floating on the water. Shinn was completely torn on how to feel about what just happened.

Finally, a heart-wrenching scream from the Sincerity tore through the comm. lines.

"_**KIIIRRRAAAA!**_"

* * *

**No, Kira did not just off himself, contrary to what it may look like. Moving on:**

**Author's Notes: ! Yes, I'm a nutcase. Got a problem with it? Anyways, while I briefly toyed with Ami becoming the new Freedom pilot, I prefer this idea big time over that. I'd like to add another reason Shinn was able to do anything to Kira in canon: why didn't Kira use anything but his shield, rifle and saber? Why not his cannons? Two words: plot device. I have a two word response: fuck it.**

**So, Kira thoroughly schools Shinn and surpasses the Freedom's ability to keep up. Freedom went the way of Dauntless and Faith, though more in line with the latter. And, as mentioned at the top, I also provide a fairly solid explanation for just _why_ Kira and other, similar characters are able to perform so far beyond others.**

**Outside of the battle itself, we get quite a few interesting developments, including an appearance by our Horizon "friends" and the names of ZAFT's newest Gundams, as well as a bit more on the current state of the world. But, since much of this chapter was an extended battle, most developments occur within. We get some humorous stuff with Kira and Makoto comparing nonlethal "kill counts" in a sort of contest. While I doubt actual military people do that sort of thing, media likes to portray it sometimes, and I can't blame them-it's kind of fun, and lightens the atmosphere some as well. Not to mention neither is what you'd necessarily call "typical military".**

**And even though he was thoroughly beaten down, Shinn's experiences here _will_ help him to improve. I won't go into details on it, since I think it's best for people to see it themselves.**

**Anyways, I think that's enough here-all that's left is the usual request for reviews. And anyone who's read my stories, please check out Kiiroi Senko's _Gundam SEED: Path of Justice_. It's a good story, though if you've read this far into mine, you'll probably want to skim the first few chapters (it's basically the same as _SEED Dauntless_), but after the first few chapters, it really comes into its own, and I'm disappointed by the seeming lack of popularity. Kiiroi Senko deserves more.**

**Alright, that's enough for now. Sayonara, min'na!  
**


	34. Phase 34: The Journey Home

**Well****…**** I'm sure most of you are thinking "it's about damn time", but let's be honest, shall we? This has actually been about what you should expect regarding updates. In any case, I've also been looking forward to finally getting this chapter out. It would've been out sooner, but it was originally supposed to be much longer.**

**However, it got to be _too long_, and so I split it into two chapters. I've done this before. Last time, it resulted in a double update. _This_ time, it won't. Why? Because even though the next chapter is already longer than this one… it still isn't done, and has, hopefully, at least another 2500-5000 words waiting to be written. Possibly more. ^_^**

**Anyways, I'm not gonna waste time. I just****… hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it****… and tears****… yes, I cried while writing at least one scene of this story. So did my beta when he read that. I'm hoping it really was done well enough to elicit similar reactions from all of you. No, this does not mean I'm trying to make you cry. It's really just me saying that I hope you all feel the emotion of that scene as well as we did.**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

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Phase Thirty-Four: The Journey Home

December 20th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

Southeast Eurasia

Luna stared at the display screen of the _Minerva_'s pilots lounge in horror, hands rising to her face, as though trying to stifle the silent scream that she felt in her throat. Athrun, too, stared at the remains in horror, knowing that it was impossible for anyone to have survived that. The only way to survive when you self-destructed your machine was to bailout—and Kira certainly hadn't done that, he'd have seen it.

Nicol, Saul, Shiho, Aleksi and Tristan were all blank-faced, torn between a variety of emotions, but the most dominant one was probably shock. Rey, however, felt quite a bit of satisfaction seeing the Freedom finally go down, taking one of the world's greatest mistakes with it.

"N-no way," gasped Shinn. He was furious at the loss of the ability to avenge Stella, overjoyed to see the Freedom go down, humiliated by his complete failure and… so many other things.

"How the hell did he escape that?" questioned Suiren, outgoing communiqués locked down. Heine, who also sensed it, was wondering the same thing.

"_**KIIIRRRAAAA!**_"

Aboard the _Archangel_, Cagalli and Ami had fallen into a fit of hysterics, and no one could really blame them—as far as anyone could see, their brother had just committed suicide.

"Hey, calm down, would you?" said Shizuka, sounding frustrated. "I've got Kira's signal. He's fine." She glared down at the panel in front of her as the two blondes rushed to her side. "Makoto, can you hear me? The Freedom's ejection system worked just fine, but we need you to pick him up."

"_R-r-roger…_" stuttered the redhead. Shizuka was glad her words were no longer being broadcast across the bridge speakers like before.

The Sincerity dove into the water. As Kira had predicted, the quasi-nuclear blast had rendered continued pursuit of the _Archangel_ pretty much impossible. The _Minerva_ had sustained considerable damage from the blast, especially when it collided with the ground, and its Tannhauser, the only weapon the _Archangel_ truly had to fear, had been torn to pieces as well, though no casualties suffered from that this time (not that there weren't _any_ casualties, but it could've been a lot worse). With the _Minerva_ trapped, the mobile suits would have no choice but to break off pursuit as well.

Makoto, unable to stop the tears streaming from her eyes no matter how hard she tried, searched the icy cold waters for the wreckage of the Freedom. She quickly found the signal and followed it.

When rebuilding the Freedom, the idea had been put forth to go ahead and make modifications to the cockpit, since they had to rebuild nearly the entire thing anyway. The modifications had been Phase Shift reinforcement like they'd applied on other machines, but with the lessons of Jachin Due fresh in their minds, they'd also incorporated a low-class escape system that severed the cockpit from the rest of the machine and ejected it. Accompanying this was a failsafe in the N-jammer canceller that wasn't present before, the same failsafe that had prevented the Destroy from going nuclear when it was defeated. The Freedom had several self-destruct sequences, but the one Kira had used ejected the cockpit and built up energy before shutting down the N-jammer canceller, cutting off the nuclear fission and preventing a full blown nuclear explosion, but still getting a _lot _of bang.

Makoto knew that—but you didn't think rationally when someone you loved seemingly blew themselves to high hell right before your eyes.

Within the Freedom, Kira shut his eyes, letting out a small sigh. Everything had gone perfectly, and there wasn't even a scratch on him. The entire cockpit had been ejected just before the explosion, but with all eyes focused on the detonating Freedom, it had gone entirely unnoticed—though if ZAFT was making any recordings of that battle, they'd probably spot it fairly quickly.

Or maybe not. It was entirely possible that it would just be mistaken for a part of the Freedom falling off (which it was), but Kira seriously doubted that.

Then, he felt his little 'escape pod' shake slightly and glanced up before remembering that his cameras were all gone. Instead, he used the rudimentary sensors he had left, and realized he was being carried away by the Sincerity. Suddenly afraid, Kira gulped slightly.

Never mind the fact that he'd survived the self-destruct of the Freedom—Ami, Cagalli and Makoto were gonna kill him.

Aboard the _Archangel_, Shizuka sighed in relief as Cagalli and Ami left the bridge, heading for the hangar.

"Murrue, the Specter and Astarte are requesting permission to board," she said softly.

"Granted," said Murrue just as softly. "Close off and flood the catapult decks. We should be able to get all of them in one go."

"Already working on it."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Shinn felt numb as he descended from the cockpit. Why? Why had Yamato done that? What was the point?

"Shinn," murmured Rey, stepping forward as the Redcoat stepped off the zipline, along with the two FAITH agents from the machines they'd piloted. Shinn glanced around, seeing all of the pilots except for Luna gathered there, expressions mixed. Athrun stepped forward.

"Are you… alright?" he asked hesitantly. Shinn looked away.

"It's alright," he said. Most of those present looked at him, confused. "You can be angry. You have every right to be."

"Shinn, the mission was a partial success, even if it wasn't in the way we'd hoped," said Rey, stepping forward. Shinn sighed.

"I just… I can't figure it out," he said. "He had us beat. Why did he…?"

"Because pursuit is now truly impossible," interjected Talia, drawing the attention of the hangar occupants as the Captain joined them. "By the time we've got the _Minerva_ moving again, the _Archangel_ will be far beyond our reach."

"Hmm," murmured Suiren, glancing at Heine. He got the message immediately. "I'll be in my quarters." Her words caught everyone by surprise.

"Commander…" muttered Aleksi as Suiren walked away. Heine let out a small sigh.

"Alright, I think we should all call it a day," said Heine. "I think we could all use some rest."

"Yeah… yeah okay," said Shinn, glancing at Athrun before leaving, Rey trailing after him.

**

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**

Elsewhere

Luna lay on her bed, sobbing furiously. What just happened had hit her hard. Her feelings for the White Angel were rather abundantly clear: she was most definitely in love with the guy, and she hadn't even met him! That was just… just…

Ridiculous? Yeah, that seemed like a good word for it. But no matter how ridiculous it was, it was also fact, and his sudden death before her eyes had torn right to her core.

Then, the door of her quarters slid open, and Luna instinctively glanced at it, not even bothering to hide her tear-streaked face.

"I thought I'd find you here," said Suiren, stepping inside. Luna looked away. Suiren had promised her, told her it would be all right and now… "He's alive, you know."

Immediately, Luna's eyes snapped back to Suiren's own. She'd never been the best at reading people, and Suiren was a hard person to read, but this time, the blonde displayed the honesty fully in her eyes.

"Not sure how he did it," continued Suiren. "I'd guess there's some kind of special ejection system that wasn't in the original spec. They had to rebuild most of the machine from scratch after the last war, so it isn't that surprising."

"How do you know?" murmured Luna, so softly the blonde barely heard her. Suiren shrugged.

"He's a Newtype," she said. "A powerful one. I could sense him in the water after the explosion, and I didn't get any sense of danger to him. He'll be a hundred percent in no time, I'm sure."

Luna didn't know what to say. Instead, she threw herself at the blonde, who wrapped her arms comfortingly around the redhead.

"Hey, I told you it'd be alright," she said as Luna sobbed in mixed hope and fear. "Here, come with me. I'll make sure no one disturbs you. You need rest more than any of us."

**

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**

The _Archangel_

In spite—or perhaps _because_—of the circumstances, both Treize and Hotaru been ordered to disarm before being let into the hangar of the assault ship. Neither had objected, though certainly it was an easier task for Treize then it was for Hotaru, as the Astarte had several weapons beyond the CIWS that were integrated directly to the mobile suit's frame. Nevertheless, both succeeded, and now, they settled their machines into the cramped hangar.

"This ship was already beyond capacity with those Murasames," commented Treize, powering down the Specter. "Now we've really stuffed it to the brim."

"_Hey, we're here, right?_" replied Hotaru. "_You ready for your beating?_" Treize sighed, opening the cockpit of the Specter and stepping out. Almost immediately, shocked whispers broke out among the mechanics.

"Hey, isn't that…?"

"Chris? But didn't he die at Jachin Due?"

Treize sighed.

Fortunately, a distraction soon came as the Sincerity laid the Freedom's cockpit on the hangar deck, and a redhead Treize recognized as Setsuna Taiyonoha, in spite of the street-clothes outfit she was wearing, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. Hadn't Hotaru said…?

Oh, of course!

Treize's thoughts didn't progress any further, though, as a pair of blonde megaton bombs with nearly burnt out fuses busted into the hangar. Anyone in their way scattered quickly, and one unfortunate mechanic didn't make it, getting barreled over by the younger blonde instead.

"Stella…" murmured Treize.

Meanwhile, Makoto forcefully popped open the hatch of the Freedom.

"Oh Kira…" she cooed, acidic sugar dripping from her tone. Treize did _not_ envy the White Angel right now.

In the next instant, Makoto, dissatisfied with Kira's speed getting out, reached in and dragged him out by his shirt, tossing him remorselessly to the hangar floor. Out of the corner of his eye, Treize saw Hotaru watching it all with amusement shining in her cerulean orbs.

"Kira…" added Cagalli, tone dripping with the same sweet acid as Makoto's.

"Big brother," said Ami… if anything, her tone was three times as dangerous as the other two, and who could blame her? She'd _just_ gotten her brother, so…

"I know, I should've explained before I hit that switch," said Kira, sighing as he stood to his feet, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BLOWN THE FREEDOM IN THE FIRST PLACE!" screamed Cagalli and Makoto simultaneously, rushing forward to beat him to death. Ami seemed taken aback for a moment before her mind ran over everything… and she joined them, subconsciously adding it to the pile of things repressing everything she'd done.

"He's not getting any sympathy from me," said Hotaru, descending from the Astarte as Kira cried out in pain.

"Chris!" called Flay, running towards the Specter. Treize sighed, grabbing hold of the zipline and descending to the deck.

"My name is Treize Zabiarov," he said. "Even if this is Chris's face and body… I am not him." He pointedly avoided eye contact with Flay. "Please, understand that. Don't try to make me into him."

"Chris… no… uh…" Flay didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Hey, hey, the kid's alive!" cried Murdoch, rushing over to where the three teenage girls were beating Kira to a pulp. "Don't go killing him for surviving!"

His words fell on mostly deaf ears, though someone (only Murdoch really knew who) took the time to flash a deathly glare his way, and the _Archangel_'s chief mechanic wisely backed down with a sigh.

"Minako…" cut in a new voice. Hotaru stiffened slightly, turning to face a woman she'd never met in person, but knew on sight anyways: Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha, who was the spitting image of Naomi Ten'ou Arata, Hotaru's mother, despite the tens year difference in their age. Hotaru felt herself choking slightly. Shizuka looked over at where Kira was still receiving the beating of his life.

"He'll be out of commission for weeks the way they're going," she said lightly, clearly uncomfortable. Hotaru sighed.

"Listen, let's drop the pleasantries," she said. "Believe me, I don't want to be here, but… there are some important reasons that I am."

"Minako…"

"Hotaru," snapped the brunette, shocking her aunt. "I'm not a Taiyonoha right now. And I'm not sure I ever want to be again." She looked away. "Look, could you just get me some quarters to rest in? I've… got a lot of explaining to do. To everyone." Shizuka glanced away.

"Alright."

With that, the two brunettes left, leaving Treize with Flay. The EX-C sighed, turning to the redhead.

"I'm sure… this is painful for you," he said. "But can we put it aside, for now at least? I should head to the doctor. I need to talk to him about… well, this." He motioned towards the administrator on his chest.

"Yeah… I understand," said Flay, voice cracking, not looking at Treize.

He was grateful for that.

It only took them a few minutes to reach the infirmary (along with two armed escorts that had searched him for weapons—Treize _was_ an Alliance soldier, after all), and when the door slid open, Treize got a surprise.

"Captain Roanoke?" he gasped.

"Yo, you finally caught up," said Neo, grinning lightly. "And it looks like the White Angel rather outdid you dealing with that so-called 'White Devil'."

"Er, excuse me sir, I was caught by surprise," said Treize, saluting Neo habitually. Neo shrugged, lifting his arms slightly to show off the cuffs. Treize understood, lowering his hand.

"Well, he caught all of us by surprise as well," said Hunnicutt, glancing at Treize. "Miss Allster, if you'd like to rest, that's fine." It was clear he was telling her to rest and mentally prepare herself for a real conversation with the EX-C.

"Uh… yeah, I… I think I'll take you up on that," said Flay. "Excuse me." With that, she left, and Treize sighed, glancing at his armed escorts before looking at the doctor.

"I was informed you were alive and coming onboard," said Hunnicutt. "I must say, this ship seems more impressive all the time. There's almost a zero percent mortality rate amongst everyone who's ever flown from this ship."

"_Almost_?" questioned Treize, raising an eyebrow as the doctor finally turned to look at him.

"Erik Saharin flew off this ship, if only briefly," he explained, frowning. "He's the only one to actually end up dead." Neo snorted.

"These people have been trying to demote me two ranks since I was dragged aboard," he explained to Treize. "According to them and the blood tests they did while I was unconscious, I'm apparently the Hawk of Endymion." Neo shrugged, grinning at Treize. "Can you believe that fairytale?"

"Honestly, Captain?" said Treize. "Yes." The white-haired EX-C said this with a completely straight face as Neo scowled at him. Hunnicutt chuckled, glancing at the guards.

"Why don't you two wait outside?" he said. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Uh… are you sure, doctor?" questioned one of them. Hunnicutt nodded, and the two reluctantly stepped outside.

"There, perhaps you can relax a little more," said the doctor. "Now, I've heard a lot about your drug administrator. First, I'd like to reassure you that it will dealt with in full, if you desire, when we reach Orb. In the meantime, we can simply cut down the feed so that they'll last until then."

"And how do you intend to do that? Is this that procedure you told me about so that Stel… _Ami_ wouldn't die?" questioned Neo. Treize glanced between the two men, confused. Hunnicutt opened his mouth to answer when, suddenly, the infirmary doors opened. The doctor took one look at who was in the doorway and what kind of cargo she was carrying before he sighed.

"Put Mr. Yamato on the bed please," he said. "Chris… or Mr. Zabiarov, is it? I'm afraid you'll have to wait till I'm done treating him."

"No… it's fine," said Treize, trying his best to keep his expression blank. Kira groaned slightly as Makoto laid him on the bed, and the EX-C couldn't suppress a slight wince at that. Makoto turned to face Treize before brushing past him.

"We'll talk later," she said. "I need to cool down." Treize simply nodded as she left. He looked at Kira again and shuddered—whether or not the redhead had help doing that, Treize did _not_ want to be on the receiving end, no matter what sort of tricks Andras had used to try and make him invincible.

**

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**

Elsewhere

The silence as Shizuka led Hotaru down the corridors of the _Archangel_ was almost deafening. Run with a skeleton crew, mostly mechanics and bridge officers, the corridors of the mighty assault ship were as empty as a ghost vessel. It could almost be seen as haunting, when taken with the atmosphere surrounding the Taiyonoha Princess and her niece.

"Why… why didn't you come to us?" asked Shizuka, breaking the silence. Hotaru looked away.

"I did…" she murmured, bringing Shizuka up cold. The older woman turned to the other brunette.

"Makoto thinks you hate her," she said. "That you want her dead. Is that true?"

Hotaru was silent for several minutes, avoiding eye contact with Shizuka. Finally, she sighed and turned to face the older woman.

"It is." They were two simple words that seemed to crush Shizuka, and that would crush Makoto. "But my own feelings are secondary. They always have been." Hotaru turned away from her aunt. "I need some rest. I'll explain everything when Kira Yamato is able to understand me again."

Shizuka snapped.

Even though the older woman was a Natural, she was quite capable, and had been personally trained by Lord Misuumi, something Hotaru, despite her mastery of one branch of Shinsei Tsurugi, could not boast.

The brunette Coordinator was slammed against the bulkhead and found herself staring into the burning emerald eyes of her aunt.

"I don't care who you are or what you're up too," snarled Shizuka. "I don't care what Naomi would think of me. I'm not gonna let you wander free on this ship like that." As Hotaru stared into Shizuka's smoldering emerald orbs, she felt genuine fear for the first time in a long time. "If you so much as scratch even one hair on Makoto's head… I'll _kill_ you."

This was no idle threat. Shizuka had never been more furious in her life. Makoto would've sold her soul to the devil to have her cousins by her side, and when one of them really did come back to her, it was with the repressed desire to kill the redhead.

"I have… no intention… of hurting her…" gasped Hotaru, struggling under Shizuka's arms, unable to believe just how strong the older woman really was. Shizuka pressed the younger brunette against the bulkhead a little harder.

"Makoto is our hope," said Shizuka. "And she loves you. She'd have sold her soul to get you back and this is how you repay that? Well?" Shizuka snapped away, releasing Hotaru, who gasped for breath.

"I wasn't there," she gasped between labored breaths. Shizuka turned back to her currently least-favorite niece. "For four years, I had my parents to myself. But because you couldn't know that I was alive, when she came to Heliopolis, I had to leave." Hotaru's eyes smoldered with fire as she glared up at Shizuka. "And because of _her_ model, they died meaninglessly!"

"That's not true!" cried Shizuka. "It wasn't Makoto's fault that they died!"

"Like hell it isn't!" snapped Hotaru, standing to her feet. "The Dauntless was based on _her_ model. They only went to Morgenroete to protect it because of what it meant to _her_. So don't try to tell me that she isn't at fault for it!" Hotaru stepped forward, glaring face inches from Shizuka's own. "And then she was there. Right in front of me but I… I…" Hotaru's glare faltered with her words. Tears began to form in her eyes. "I…"

Shizuka's expression softened as Hotaru fell to her knees, the fight going out of her.

"I'm so stupid," she murmured. "I'm so weak." Tears began to pour fully from Hotaru's eyes, and Shizuka knelt down, wrapping her arms around the younger brunette, who clung to her desperately.

"Shizuka-obasan… kaa-san…" sobbed Hotaru, everything finally coming out.

"Shh," whispered Shizuka, stroking Hotaru's hair. "It'll be alright, Minako-chan."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Makoto threw herself into her bed, silently fuming, both at Kira and at herself. How could he have been so stupid? Did he know what he'd done to her?

Makoto didn't doubt for an instant that she loved Kira anymore. Was he the cliché 'love of her life'? She doubted it, partially because she didn't believe in such fairytales and partially because she didn't believe in the idea of restricting herself to loving only one person.

"Get a grip girl," she said, trying to calm herself. "Kira's only injuries are the one you, Cagalli and Ami put on him and… oh no…"

Makoto pulled herself into a sitting position, groaning. Ami. That was gonna be a mess. The girl had fallen into a state of repression, and the twins were gonna kill her for pushing that—not that she'd intended to, but at some point, she _had_ used the SEED or the psychic connection or… well, _something_ to push the Destroy to the back of the girl's mind. But when they reached Orb, she was gonna have to deal with that. She would have to face the person she'd been, everything that she'd done.

The Cosmic SEED allowed Makoto to manipulate the SEEDs of others—she could trigger a partial effect from it with enough focus or emotional determination, but the effect there was limited to stimulating a SEED into activity or dulling it into inactivity (the latter being harder, she needed to be much closer to do so). Regardless, the Cosmic SEED's true power was the power of other SEEDs.

The SEED was like some kind of supernatural hyper dimensional data storage and control unit existing within all organic life forms. Even being what she was, Makoto didn't understand it, nor did she pretend to know more about it than she actually did. The only person who might've understood it was Makoto's late godmother.

Regardless, the SEED could contain memories that could never be wiped away from it, could cause mass regeneration and restoration, purge infections and… well, within the individual body, there was little that the SEED _couldn't_ do. The standard use seemed to be a berserker-styled state of hyper awareness combined with increased physical and mental abilities.

With the Cosmic SEED, Makoto could take it other places. It had allowed her to restore Shani, Clotho and Louisa at the Second Battle of Jachin Due, purging the drugs in their system, restoring their bodies to a state that didn't need the drugs, and flooding them with memories. With Louisa, she'd been able to control the tide because she knew a lot of what she was dealing with, leaving only a little out of order that quickly fell into place. With Shani and Clotho, who she hadn't known, there wasn't time to study and 'pull' the memories properly.

Makoto didn't even know if she _could_ do that, but she was sure as hell going to try with Ami. While she was at it, she'd look at Shani, Clotho, Neo and Treize. The reason she hadn't tried it with the former two was because of the damage and strain associated with the Cosmic SEED. Since their memories were there and just needed to be put in order, it was decided to leave things as they were, and allow them to be restored naturally. If Makoto's suspicions about Treize were correct, it would be a moot point with him, and she wouldn't be able to do much beyond eliminate his need for drugs. With Neo, she honestly wasn't sure. And with Shani and Clotho, she suspected trying anything would just make the situation worse—the memories were already there in their minds, which she could not access (which is why she suspected it had been her 'Newtype' abilities that had repressed Ami's emotions over the Destroy due to the situation they were in). Trying to release it again, even in controlled conditions, could be potentially damaging, which was just another reason they'd never attempted it.

Makoto let out a small sigh, thoughts drifting to two new occupants of the assault ship.

Chris… Minako…

Treize… Hotaru…

It was all so confusing. Turmoil roiled in both of them, and the redhead couldn't make sense of any of it. It always seemed to be like this—everything would just hit them all at once. Sometimes—_sometimes_—things would happen gradually, but that just didn't seem to be the norm for them. Why was…?

Divinity. No matter how she looked at it, no matter which of the truly significant players she found, it all kept tracing back to Divinity. Logos seemed the only partial exemption from that, but even there one could find links to Divinity.

What was it that she'd been told Sera had said…? That Divinity could never be buried? And that everything that had happened with Divinity had reshaped the face of humanity and their ultimate destiny?

Yes, that was right.

"Damn it, she was right," said Makoto, sighing again. "Faith."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Minako?"

"She's… talking to Shizuka." The AI seemed strangely hesitant. "I don't think you should disturb her right now."

"Okay," said the redhead, getting up. "I guess I'll go apologize to Kira… and talk to Chris."

**

* * *

**

Infirmary

Treize's expression was blank as the doctor took a blood sample for testing. Treize had his suspicions as to why it was, but seriously doubted the doctor thought he was anyone _but_ Chris Dante.

"So, they try demoting you yet?" questioned Neo lightly. Treize shrugged, while Hunnicutt chuckled lightly.

"As Chris Dante, he was only an ensign," he said. "Intel reports said that… Treize Zabiarov?" Treize nodded. "Well, you're a lieutenant commander. That would be about a three-rank demotion, counting junior grade lieutenant."

"Heh, worse off than me," said Neo as Treize leaned back slightly in his seat, letting out a breath and trying to relax, which was hard, given where he was.

"If what they say about who we are is true, then we're wanted by the Atlantic Federation for treason," he said, tone light as he glanced as his CO. "And dead too. I'd say we're about equal in that regard."

"I've treated a lot of dead men," commented Hunnicutt, running the blood sample at his station. "And a dead woman too. It wasn't _that_ hard."

The two (former) Alliance officers snorted lightly. Neo glanced at Kira, lying unconscious after being given a sedative by the doctor, and shook his head.

"How did he even survive that explosion?" he asked. Treize shrugged, opening his mouth to reply when a new voice interjected itself.

"When rebuilding the Freedom, the cockpit and surrounding torso were modified to act as a rudimentary escape system," said the voice, coming from nowhere. The two glanced around, confused, until a lithe young woman with pretty features, pale-skin, arctic blue eyes and flowing silver hair literally _materialized_ in the infirmary, catching the two off-guard.

"What the hell?" cried Treize, jumping to his feet. The woman raised an eyebrow as though in curiosity.

"You really should've let someone explain things before you showed up," said Hunnicutt, glancing up from his work. "Most people aren't used to you, Faith. Remember how Ami reacted?" Faith lightly tapped her head with her hand, as though to say 'silly me'.

"Oops?" However, she did not look even slightly abashed, either.

"What the hell is this?" said Treize, repeating his earlier question.

"Ah, right," said Faith, turning to face him. "I am an advanced prototype artificial intelligence system developed from interface with a fair number of different computers. I began to gain self-awareness while integrated into the ZGMF-X16A Faith, hence my name." Faith tilted her 'head' slightly to the side. "As for my appearance here, once I gained sentience, I was able to grant access to some technological marvels. Holographic technology, for instance, or the Deuterion Drive System." Faith blinked. "Oh… oh, silly me. I can't believe I did that."

"Did… what?" questioned Treize, blinking. Hunnicutt chuckled, while Faith giggled slightly at the same time the door of the infirmary opened.

"I know that giggle," said Makoto, drawing attention to herself. "Faith, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing," said Faith innocently, assuming a cute pose, complete with pout. Makoto shook her head, exasperated. "Oh, right. We forgot—and I'm trying to figure out how _I_ did that—that my systems contained the Deuterion Drive technology. Minako was backed up by someone connected to Sera."

"Wait, what?" Makoto looked completely caught off-guard. Hunnicutt sighed and excused himself, heading to the lab. "But… that would mean…"

"That Sera, in all likelihood, knew about both Minako and Ami?" supplied Faith. "So it would seem."

"Sera? What are you two talking about?" questioned Treize. Makoto sighed, glancing at the AI.

"We'll talk later," she said. Faith nodded, image flickering before disappearing altogether. Makoto turned to face Treize.

"It's still Treize, right?" she asked. The EX-C nodded, while the redhead sat down in Hunnicutt's vacated chair. Treize resumed his own seat, while Neo watched with curiosity evident in his deep blue eyes.

"And you're Makoto Arata, unless I'm mistaken," he replied. "If so, I'm impressed. You survived not only the destruction of the Dauntless, but also of the Faith."

"Hmm, well, you'd be right," she said. "My name's actually Makoto _Taiyonoha_, though. I was adopted by my aunt and uncle, Minako's parents, in order to keep hidden. As for the two incidents you refer to… the Dauntless's cockpit was reinforced to increase chances of survival, and I was rescued from the Faith by my stupid cousin." Both Treize and Neo raised an eyebrow at that. Makoto saw it, and realized what was up. "My _other_ stupid cousin. You've met her, Treize. Misuumi Kamakura ring any bells?" Now Treize was _really_ shocked. Sure, Hotaru had told him a few things, but _this_…

"It's some sort of bizarre soap opera, right?" continued Makoto, sighing. "Welcome to the life of those touched by Divinity."

"Divinity… I keep hearing that lately," murmured Treize. Makoto let out another sigh—it was time for a very, _very_ long story.

**

* * *

**

Flay's Quarters

Somehow… this was both easier and harder than she'd expected all at the same time. It was Chris and it wasn't Chris. But that man, Treize, genuinely seemed to want her pain to end. There were bits of him that somehow seemed just like Chris. At times, he seemed like some crueler, more twisted version of the man she loved, even though he'd begun to redeem himself.

"Chris…" murmured Flay, staring at the ceiling. Then, another thought occurred to her. "Alexander."

What would she do with Alex? How was she going to handle this? Alex's father was right there and so far out of reach…

Makoto had said that the power that could save Chris couldn't take life, and Treize was now alive. That meant she couldn't entirely 'save' Chris, all she could do was cure the body. Chris would have to find his way to the surface on his own.

But that still meant that Alex's father was…

"What am I gonna do?" murmured Flay. Should Alexander meet Treize? Did she even have the right to deny them such a meeting? But what about Chris?

The young redhead was a roiling torrent of conflicted emotions… and there seemed end in sight to them. But she'd have to decide, soon—it wouldn't be long before they reached Orb, and the matter would be forced.

**

* * *

**

Ami's Quarters

"How are you feeling?" asked Cagalli, eyeing her younger sister as Ami rested. The other blonde shifted slightly on her bed, rolling over to look at Cagalli.

"I… don't know…" she murmured. "Everything feels strange… blurred… I can feel each moment fine, but…" Ami looked away, tears in her eyes. Cagalli sighed.

Because of everything that had been done to her, Ami was very much so a child with borderline dissociative identity disorder that would probably only get worse until they reached Orb, and possibly even worse once they did.

Ami shifted between mature and in-control to child-like and scared. Mostly the latter, with the former showing up when there was danger or she felt very strongly about something. At other times, such as with Kira, she behaved somewhere with a mix between the two.

"That guy piloting the Impulse," said Cagalli slowly. "You… like him… right?" Ami shifted, seeming uncertain.

"I… love… Shinn," she answered. Cagalli felt her breath come up short. "The same way as I… loved… Neo. And Haruka… and Suiren… and Kira… and you." _That_ calmed Cagalli a little. The idea of Ami being in love with the guy who'd (by all the reports) made it his life's goal to kill Kira would've been messy.

"You're struggling with that, aren't you?" murmured Cagalli. "'Love'." Ami nodded.

"So much… there's so much I don't understand," murmured Ami. "These feelings. These things. They feel good and they hurt and I've never felt them for long before they became a distant memory." She clutched her chest slightly. "All of this… is strange."

"I… can't really imagine that," admitted Cagalli. "Ami… you're strong, you know that?"

"How?"

"Do you know how many people could hold together going through what you're experiencing now?" answered Cagalli. "Not many. I don't think I could handle it. I would've broken down."

"But… I don't… I don't even understand myself," whispered Ami. Cagalli eyed her sister for a moment before getting up and crossing to sit on the bed next to the younger blonde, pulling the surprised girl into a gentle hug.

"But you want to understand and know yourself, right?" said Cagalli softly, holding her sister in a loving, protective hug. Ami nodded. "Not many people could face that. That's why you're strong, Ami. I know what you've done hurts you… but we're all in a position where we have to forgive the past, each other and, most importantly, ourselves." Cagalli's tone was sad, something her sister picked up on immediately. "All of us have done things we've regretted… or regretted not doing things we should've. Kira and I weren't there for you."

"That wasn't your fault," whispered Ami.

"Maybe not, but it's still true," said Cagalli. "So… can you forgive us? We'll be here for you from now on."

"It's okay…" said Ami. "It's… okay…"

The two were silent for a moment before Ami gently broke from her sister's hug.

"Am I… going to get another sister soon?" asked Ami, putting forth the question that had been turning over in her head for a while.

"What?" cried Cagalli, shocked. Ami blinked in surprise. "H-how did you…?"

"Big brother and Makoto didn't really hide anything…" murmured Ami, sounding confused. Now it was Cagalli's turn to blink in surprise.

"Wait! Kira and _Makoto_? What are you talking about?" she exclaimed in surprise, which only further confused Ami.

"Aren't they lovers?" she questioned. Cagalli sputtered.

"No! No, no, no! They've never been like that at all!" said Cagalli, waving her hands around. "Makoto's in love with Liz and Louisa! And Kira's head-over-heels for Lacus!"

"Lacus Clyne?" Now Ami was _really_ confused. "But Kira and Makoto really seemed to like each other."

"They… they're like brother and sister as well!" said Cagalli. "Their relationship isn't like that at all!" She cast around, looking for a different subject. "Um… Haruka, that girl piloting the Astarte… she's here, do you want to see her?"

"That girl needs some rest as well," said Faith, materializing in the room. Cagalli sighed, reminding herself that Faith usually respected the privacy of others just fine. As though reading her mind, the AI continued. "I'm monitoring the entire ship right now. It's… fascinating… and probably saves everyone some trouble. You two should probably rest as well. There will be plenty of time to talk tomorrow."

"I suppose," said Cagalli, glancing at her sister. "Will you be fine on your own?" Ami nodded, and Cagalli gave her sister a small kiss on the temple before leaving.

Faith looked at the young blonde and smiled.

"Hey, everything will be okay," she said. "I'm sure of it." Ami smiled.

"Thank you Faith," she said, smiling. A part of her wondered about everything Cagalli had told her though.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Three hours later

Talia sighed, setting the new orders down on her desk before turning to face Arthur, Saul and the three FAITH pilots.

"Well?" questioned Saul after a moment. "What are our orders, ma'am?"

"The _Minerva_ is to intercept carrying Logos refugees," she said. "It's the naval carrier _Farragut_, with a small escort, nothing major, but we won't be getting any support on this mission. Most of our forces are tied up holding what's left of the Earth Alliance in place and blockading routes Logos could escape on. As I understand it, the ships we're to intercept are headed to Kaohsiung."

"They're heading into space?" questioned Arthur. Talia nodded.

"So it would seem," she said.

"What about replacement mobile suits?" asked Heine. "I understand not getting reinforcements, but we're down to three machines, two of which aren't at a hundred percent, and the Impulse is nearly out of spare flyers after that bout with the Freedom." Athrun shifted slightly at the mention of his late friend, hand unconsciously curling into a fist. Talia sighed.

"Unfortunately, we won't be getting new machines for some time," she said, motioning to the papers. "According to these orders, we're to receive some new machines straight off the production lines. They're not complete just yet, and when they are, they'll be delivered to Gibraltar, which is where we're to head after dealing with the _Farragut_."

"So we'll have the Impulse, the Saviour and my Rose for this mission?" asked Suiren. Talia nodded, and the blonde sighed.

"Also, we're to offer the enemy the chance to surrender," continued Talia. "Our orders are to keep them from escaping and fight only if they attack us first. We're not to be the aggressors on this mission."

"Understood," said Athrun, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. Talia eyed him for a moment.

"Will the Saviour be back to full in time?" she asked him. "We expect to intercept in about three days."

Despite the way she phrased it, it was obvious that she was actually asking whether or not Athrun would participate in this mission.

"Yes, I'll see to it," said Athrun softly. Tension seemed to bleed out of the room as Talia dismissed the other officers.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The next day

It was a bit of an odd gathering. Kira was mostly just bruised and, other than needing to take it easy for a while, was moving again. The others present were Makoto, Treize, Flay, Cagalli, Ami, Shizuka, Faith (for whom it would be hard _not_ to be present) and Murrue, all waiting to hear just what Hotaru's story was.

The brunette herself, after hours of rest and recovery from her emotional encounter with Shizuka, was carefully avoiding the gaze of the other's as she prepared herself for what would be a long story.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I… well, to start… oh, this is hard." The brunette took another deep breath.

"Why don't you start with that bit where… where you wanted to kill me and didn't," said Makoto softly. Several strangled gasps emerged from the audience, and Hotaru turned to face further away from Makoto out of shame.

"Makoto… I wanted to be a family," she said softly. "I wanted to be there with you… for you…" Finally, she spun around, facing Makoto directly, tears in her eyes. "You want to know why I wasn't? Because our godmother knew that all of this would happen! Sera didn't just guess as to what would happen—she's predicted everything almost perfectly! She setup some kind of remote terminal that transfers information to me as needed to act at the proper times and I still don't understand how in the world she did it! All I know is that she rescued me from Mendel, returned me to mom and dad… and decided that I had to be hidden from the rest of you. When you went to Heliopolis… it meant I had to leave them. And then they died protecting your machine!" Hotaru, evidently still not able to fully handle the emotional baggage, slid down the wall to her knees, tears beginning to fall, though unaccompanied by any sobs.

"Minako…" whispered Makoto softly. Ami, hearing that, glanced between the cousins uncertainly.

"I don't know how much Sera truly knew," continued Hotaru. "But she knew about Ami. And she knew about… them."

"'Them'?" questioned Shizuka.

"This is the true enemy you referred to, isn't it?" asked Treize, shifting slightly, cuffs making a clinking noise as they did so. He wouldn't try anything, but they were cautious, hence the handcuffs, and there were guards outside (not that they'd be needed—if a fight broke out, Kira and Makoto could neutralize Treize and Hotaru without _too_ much difficulty).

"They call themselves the Horizon Federation," said Hotaru, wiping away her tears, but not bothering to stand. "I still don't know much about them. I've been told that they're recruiting Newtypes through a man styling himself 'the Prophet', and their leader, who calls himself Gabriel, used to be a researcher attached to the Divinity Projects."

"Divinity?" cried Murrue, and she wasn't the only one—just the most vocal. "Again?" Hotaru nodded.

"Horizon styles itself as the guiding force for the future of humanity," she said. "They've continued research into the Divinity Project. According to the last information I received, they're ultimate project is codenamed 'Eden'. That's all I know."

"This Intel sounds way too current for a dead woman," said Kira, eyes narrowing. "Are you sure Dr. Takara is dead?"

"Absolutely," said Shizuka, staring at him. "I saw the body myself, and DNA tests confirmed it to be Sera."

"There wasn't anything even slightly off about it?" questioned Kira. "Something like… shortened telomeres?"

Half the room froze instantly, leaving the other half-confused.

"Shortened telomeres?" murmured Treize. "I've heard that… isn't it a side effect of cloning? It causes a shortened lifespan and without medication, premature death even by those standards, right?"

"Yes, that's right," said Faith, frowning as her image flickered. "I'm checking now, but the tests showed nothing odd. No evidence of cloning."

"Sera isn't that sort of person anyways," said Shizuka. "She wouldn't even create a clone in the first place, let alone use one as a decoy!" Kira simply left it at that—they knew Sera better than he did.

"Minako…" said Makoto softly. "Please, continue." Hotaru nodded.

"I lived out at the Marshall Islands almost my entire life, usually with Sera," she explained. "Whenever mom and dad were out on business for an extended period… they were really visiting me. I lived with them when they moved to Heliopolis. I was staying at my old home… my only home, really… when that battle happened." She shook her head. "At times… I honestly wonder if Sera planned that out as well. Regardless, after the invasion of Orb… I knew that I had to disappear. I knew that you'd find out who I was… and if I let that happen then, it all would've been pointless. You weren't supposed to find out until… until it was time for me to get Ami back to you."

"And when was that supposed to be?" demanded Makoto, getting up from her seat and walking up to her cousin.

"Why… are we even here?" murmured Treize softly.

"Because she wanted us here," answered Flay just as softly.

"Makoto…" murmured Shizuka, staring at her two nieces.

"I was told to protect her," said Hotaru softly, avoiding looking at her cousin—her _sister_. "I thought I'd failed. The truth… I was told to tell the truth when Ami came into conflict with Kira or Cagalli. That if I told them any sooner, everything would be for naught."

"So it was alright to let her become scarred like that?" cried Makoto angrily, dropping to her knees.

"You think I wanted this?" snapped Hotaru, tears flying from her face as her head snapped back around to face Makoto. "If it had been up to me, I would've taken her from the Earth Forces the moment I saw the _Archangel_! But she would've fought against it, we might've lost her, and I trust Sera! I trust that Sera knows what's best because she's always known what's best!"

"Sera wasn't infallible!" said Makoto. "This wasn't… she doesn't…"

"Makoto, Minako," said Shizuka, walking forward, putting a hand on each of them. "This isn't the place for this." She looked back at Murrue—at the entire audience. "Please bring the ship above the water. This meeting… is a Taiyonoha matter now."

"Yeah… yeah, I understand," said Murrue, standing up. "Faith, please relay the order."

"I will."

**

* * *

**

Rear Observation Deck

A few minutes later

After taking her nieces somewhere with a lot of open space and comparative privacy, Shizuka had promptly ordered Faith to lock the door, leaving the two of them alone—only Kira or Murrue would be able to override the AI.

Now the two stood facing each other amidst biting cold winter winds as the ocean tide smashed against the sides of the mighty assault ship.

"Why?" asked Makoto. "Why did you listen to Sera? We could've…"

"I told you," said Hotaru… no… _Minako_. "I trust Sera. I trust that she knows what is best. Besides… what about Treize? Do you think he'd be here now if I hadn't been there for him?"

"Yes," said the redhead, without hesitation.

"Then… you're a fool," said Minako. Despite the harshness of her words, there were tears in her eyes.

"Maybe it is foolish," admitted Makoto. "But… I believe in the best in people. If that means being foolish, than what's wrong with it?"

"One day… that'll kill you," said Minako, tears beginning to stream down her face, making the arctic winds all the more biting.

"I'd rather die… believing in the best for the future… than live believing there's nothing worth protecting in humanity," answered Makoto, tears pouring down her own face now.

"Baka."

"Even if that's true… it doesn't change how I feel," said Makoto softly. Hotaru barely heard her over the howling winds in the distance between them. "And Minako… I love you as well."

"Love me?" questioned Minako. "Makoto… I hate you!"

"Even if you hate me."

"I want to kill you… more than anything I've ever wanted in my life!"

"Even if you kill me… I still love you," murmured Makoto.

"You don't know me!" cried Minako, tears falling to the deck at her feet as she clutched at her head. "Whoever it is you love, it's not the real me!"

"Maybe you're right," said Makoto, spreading her arms. "But… I thought about it… and Kira… Kira helped me. I know… even if you're not the Minako I envisioned… the Minako I thought about… you're still alive. You're still here. And you're still a part of me."

"Makoto…" whispered the brunette.

"If you kill me… then that's okay," said Makoto, her own tears blown away in the wind. "But I… I truly believe that they were our parents… and you're right. They died because of me."

"Makoto… please… stop…" whispered Minako, too softly for the redhead to hear.

"So… if you want to kill me… then maybe that's what I deserve," continued Makoto, smiling gently… lovingly. "I decided… that's what I'd do… if it's what it took…" The redhead was beginning to breakdown herself. "As long as I could be with you… as long as we could all be a family… if only for a moment…"

"You idiot!" cried Minako, rushing forward and punching Makoto, knocking the redhead to the ground, ignoring the pain in her own hand. Makoto just lay there, sobbing. "That wouldn't make me happy! Damn it Makoto, I love you as well!" The brunette fell to her knees, sobbing as well, breaking down entirely. "It was so easy to hate you! You made it so easy to construct an illusion, to lie to myself! All I had to do was pretend I'd never lied in the first place to be around you as Hotaru!" Minako grabbed her cousin's shirt, turning her over, straddling the redhead and punching her again. "Fight me, damn it! Fight back!"

"Why?"

"Because I… because I…"

"I don't blame you… for hating me," said Makoto, smiling despite the pain in her face. A small bruise was forming on her cheek already. "I deserve it… right?"

"Idiot!" cried Minako, pulling Makoto up by her shirt and slamming her back down. "You don't deserve it! I shouldn't have hated you, even for a minute! Why won't you… why won't you understand that?"

"I told you…"

"What happened to Makoto Arata?" screamed Minako. "What happened to the woman who fought at Jachin Due, who destroyed the Conviction, who destroyed the Relentless? What happened to the woman that came to be called the Dauntless Angel of Faith?"

"I…"

"Don't sell your soul for me, damn it!" cried the brunette. "I'm not worth it! And it's not worth having you here for me if… if it isn't the real you…" Finally, both girls simply broke down, Minako falling on top of Makoto, crying her heart out, suppressed emotions pouring freely… from both of them.

"Minako… Minako-nēchan!" cried Makoto, wrapping her cousin in a tight hug.

"Ima bokutachi wa koko ni iru… bokutachi wa koko ni iru…" murmured Minako through her tears. "Makoto-chan…"

The two remained like that, crying for all the world to see for quite some time. Finally, the chill winds forced a stop to it all, and a little while later, the two were sitting beside the door back into the ship, leaning against one another.

"You're finally here," murmured Makoto, eyes closed, leaning her head on Minako's, the brunette leaning her own head on the slightly taller redhead's shoulder. "Onē-chan…"

"Maybe it should be the other way around," whispered Minako, smiling slightly, eyes also closed. "You _are_ bigger than me."

"Being half an inch or so taller doesn't matter," said Makoto. "You look older."

"Mmm, not the only thing I was talking about," said Minako, smile turning playful even though they both kept their eyes shut. She reached out and poked her cousin's breast lightly. "You can't hide them forever…"

"Oh, stop it," said Makoto, pushing her sister's arm away. "Neh, Minako?"

"Hmm?"

"Can things really go away this easily?"

"I never hated you… not really… so it isn't that hard to let go," answered Minako. "Not when I know… that you… really are a better person than me."

"That's not true… I'm only human… we're not better… or worse… than anyone else," murmured Makoto. "I believe in that."

"Baka."

A few minutes later and the two emotionally exhausted girls fell asleep amidst the biting cold winds. Within a minute of that, the door opened, and Shizuka was quick to take the two back inside with Cagalli's help.

**

* * *

**

The Bridge

When Shizuka returned to the bridge with Cagalli's company, it was with a small smile adorning her features. Kira, Murrue and Ami, all on the bridge and greatly concerned over the situation, felt relief flood them at that sight. Faith was also there, having largely cut herself off from the internal monitoring, outside of keeping an eye on Neo and Treize.

"How are they?" asked Murrue.

"They're fine," said Shizuka softly. "The stuff between them… they've resolved it." Her smile became just a little more fond. "Makoto wouldn't let go of her. Their sleeping in her quarters right now."

"That's a relief," said Kira.

"Yeah," said Ami. "Haruka… uh… Minako… I don't want her to be fighting Makoto." The situation had been explained to her after the earlier meeting, and she'd been as anxious as the others.

Shizuka turned to Faith's projection.

"When you send out the recording," she said. "Could you give Serenity a message for me?"

"Hmm?" The AI sounded a lot more curious than normal. Shizuka's smile grew slightly.

"Tell her… that everything's gonna be alright."

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

Durandal let out a faint sigh, shifting the pieces on the board once again. Things had not gone as planned, even with Rey subtly guiding Shinn on how best to use his phenomenal abilities and potential to defeat the thought-predictable White Angel.

But Kira Yamato had proven himself far, _far_ stronger than even Durandal had believed him to be.

Where was the boy's hesitation? Where was his naïveté? No… the real question was, did Kira Yamato even _have_ a weakness?

Durandal suspected the White Angel had survived, but telling that to others would just cause a loss of morale. Even though he did not know how Yamato could've survived that explosion, there was little doubt that at least the image of the White Angel would not end here. Even if Yamato was dead, a new White Angel would arise, for indeed, who knew the face behind the legend?

This wouldn't have been a problem if Shinn had managed to bring down the Freedom, as Durandal had always planned it to be. Then, even if the White Angel had returned, it would've only served to elevate Shinn further, as people turned to him to strike down the reincarnation.

But that wasn't how it played out. And it was a dangerous unknown element Durandal did not enjoy having to deal with.

Advancing his Queen several paces forward and the last White Knight back to join the other pieces, Durandal frowned.

The three White Knights and the Bronze Knight were clustered around the Rook representing the _Archangel_, which was now sitting protectively at the side of its King. Yes, they still remained in a position to easily move forward and protect their Queen from harm. Hmm… perhaps he could exploit that.

But that was a different concern. The Ryker-Bishop had vanished entirely, and Durandal had his suspicions about that. More importantly though, the Logos-Bishop was left out in the open and vulnerable. Not surprising—it would allow more time for the White pieces to fortify their remaining positions, and he could not simply allow that Bishop to live. Besides, taking it would put his pieces into position to move forward and checkmate the King.

But amidst everything else, Durandal forgot about the second White Rook.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Luna had hardly left Suiren's quarters since being brought there yesterday, and the blonde didn't blame the girl. Luna had clung to Suiren when she was there, but didn't fight it when the blonde broke free. The girl was an emotional wreck right now, but she'd grow out of it.

In spite of herself, Suiren silently marveled at the sheer hypocrisy of it all. For all her maturity, Luna was still just a kid. She had no place on the frontlines—she shouldn't have even been accepted in ZAFT at her age. But she was, and Luna could kill without difficulty, but only so long as the enemy was faceless. If someone were to put a face on her target, Luna would hesitate.

Shinn, though… Shinn probably wouldn't hesitate unless the face was one of several specifics. If he became a protector, he'd be a magnificent one, but the Shinn of today was a destroyer. He railed against the world in general and Orb in particular for the deaths of his family and sought out constant vengeance. It was only made worse by the discovery of Mayu, alive and… well, _not_ well. He'd found something to protect in Stella… and had even chosen to protect it at the cost of his own life, if it came to that. But he'd hypocritically forgotten about what she was doing at the time, and attacked someone trying to stop her, declaring that Kira Yamato was the one who didn't understand when the situation was, in fact, quite the opposite.

Of course, like Luna, Shinn really wasn't emotionally suited to war and should've been refused outright. For Coordinators, it was a little more understandable, but screenings should've been more thorough.

More hypocritical was the Earth Forces allowing teenagers into their armed forces in normal situations rather than just dire emergencies. Still maturing, emotionally fragile children being trained as professional killers. It was the same hypocrisy of parents who would rather their children see people being brutally murdered than allow them to learn even one thing mildly sexual, which was really just another mess altogether.

In the end, many soldiers were not emotionally ready to be soldiers. Oh, it was all fun and glory… until one of your comrades died brutally right in front of you. Until you were forced to sit back and watch as a friend died meaninglessly.

"War is blood and death and cruelty and suffering," muttered Suiren, looking out across the hangar at her machine. "So why do we fight it?"

"Hasn't the Chairman already told you why?" questioned Rey, walking up to her. Suiren snorted.

"Logos… that line of thinking is bullshit," she said. "Logos can't be solely responsible for war."

"Of course not," said Rey, standing beside her now. "If not for the weakness of the human heart, there would be no fighting."

"Hmm," murmured Suiren. "Then that's fine."

"Fine? Really?" questioned Rey. "Suiren… Reine… it's the same sort of thing that made the two us exist. That made Rau exist."

"And we've all had our own lives… no matter how sad," said Suiren, turning and leaving. Rey frowned, looking after her. He'd thought she, of all people, would understand, but…

No. It seemed not.

**

* * *

**

Saul's Quarters

"So for now, we're simply sticking to the Logos matter?" questioned Shiho. Saul nodded.

"Those are our present orders," he said. "I'm not sure when it'll change."

"Have there been any orders from the Terminal?" asked Nicol, though of course, he already knew the answer—not even these two knew of his actual position within the organization.

"Not really," said Saul, shaking his head. "We've simply been told to maintain our cover. Though there was an interesting attachment, as well: 'Sentinel Project nearing completion. New units available within four weeks.'"

"What is that supposed to mean?" questioned Shiho.

"Sounds like a mobile suit project," said Nicol. "New Gundams, you think?"

"That seems likely, and the way it was phrased suggests there's one for Shiho as well," said Saul, glancing at the brunette.

"A Gundam for me, huh?" she murmured softly.

"Did they say anything about Kira?" asked Nicol. Saul shook his head.

"No, they didn't," he murmured, so softly they could barely hear.

"Suiren seems to think he's alive," commented Shiho.

"The Terminal hasn't said anything about her either, has it?" asked Nicol. Again, Saul shook his head.

"At a guess, Makoto wants to handle it personally when she has the chance," he said. He sighed, lying down on his bed. "I'm not sure what to do anymore. I can't _believe_ Kira would self-destruct the Freedom like that."

"… Saul… where did our orders come from? Which branch?" asked Nicol.

"Hmm? The military branch of course," said Saul.

"Then Kira's still alive," said Nicol. The two stared at him for a moment before realization struck them.

"If Kira was dead, we'd be receiving orders from the intelligence branch," said Shiho.

"Of course," muttered Saul. "How the _hell_ did I not see that before?" Nicol just chuckled. "Oh, shut up!"

"Well… it's reassuring, if nothing else," said Nicol. "And with Logos… I guess that, for now, they don't see any reason we shouldn't aid the _Minerva_ against them."

"Yeah, that's a fight I won't have a problem with," said Saul, grinning. "Blowing bastards like that to high hell will be some of the most satisfactory work I've ever done."

**

* * *

**

Upper Deck

Athrun stared out at the ocean as he'd done so many times before and knew he would do many times more. It offered solitude and gave him the chance to reflect on everything.

Had Kira really been right about everything he'd said about Durandal? If the Chairman truly wanted peace, why did he order the destruction of the _Archangel_? The only times they'd fought against ZAFT had been to try and protect the Orb fleet or themselves, anyone could recognize that! And yet the Chairman…

He'd ask him. The next time he had the chance, he'd talk to the Chairman himself. In the meantime, though…

Athrun sighed, turning to head back into the ship. There wasn't anything he could do right now.

**

* * *

**

The Hangar

Shinn, Heine, Aleksi and Tristan were running through the sims in what seemed like one giant wild goose chase.

"Damn it!" cursed Shinn, ducking under a shot from Aleksi and returning fire from cover with his own rifle. What was with that woman? Her abilities had been improving quicker and quicker lately. She still wasn't quite as good of a pilot as Shinn was in terms of skills… but with her tactical ability, she was generally able to outfight him, despite still using her GuAIZ in the sims.

"_Shinn, I'll cover you,_" said Tristan. "_I can't possibly outfight Aleksi, but if you can get in close._"

"Yeah, got it, thanks," said Shinn.

"_Now!_"

Tristan jumped up from behind cover, opening up with absolutely _everything_ his GuAIZ R packed on Aleksi's position. The gold GuAIZ leapt into the air, sinking its arrestors to large chunks of rubble and using them as anchors as she flipped over, causing Tristan's latest attack to miss… and then fired off several shots that missed by a wide margin.

"What the…?" muttered Tristan, wondering why Aleksi would waste power like that.

The collision alarm sounded half a second too late as the broken building behind Tristan finally collapsed with the loss of its remaining structural supports and crushed his machine.

"Damn, how the hell did she do that?" exclaimed Tristan.

"Only two shots out of seven," muttered Aleksi. "Not bad, but I–" Warning alarms sounded, and Aleksi turned to her left to see the Force Impulse closing in, Vajra beam saber held at the ready. She was at the wrong angle to defend against the attack, and it seemed Shinn would finally bring her down.

Instead, Aleksi began to withdraw her arrestors, firing thrusters simultaneously. The piece of rubble her right arrestor was sunk into tore free and into the air, coming up between the Impulse and GuAIZ. Shinn swatted it aside, but it bought Aleksi the distance necessary to bring her beam claws in place to intercept the beam saber.

But the Force Impulse had much stronger thrust and Aleksi was slammed into the ground. Shinn slammed the Impulse's head into the GuAIZ's with enough force to shatter the camera, then pulled back just enough to discard his shield and draw his second beam saber in a wide arc that delivered a killing blow.

"You really need a better machine than that Aleksi," commented Shinn. "I know you're fond of it, but still…"

"_I know,_" said the blonde, letting out a small sigh. "_I know._"

Now it was just Shinn and Heine. The young redcoat let out a sigh.

"This'll be tough," he murmured.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

That night

"You cling in your sleep you know," commented Minako, stroking the still half-asleep redhead's hair gently while her head rested in the brunette's lap. Makoto simply groaned in response. "You're… a magnetic person. I guess that's why you've gotten so far."

"… not…" muttered Makoto through a yawn. Minako giggled slightly—it was helpful, pushing the feelings of hatred held around her heart like armor farther and farther away.

"I haven't been able to act young in a long time," said Minako softly. "Not since mom and dad died. I lost my family and really became Hotaru… thanks for… for earlier. It's nice, really being myself again."

"I wasn't trying to help you," said Makoto softly, a little more awake now. "I really feel that way."

"We're not worth it," said Minako, continuing to stroke her little sister's hair. "Not me… and not Misuumi. You know, the last time… the last time I fought her… I saw into her heart. I was just trying to protect myself, but she… she really does hate you. She hates all of us."

"That doesn't change how I feel though."

"Baka. You can't protect the world from itself. And you can't save us from ourselves."

"I wasn't trying to save you," whispered Makoto. "I just wanted to do what I could."

"And you're not out to save the world?" questioned Minako.

"If by fighting, I can keep even one other person from fighting, then it's worth it," said Makoto, smiling slightly, eyes shut as she simply enjoyed the feeling of being with her sister. Finally, after wishing for years to truly have a family beyond her parents and aunt, Makoto had gotten her wish.

"The three of you are the same," said Minako idly. Makoto rolled over slightly, cracking one eye open to look at her. "You, Kira, Lacus… what are you? Made of selflessness?" Makoto giggled slightly, closing her eye and rolling back on her side.

"I can't talk about them," she said. "But me… I'm just hopelessly idealistic. Or maybe insufferably arrogant."

Afterwards, the two fell silent, simply enjoying being in the company of family again.

"You're still not acting like the Dauntless Angel."

"That's not who I am right now," said the redhead softly. "Right now… I'm Makoto Arata. A girl who's finally gotten the older sister she always wanted."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Two days later

"Argh!" cried Shinn, swinging his beam saber through one of the enemy Windams. Behind him, Athrun fired off both of the Saviour's Amfortas cannons, gutting a second Windam. Closer to the three enemy naval ships, Suiren let loose a full barrage with all her weapons, plasma cannons overwhelming the laminated armor of one Windam and destroying it while her railguns tore straight through the torsos of two more, destroying them.

"_I'll say it again,_" said Talia. "_Surrender!_"

"_Go to hell, patchworker bitch!_"

"_It'll be a pleasure to send you there!_" said Suiren, dodging a saber strike and gutting the Windam with her beam sword. "_Shinn, would you do the honors?_"

"Gladly," said Shinn, dodging a Windam and firing on it with his rifle twice in rapid succession, destroying it. "Meyrin, send out a Sword Silhouette."

"_Right away,_" said the redhead. As the _Minerva_ launched the silhouette, Athrun dodged fire from three Windams, shifting the Saviour to mobile suit mode and drawing a beam saber before charging forward.

"_Why do you want to protect people like this anyway?_" cried Athrun, slicing one Windam apart.

"_Bastard!_" cried a voice over the radio. Athrun shifted to mobile armor mode, flipping over in the process, and fired with everything he had almost point-blank, obliterating both Windams.

"_Field as many machines as you like!_" said Suiren. "_We'll cut them down just the same! Surrender! There's no reason for more bloodshed!_"

The two escorting cruisers fired a barrage at Suiren. The blonde sighed, pulling further into the sky before dancing back down, twisting away from the missiles and closing in. Once she was close enough, she snapped all her cannons into place, aimed her rifle, and fired, destroying one cruiser. Simultaneously, Athrun gunned down the second.

And the Impulse landed on the _Farragut_. Shinn destroyed the turret-mounted vulcans with his CIWS and cut two cannons up with his swords. Then, he stared menacingly at the bridge. The message was clear.

It didn't take long for the captain of the _Farragut_ to come to a decision, and the carrier launched off a surrender flare. Shinn let out a small sigh, but didn't drop his guard.

"_You are to surrender all members of the military-industrial organization 'Logos' to our custody and be escorted to Carpentaria base,_" said Talia. "_Is that understood?_"

"_Yes, we understand,_" said the captain. "_We accept your terms._"

"_Good._"

**

* * *

**

A short while later

"It seems everything went off without a hitch," commented Suiren, walking down the halls of the battleship with Saul. "That's good. The crew's been in need of a decent morale boost."

"That's not surprising," said Saul. "The closest we've come to real victories were Gulnahan and Crete. Frankly, I really don't count either of those."

"The crew doesn't count Gulnahan," agreed Suiren. "Most of them were probably handily cheered up by Crete though, in spite of the damage." The blonde grinned slightly. "Actually, I imagine the mechanics were quite displeased with that one."

Saul chuckled. It wasn't much, but he'd take whatever laugh he could get right now.

"Anyways, I'll let you go do your thing," continued Suiren. "I need to check up on Luna."

"Right," said Saul. "See you later Commander." With that, the two separated.

"Now…" muttered Saul to himself. "What should I do…?"

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later

"You can't hide out in my quarters forever Luna," said Suiren, untying the ribbons in her hair and letting it fall freely to her waist.

"I don't plan too," said Luna. "I'm sorry for imposing."

"It's fine," said Suiren. "A little company is nice every once in awhile, but there's only one bed and it really isn't big enough for two people to sleep in comfortably without some serious cuddling." Luna blushed.

"Don't remind me," she said, groaning. "Sorry…" Suiren just laughed at the poor girl.

"Alright, it really is time to go, for your own sake," said the blonde, which only caused Luna's blush to deepen further.

* * *

**Author's Notes: And there we have it. The scene that brought tears to my eyes is (I hope obviously in that you reacted the same) the one in which Makoto and Minako finally confront each other. Shedding her identities, Minako let go of that rather flimsy blanket of hatred she used to protect herself from the pain of losing her parents. Just in case any of you thought she moved past it too quick—it really was just a barrier to protect her from her own emotions.**

**With that out of the way, we of course got plenty of other things. The situation with Treize is awkward, though fortunately not hostile. Shizuka took a moment to demonstrate that being a badass in the Taiyonoha family is definitely not limited to the Coordinators. If she'd really wanted to, then yes, she probably could've killed Minako. That wasn't a bluff. In addition, we see Kira get beaten at the beginning of the chapter, but that was honestly more "anime comedy" going into effect, and he was mostly just bruised. We also see Horizon brought up a bit more, learn more about Faith, how Ami (or Stella, if you prefer) is coping with things, and more about Minako's backing.**

**Then there's the stuff on the _Minerva_. Shinn is mostly apathetic about what happened last chapter, without any massive ego boost (everyone, rejoice), nor any conflict with Athrun. We get a fair number of scenes there, and they get the end of the chapter with that brief scuffle. Honestly, it was mostly about returning to them, if only briefly, and showing how things are there, as well as giving them the chance to finally curbstomp an opponent, which, unlike canon, they haven't gotten to do before now. Though, other than that, we don't see the Earth Forces any further here. *Shrug***

**Anyways, I think that just about covers the major stuff here. Maybe if I was more awake, I could write a more complete A/N. But that would probably just bore all of you.**

**Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter out soon. For now though, everyone, please leave a review. I really enjoy knowing what all of you think.**

**Say****ōnara, min'na!  
**


	35. Phase 35: The Solstice of Angels

**Ahahahahahaha! (continues insane cackling, partially because of chapter, partially for hitting the 500 review mark)**

**This chapter****… oh, was this one was fun****—not to mention the longest chapter I've _ever_ written****. Last chapter got a disappointingly low review count, but****… *shrug* As they say, "oh well". We get another non-action chapter here that focuses almost solely on our main protagonist group (the "Archangel Group", if you like), though there's a long scene in the middle dedicated to the former Le Creuset Team, and the end section is largely dedicated to the Minerva Group (especially Shinn, Athrun and Suiren) intercut with****… well, I'll let you find out. In addition, Leon gets a scene about a third of the way in,**** plus there are a few scenes that focus on giving an overview of recent events.**

**Like the last chapter, this is a non-action one. The next chapter****—possibly the next two****—will also be low on the action end of things, but will certainly see more than we got here.**

**Moving on, I use a song in this chapter, twice. The second time, it's translated into English, but it's still the same song. For those of you who are interested, here's the "link":**

http : / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=xtNRO7m9IeE

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own "Shinkai no Kodoku", by Kuwashima Houko.  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Five: The Solstice of Angels

December 24th, C.E. 73

**

* * *

**

The Enclave

It was actually quite the gathering around the departure ramp of the _Archangel_: Shani, Clotho, Louisa, Tolle, Asagi, Victor, John, Erica, Natarle, Jeff, Pressly and Adams… but perhaps the most notable were Serenity Taiyonoha, Samuel Dante, Johanna Dante and Elizabeth Dante, the latter holding her nephew in her arms as the access door of the mighty assault ship opened.

The first to step out was Murrue, who eyed the group before letting out a faint sigh and heading down the ramp. Behind her came Kira, still battered and bruised by the beating he'd received four days earlier, but otherwise okay. Clinging to his side was Ami, who drew a lot of eyes to her, such that Cagalli was almost completely ignored.

Then the ones people were really anticipating—dreading, even—emerged.

First came Makoto with a blue-eyed brunette practically glued to her side, once again in the ensemble she'd worn when first joining Phantom Pain as a mercenary. Serenity's eyes unerringly focused on the niece she'd thought dead for nearly two decades.

But aside from Serenity and the former Extended, little attention was paid to Minako, as most eyes instead focused on the two that came behind them: Flay Allster, accompanied by Treize Zabiarov in a Taiyonoha Fleet uniform (seeing as there hadn't been much else to offer him).

Even knowing he would be there, the reactions were ones of surprise, suppressed joy, even hope and fear… except for Alex, who clung to his aunt uncertainly.

"Who is he?" he murmured. Treize's sharp ears caught it though, and his mismatched eyes flowed over to the boy. He frowned… there was something strange about…

Then he realized the boy had an uncanny resemblance to Chris, to the person he'd been before.

"Is that…?" he muttered. Flay nodded.

"Yes," she said softly. "That's Alex… my son… _Chris's_ son."

"I see," murmured Treize, uncertain what he should do about this as he stepped off the ramp, shifting slightly. All those gazes focused on him were actually making him uncomfortable—and it was clear none of them were entirely certain how to react either.

Away from the awkward silence, a long overdo would-be-reunion was taking place, as Serenity stared at her niece, who shifted awkwardly. It seemed that one hurdle after another was being thrown at them… though, hopefully, things would cool down for a while.

"Hey… Aunt Serenity," said Minako after a moment. Serenity continued to stare at Minako for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping the girl in a hug, which she gladly returned.

"So you're really here," said Serenity, tears in her eyes. "You're alive… all of you."

"Yeah," said Minako. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for not coming back."

"It's okay," murmured Serenity. "Shizuka was right… I can feel it too… it'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

As crewmen continued to offload from the _Archangel_, Kira pulled off to the side with Ami and Cagalli, watching both the Taiyonoha… and the group around Treize.

"Chris…?" questioned Liz after a few minutes, finally breaking the silence.

"No," said the EX-C. "I…" He sighed. "I'm not Chris. I'm not the man any of you knew. Even if this is his body."

Flay glanced at Treize before letting out a sigh. Interaction with the EX-C had been… rather awkward, primarily filled with silence even as she acted as his guide around the _Archangel_. They hadn't spoken much over the last four days.

The redhead stepped forward, taking Alex from Liz's arms as the brunette stared at the face that once belonged to her brother… and that now belonged to someone very different from him.

"Uh… I…"

"This is… a little awkward," said Natarle. "Maybe we should do this later, with a smaller group?"

"Yeah, that's… probably a good idea," said Flay. Treize suppressed a sigh of relief.

"How have all of you been?" asked Kira, stepping forward, drawing attention back to him and further relieving Treize.

"Come on," said Flay softly as Alexander looked between his mother and Treize. "There's one meeting we really should get out of the way." Treize nodded, the two leaving almost unnoticed.

"We've been well," said Tolle. "How about all of you?" As he said this, he glanced at Ami.

"We've all been fine," said Makoto, stepping forward and drawing attention back to herself. She smiled. "In fact… in a strange way, you could say we've been better than ever."

The group was silent for a moment before Liz and Louisa walked up to Makoto, wrapping her in a hug.

"Welcome back," they said together. Makoto smiled, wrapping her arms around both of her lovers.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Mama, who's that?" questioned Alex innocently. Flay let out a small sigh as she led Treize into one of the Enclave's lounges.

"This is… Treize Zabiarov," said Flay. "He's… an old friend… of your father's." Alex frowned, looking at Treize, who shifted slightly at the lie. Flay wasn't fond of doing so, but…

"Are you… sure?" questioned Alex. Treize eyed the boy curiously. "He looks like…" Flay stifled a slight sob—of course. Alex was unwittingly tearing into the matter and… well, she'd forgotten that he'd hoarded photos of Chris. "He…"

"Uh… this is…" Flay wasn't certain how to proceed.

"You're father and I do have some similarities," said Treize, figuring the situation out quickly. "But I assure you, we're two different people." He kneeled down to stare Alex in the eyes. "I only wish I were as noble as he."

Flay looked at Treize, gratitude radiating in her eyes. Treize ignored that—he didn't like lying about that last bit, but for the sake of this boy… for the sake of Treize's lost and now found humanity… he would do it.

**

* * *

**

Later

Faith had been transferred back to Taiyonoha Manor, and the group of Cosmic SEED subjects-to-be had followed. Makoto had given explicit instructions about who was to be allowed into the family room where she'd be working and that the work was not to be disturbed in any way.

To avoid disruption, Makoto had forbidden Liz and Louisa from joining them—the two had _not_ been happy about it. But Makoto had chosen the group around her for specific reasons.

First, there was Minako, her emotional support. Liz and Louisa could've fulfilled this role, but Liz's presence could've been disruptive due to Treize, and Louisa's old nature and sibling-like ties to Shani and Clotho could likewise have been disruptive.

There was, of course, Ami, with both Kira and Cagalli there to act as her emotional support. Next was Treize, accompanied by Flay (who'd had more time to deal with all of it than Liz and was unlikely to be disruptive). Two more were Neo and Murrue, the former still in handcuffs (Makoto wasn't even certain why at this point). The last were Shani and Clotho, with Tolle as emotional support (thank you nakama).

"So what, exactly, is this supposed to be?" asked Treize, pushing his drug supply even lower. Shani and Clotho both shifted slightly—neither was comfortable with Treize's presence, but kept a firm lid on it because of Ami.

Treize was standing by the door with Flay. Shani, Clotho and Tolle were over by the window, while Neo and Murrue were sitting in one of the smaller couches. Kira and Cagalli were sitting on either side of Ami on the main couch, who was sitting across the table from Makoto, who was sitting on the loveseat with Minako by her side.

"The Cosmic SEED allows me to 'cure' Extended," said Makoto. "Or rather, I can purge the drugs from their systems and remove the addiction by causing a physical 'reset' to a pre-addiction state. Nothing's complete, of course, which is why Louisa, Shani and Clotho had hair-trigger tempers for a while. Regardless, I should be able to deal with your need for drugs."

"That would be… handy," said Treize, who'd had time to think about it, and knew he'd become wholly over reliant on the drugs—it was the cause of every victory and the even greater defeats he'd suffered, the most notable being his capture by the _Minerva_ because his drug supply had been scaled back. Even with it up, he hadn't been able to defeat the very redhead who was now going to try and remove that weakness.

"Alright," said Makoto, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "Here we go."

She thought back on the past—on her life before Heliopolis. On her friends from back then. On her family. On Louisa. And then she thought of Heliopolis and the events there that changed her life. The _Archangel_. Orb. The loss of her precious Dauntless. Being given the ultimate gift in the form of Faith. Elizabeth. Hotaru. Erik. Louisa. Yzak. Dearka. Chris.

Kira.

Her thoughts turned further to the present. Her family… alive. Chris… right there, after a fashion. Ami returned to Kira and Cagalli.

Minako. _Her_ sister. Right here.

Misuumi. Her cousin. Right there—an enemy who she hoped would not remain that way for long.

The world around Makoto faded within her mind—her soul. All that was left was an endless sea of stars glowing in so many colors as to be incomprehensible. Close to her, there were stars bright enough to blind, in colors and emotions she recognized. Looking at herself, she saw her naked skin, glowing with sacred light. This was only the second time she'd used the Cosmic SEED, because the consequences of its use could be so severe.

Calling out to the stars, Makoto leaned her head back, presenting her heart to the universe as the cosmos itself closed in around that glowing light in her chest. Her SEED took the light within itself…

And in a nova of pure power and divine light, Makoto awakened.

For a moment, it became difficult to breathe in that room—in the entire manor, in fact. No one had ever been this close to Makoto when that unimaginable power awakened. It was most acute for those who had awakened SEEDs. Kira, Cagalli and Louisa were prepared for it—they'd felt it before.

Minako, Treize, Ami and Flay weren't ready for the surge of power and nearly blacked out, gasping for breath—in fact, Treize and Flay both fell to their knees. Minako sagged against the armrest, leaning away from Makoto, and Ami probably would've fallen off the couch altogether if she weren't being held by her siblings.

Makoto's eyes opened to reveal eyes like none any had ever seen: pupils dilated to the point of non-existence, irises expanded to engulf her eyes and block out her sclera. The irises seemed to be faceted like a diamond, and seemed to have a slight tint of gold and silver to them even as countless colors, everything any one seeing them had ever witnessed before and more, flashed across them.

_Kanashimi wo oshiete…_

Ami stifled a gasp as she felt some impossible power grip her heart firmly, but gently as well, seeming to caress her very being and calm her soul. She didn't see it, but everyone else did, as Ami's eyes began to shift colors the same as Makoto's.

_Hitomi wo tojite itara kanashimi mo mienai to  
Nukumori shirazu ni ireba kizutsuku koto mo nai to_

Treize felt much the same as Ami did—it was pure power, gentle and strong, seeking to calm him. He almost resisted it, but didn't—it was like nothing he'd ever felt before, but… he knew this was right.

Neo, Shani and Clotho all felt it as well, like something reaching into them, searching… and then inexplicably disappearing, taking with it a warmth they hadn't even realized it brought.

_Omoidasenai, yasashii koe wo  
Tomurau mune no unabara_

Life… was the essence of the SEED. The Cosmic SEED was this power personified. Treize absentmindedly pulled free the drug administrated, roughly tearing out the tubes and needles that fed the drug supply to him. He could actually _feel_ the drugs leaving his system, and it was… profound, to say the least.

Memories flashed by him… Chris's memories, but they remained separate from his own. Was she simply trying to show him the past…?

_Kieuseta kako kara, dareka ga yondeiru no  
Kanashimi wo kono te ni torimodosu toki wa itsu to  
Nido towa konai ima  
Anata no koto shika mienai_

For Ami, though, it was most palpable—the purging of the drugs went entirely unnoticed, as both Ami and Makoto were caught in the past of the young girl.

"_Everything's gonna be fine Ami," said the woman cradling the baby as she fled her pursuers. "I swear it. I won't let those bastards hurt you."_

_Tooku de shizuka ni hikaru yasashii fune ga hitotsu  
Sakamaku nageki wo nosete mune no nanima ni kieru_

_They were dark… the creatures of shadow and night and evil… the dark things… the scary things… they hurt her… they hurt mommy… they took her away…_

_But the warmth wrapping around her like a security blanket kept the pain away._

_Shiranai hazu no nukumori mo naze  
Sagashite madou unabara_

_She remembered… Sting, Auel, Ryan, Gary, Julianne… it went on and on and on… so many faces, so many voices… eventually, they all faded away._

_Sazanami yurameite, inochi no fune wa yuku yo  
Hoshi hitotsu mienai namima wo koete sumumu yo  
Kurayami no mukou ni  
Anata no koto shika mienai_

_Armory One. The fall of Junius Seven. Haruka. Meaningless battles. Protect. Neo. __**Minerva**__. Gaia. Astarte. Lodonia. Protect mother. Don't die. Shinn. Suiren. Destroy. Tragedy. __**Archangel**__. Sincerity. Faith. Freedom._

_Kira._

_Itsuka miteta namima shizukesa no hou e  
Umi no soko ni kieta yasashisa no hou e_

_They were here. All of them: her big brother, Kira. Her big sister, Cagalli. Her mother, Via. Her father, Ulen. Her protectors, Makoto, Minako, Misuumi. Those that looked after her, those that guided her, those that loved her._

_Smiling, they wrapped their arms around her, seeming to melt into her until her body glowed with the warmth of their love._

"_Everything will be fine. We're here for you. All of us."_

_Aishiau mirai wo tashika ni shitteiru no  
Kanashimi wo kono te ni torimodosu sono toki made  
Nido towa konai ima  
Anata no koto shika mienai_

Makoto and Ami were unaware of the passage of time, but when the latter finally collapsed, eyes falling shut, and was caught by her siblings, more than five hours had passed. Makoto had been rather meticulous on this occasion, and it had taken far, _far_ longer than anyone had expected, given how quickly the process had been with the previous Extended at Jachin Due.

But that was how it was—Makoto wasn't simply letting loose the floodgates on this one, as she had with Shani and Clotho, nor was she familiar enough with Ami's past to be able to simply drop the bulk into the proper place and let the rest order itself naturally, as she had with Louisa.

It was a slow, meticulous process… but the time consumed was about the only thing she hadn't guessed at. Neo was simply suffering from complete amnesia with a new personality programmed in. Treize was someone separate from Chris, yet still the same, beyond her realm. Shani and Clotho already had everything, and she couldn't do much about it.

"Makoto, you okay?" questioned Minako, concern evident as the redhead started to fall over, eyes returning to normal.

"Y-yeah…" muttered the redhead, yawning. "I'm just… tir… ed…" With that, the redhead fell almost instantly asleep, leaning against her sister. Kira, after making sure Ami was okay, glanced around the room, getting a few shakes of the head, and let out a sigh.

"Guess we'll have to wait for them to wake up," he said.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later

The Taiyonoha Manor wasn't just the home of the Taiyonoha Family—in fact, it didn't even wholly qualify as that anymore, but their new house at Izanami was still being built (if a building of over a hundred _thousand_ square feet could even be _called_ that), so they hadn't moved. Besides, it was good to keep an eye on thing in Orb. The manor was also effectively doubling as an informal embassy for Izanami.

It was also one place where nobody in their right minds would dare trespass. This made it a rather convenient place for a certain blonde sovereign's plotting while her friend and sister slept off their exhausting ordeal.

"So, what's the situation like?" asked Cagalli, looking between Serenity, Mina and Samuel.

"The Seirans are hanging themselves out to dry," said Mina with a sadistic smirk that clearly displayed her amusement with the whole situation. Samuel and Serenity nodded in agreement.

"Yuna's incompetence has made them extremely unpopular in the military," said Samuel. "Even amongst those that had once strongly supported them."

"And their handling of Durandal's anti-Logos declaration has killed any popularity they had with the citizenry as well," added Serenity, shaking her head. "I can't believe Yuna's idiocy. Unato's pulling his strings and is no doubt having his strings pulled by Blue Cosmos, but he basically declared Durandal's Logos claims as falsehood, even suggesting the entire Destroy Incident was either a clever trick or simply a rogue unit." Cagalli groaned.

"I was politically outmaneuvered by _these_ idiots?" she muttered.

"Unato's nowhere near the idiot Yuna is," said Mina. "The problem for him is that he doesn't have as much control as he needs to keep Yuna in check. Though certainly, his continued public opposition to ZAFT hasn't helped the Seirans any. He _claims_ it's simply to avoid breaking an alliance made in good faith, but… well, we know that isn't true."

"And what about Logos?" asked Cagalli.

"I've been putting pressure on Yuna and Unato to suspend the accused members of their house pending an investigative hearing," said Mina, shaking her head. "Of course, they can't agree. To do so would contradict their current claims."

"I've been working covertly to catch more vulnerable members of Logos for much the same, using whatever means we can to go unnoticed by the Seirans," added Samuel. "Of course, it hasn't been easy, but we've managed."

"I've also suspended members of my house placed under accusation," said Mina. "They're being looked into now."

"Was there anyone in Morgenroete affiliated?" asked Cagalli, looking at Serenity. "Shizuka said there wasn't." Serenity nodded.

"She's right," she said. "No one in Morgenroete, though I've begun a thorough investigation into the matter. Regardless, it's no surprise. The way things have played with Logos, Morgenroete itself seems beyond their influence—they've had to reach it through other means, which we made moot when we withdrew from the Union." Cagalli winced. "Oh, don't be like that. We'd actually been planning to do so for a while—Izanami is our new home. This just moved up the schedule."

"But still…" said Cagalli softly.

"Cagalli, when we began to build Izanami, we knew that it would eventually take us away from Orb," said Serenity. "The truth is, our time as a part of _this_…" She waved her hand, as though to refer to all of Orb. "… is over."

"But that's…"

"Sad? Maybe it is," said Serenity with a small smile. "When the world fell into the Reconstruction War, everything dear to us was lost. We changed our identity afterwards… held it precious ever since… and created a new land, different from that which we had come from. But Orb doesn't need us anymore. Perhaps our fate will be to move from one land to another, breathing life into it until the Taiyonoha have nothing more to give. Or maybe Izanami is the home we've sought for so long."

"It's fitting, too," added Shizuka, walking over to them and setting down a tray with tea on it. "It's been said that we are the descendants of Our Lady Amaterasu… descendants of the sun. It's appropriate that our ultimate destiny, whatever it is, will be amongst the stars, bathing eternally in the light of the golden sun."

"Poetic," commented Mina dryly. "We've gotten off-topic though."

"Yes, I suppose we have," said Serenity, shaking her head slightly. "In any event, _Lady_ Cagalli, what do you want to do… and what sort of assistance would you like to request from some family friends leading a world power?"

Cagalli couldn't help it. Her face split into a small grin.

"First, I want to wait and see how the current situation progresses," she said. "If the Seirans try to resist my return, it could cause unnecessary trouble for Orb, and the way their going, in a little while, it'll be almost pathetically easy to deal with them without any trouble at all. Second, I'd like to talk to you about negotiating the restoration of some old contracts with Morgenroete…"

**

* * *

**

Liz's Room

"So… Makoto couldn't bring my brother back?" murmured Liz sadly. Treize shifted.

"No," he said. "I'm still Treize Zabiarov."

"I see," murmured Liz. Flay had left the brunette and her 'brother' alone for a reunion as awkward as the one between Flay and Treize had been. Treize sighed.

"Listen, I'm not Chris," he said. "I'm not gonna pretend that I am. It would be an insult to myself, to his friends and most especially to him." The EX-C let out a small sigh. "And I can't allow that. Not if I am to seek… redemption, for what I've done."

"Redemption… heh." Liz looked away, thoughts straying to everything they'd done, but most especially to her reckless killing spree when she'd thought Makoto was dead. Granted, it all worked out just fine (for them), but her state of mind had scared her. And then there was everything else, all the sins attached to her family, to Divinity… "It's something we all seem to seek, in one way or another."

"Hmm." Treize didn't press the issue. "I…"

"Hmm?"

"I don't know if your brother will ever come back," said Treize. "I'm not gonna try to be Chris. But…" Treize seemed to be uncomfortable, and the uncertainty reflected in his eyes. "I think I'd like… a family. Maybe it can help me on my path."

"You have one," said Flay, pushing open the door. She'd been listening in for a moment or two, but… "All of us. We're all a family here."

Treize had no reply to that. He truly didn't. So he said the only thing that seemed appropriate.

"Thank you."

**

* * *

**

Makoto's Room

"So you're Minako?" murmured Louisa, staring at the brunette as the two watched over Makoto's sleeping form.

"Yes," she said.

"I thought you hated her."

"Do you know how easy it is to tell yourself something to hide from the pain?" asked Minako. Louisa hesitated.

"Yes," she said, which actually caught the brunette off-guard. "My family was killed in a Blue Cosmos bombing when I was just into my teens." Louisa looked away. "I understand. It's so easy… to just be angry… to be filled with hate… to just focus everything on vengeance… because it feels good… because it doesn't hurt…"

"Exactly," said Minako softly, sitting down on the bed and gently stroking Makoto's cheek. "But never again… Makoto… you're my world now… I promise."

**

* * *

**

Ami's Room

Minako wasn't the only one looking after family. Kira was likewise keeping watch over Ami as she recovered.

Neo hadn't been restored to Mu—he figured Makoto would be able to explain that when the time came. But Kira was more concerned with his younger sister.

He had no doubt that the drugs had been purged—but why had it taken so long? What had happened to his sister's mind when she'd been 'connected' to Makoto? Kira had never felt such tremendous power before—likely, proximity had something to do with it, but also the ability to detect the SEEDs that Makoto had subconsciously given him the last time she'd activated the Cosmic SEED. Regardless, it was power beyond anything Kira had ever even conceived of before.

Not the destructive power of GENESIS, but a thousands time greater, fueled by life, the very essence of existence.

It was no wonder Makoto was terrified of it.

Kira shook those thoughts away—more important was what direct contact with that power had done to his sister. Makoto had definitely not intended harm, and it seemed unlikely it could truly inflict harm like that, but… well, who knew? Who really understood the nature of the SEED?

"Ami… you better be okay," said Kira softly. "Cagalli and I just got you back. I'm not gonna lose you again."

**

* * *

**

Several hours later

There was so much death and destruction and all of it was meaningless. She'd been afraid… afraid of those dark things that had taken her mother away… and the truth was, she'd been tricked by those same monsters into thinking the innocent were the real monsters.

And she'd fallen for it. She'd killed and killed and destroyed and…

"_Everything will be fine._"

… and now she knew. And death wouldn't bring those people back. It wouldn't ease the pain of their loved ones. The only thing that possibly could would be to bring the ones truly responsible to justice.

Was she guilty? Yes, but was she responsible? No. She'd realized that now.

Ami opened her eyes, determination shining in the violet-red orbs.

She'd found her purpose.

Glancing around, her eyes fell on the sleeping form of her brother, and she smiled softly.

Then her stomach growled, telling her just how long it had been since she'd eaten. Ami blushed, even though there wasn't anyone around to see her, and got up out of bed.

"Oh, you're awake?" interjected a voice.

"Eep!"

"Ah, sorry to startle you," said Faith, projecting into the room. "Everyone else is asleep right now." The AI smiled. "So, what do you need?"

"Um, I…" Ami blushed as her stomach growled again. Faith's smile simply grew.

"Ah, of course! Just follow me, I'll take you to the kitchens," she said.

"Thanks."

The AI nodded, and began to lead Ami through the manor. It was a _big_ place, but getting lost was pretty much impossible while Faith was integrated into the computers.

"Faith?"

"Hmm?"

"What can you tell me about the Taiyonoha and Orb?"

One lengthy explanation (two, really), one midnight snack, thirty minutes and one walk back to her room later, Ami was snuggling back into the sheets of her large (read: _very_ large) bed, smiling slightly.

"Tell onii-chan that I'm feeling okay please," she said tiredly. Faith smiled.

"I will," she said. "Good night, Ami." The blonde was already asleep. "Merry Christmas."

**

* * *

**

Somewhere in Northwest Russia

Leon leaned back in his chair, letting out a breath as he gazed up at the winter night sky. He was currently sitting on a folding chair on the ground, the Valiant's shield raised over him to shelter him from the gently descending snow. A table was set up next to him, a glass and a good bottle of whisky sitting on it, the condensation on the bottle slowly turning to small specks of ice. On the other side of the table, a pot of hot chocolate was cooking over a slow fire Leon had gotten going, the small column of steam and smoke rising up as the 'mercenary' continued to simply stare out at the snowy Russian landscape.

Currently, the _Bonaparte_ was under strict orders to stay off the radar and keep its valuable 'cargo' (the EX-Cs) there for their own safety. Aside from that, Silber had been put in charge, with Rache as his second-in-command.

Leon had expected Silber to be mistrustful of him after the betrayal of Haruka… Minako… well, whatever she called herself. But his quick actions after Treize gunned down Gyunei seemed to have earned him even _more_ respect and trust from the unstable EX-Cs instead (with the exception of Maia, but she was so unstable at this point that she was almost constantly kept under sedative).

Leon sighed, shaking his thoughts from it, reaching out and pouring some whiskey into the glass before picking it up, raising it towards the moon in toast.

"Wherever you all are… here's to you… Tou-san… Kaa-san… Hanako…" he murmured softly. He smiled once, slightly, before draining the glass in a single, very slow and very long pull, feeling the warmth gradually work its way down his throat before spreading throughout his body, easing the fatigue and weariness from his bones and muscles.

"_Sentimental. I admit, I didn't expect this,_" interjected Raphael's voice suddenly, drawing Leon's attention to the Horizon comm. device next to him, from which a holographic screen projected the image of Raphael. The man smiled at Leon, raising his own glass. "_Do you mind if I join you, Setsuna?_"

Leon's expression tightened for a moment, before he let out a breath, suddenly seeming much older.

"…they're my purpose, Raphael… and, please don't call me that name… it's not… you all killed that boy," he said quietly, before a thought occurred to him and he raised an eyebrow. "Huh… you actually know how to celebrate Christmas? I return the sentiment—I didn't expect that."

He was slightly surprised when Raphael chuckled.

"_Yes, I assure you, I know how to celebrate Christmas,_" he said. "_But now, if you won't allow me to toast to your family, perhaps you will join me in a toast to the success of your mission so that this ridiculous business of Gabriel's with Hanako can be settled?_" Again, the man raised his glass slightly.

Leon hesitated, trying to get any sort of read on the man… but, like always, he couldn't pierce the veil that surrounded Raphael's true thoughts and emotions. Sighing, Leon poured some more whiskey into his glass and raised it towards Raphael's hologram.

"Very well, I… accept your sentiments…" he said quietly. "Both for my mission… and for my family…"

The two raised their glasses and drank together, Leon draining his entire glass in another long and slow pull, while Raphael was content to merely sip it very steadily down.

"_Thank you for allowing me this, Leon,_" said Raphael when they were done. "_I'll be honest, it's good to hear that you're getting to take a real break, rather than constantly high strung, like the time during which those two Extended were captured._"

Leon shook his head. "It's not a problem… not getting a break…" he said. "It's not like I've gotten anything significant enough to warrant it, Raphael. My record's at three draws and one loss. I… can barely feel my abilities. They're just not there. It's like having to use your eyes for your whole life and then suddenly being forced to rely on everything but your eyes."

Raphael's expression was surprisingly sympathetic.

"_I see,_" he said. "_That would seem to imply things are more severe than I thought, but don't sell yourself short. What kind of enemies have you faced, after all? In essence, nothing short of the absolute best the enemy has to offer—foes that Gabriel himself fears._" Raphael chuckled. "_Ah, and that reminds me. I'd like to extend a small request to you._"

_Foes that __**Gabriel**__ fears…?_ he thought, but masked those thoughts for now. He'd deal with those thoughts another time.

"A… request?" questioned Leon, rather curious in spite of himself.

"_Yes,_" said Raphael, grinning. "_Consider it a Christmas gift if you want. I'm hoping this will speed things up with regards to Hanako. You see, I've managed to pull a few strings here and there. I'd like to know what sort of equipment you'd like to attach to the Valiant._"

Leon's eyes widened in surprise. "You're just going to let me have free reign on customization and refitting?" he asked. "How the hell did you get permission for that? The last time I put in that request, Gabriel just shot it down, plain and simple!"

Raphael chuckled.

"_Actually, it was surprisingly easy,_" he said. "_Of course, nobody else has supported me, or you'd have gotten this much sooner. But wearing Gabriel down was a simple matter of pointing out that, of all our agents, __**you're**__ the only one who is actually in a position to bring down his major targets. The others are confined by red tape._"

Leon sighed. "Much sooner indeed… I could've used it when you first sent me out here," he said. "Just one thing."

"_Yes?_"

"I want to see Hanako," said Leon sternly.

"_I've already arranged for that,_" said Raphael. "_You should be able to see her when you pick up the new equipment. Just to warn you though, her… 'condition'… hasn't improved._"

"I understand," said Leon, glancing away sadly before letting out a sigh. "Alright then. I'll do it. What are my restrictions? I know Gabriel isn't just going to let me do whatever I want for free."

Raphael scowled. "_As always, he's a man of pride,_" he said. "_Allow me to explain…_"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Manor, Onogoro Island, Orb Union

Early morning, December 25th, C.E. 73

"You're serious?"

"One hundred percent. She's gonna look so cute."

"Seriously? _This_ is what she's always wanted?"

"I never knew… she didn't say anything, and neither did Louisa."

"Yeah… sorry for never mentioning it."

"Alright girl… go get her."

A sudden added weight in the bed began to rouse Makoto… and then, suddenly, a tongue was lapping at her face.

The redhead sputtered, eyes fluttering open… and she found herself staring into the eyes of the dog now licking her face.

"W-what is this?" cried the redhead, now completely awake as she sprung to a sitting position. The light-blue eyed, gray and white dog bounced back briefly before rushing back up to her to continue the 'cleaning'. Around her, everyone laughed as she was mauled by the very pet she'd always wanted.

"Merry Christmas, Makoto," said Serenity, smiling at her daughter.

"You got me a puppy for Christmas?"

"An Alaskan Malamute… well, a bit of Siberian Husky too, hence the eyes, but…"

The next instant, Serenity was on the ground, Makoto's arms wrapped around her, practically squeezing the life out of her.

"Eee! I love you!"

**

* * *

**

A little while later

After Makoto calmed down from her childish joy at finally having a husky for a pet, the group had gathered downstairs, specifically to the ballroom, which had been prepped for a small dance party later that night, and also had the Taiyonoha's large Christmas tree held within.

To be perfectly clear, the Taiyonoha did not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. In general, it had largely fallen out of favor for the increasing attempts by Christianity to tie itself to the holiday and, of course, religious groups had lost a lot of popularity for their part in causing the Bloody Valentine War. That said, the Taiyonoha still celebrated the holiday—but as a Winter Solstice Celebration. Of course, living in the southern hemisphere directly south of the equator, this was somewhat inappropriate, but they really didn't care about that—after all, before Orb, the Taiyonoha had lived in the northern hemisphere, though heavy storms gave a less than summery feel to it right now.

"Of all things, I forgot to check what you'd done to this place," said Makoto cheerfully, who was kneeling down to pet her new puppy, Miyuki. "Not even everything going on will stop the Solstice Celebration for us, will it?"

"Nope," said Serenity cheerfully, pointing towards the tree. "I imagine a lot of you being soldiers, you might not be able to behave childishly enough for presents, but you'll find plenty right there."

Indeed, the pile of presents under and directly around the base of the tree was, to say the least, really big. Makoto sighed.

"And I didn't even get you anything," she murmured.

"Nonsense! You came back alive, you've brought Treize here back, and you brought Minako back," said Serenity, smiling at her daughter. "Listen, I know these are grim and trying times. But today, I want everyone to just relax. Forget about war, forget about all this suffering recently. Today, the world is yours."

Kira smiled slightly, nudging Ami forward slightly after a glance at Serenity and return nod confirmed it.

"Go on," he said. "I'm sure there's something in there for you too." Ami smiled.

"Yeah!" she said, rushing forward. She'd never truly gotten a present before—it was pretty exciting for her!

"The rest of you as well," said Serenity. "Go on. Especially you, Flay."

"Yeah mommy!" said Alexander. Flay smiled and walked forward with her son, everyone else following suit, leaving Serenity alone with Treize.

"This is strange for you, isn't it?" she asked him softly as the others gathered around the tree.

"Yes," admitted Treize. "The only 'celebrations' I've ever known were for victory. The closest thing I've ever known to a 'gift' was survival. All of this… is entirely foreign to me."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," said Serenity, looking at the others. "Come with me." She turned and walked out of the ballroom. Treize hesitated a moment before doing as told.

"Treize… that is, if you don't me calling you that… why are you here?" asked Serenity as she walked down the halls with Treize on her heels. He was actually kind of surprised that she seemed willing to risk it, but then again, with that AI in the internal systems, maybe she didn't have much to fear.

"I decided… to find a cause to fight for myself," said Treize. "One of my own choosing."

"And what sort of path have you found? There must be many roads before you already," said Serenity.

"I was created to be a soldier," said Treize, glancing at the pictures on the wall. He recognized that they belonged to numerous historical periods, some clearly dating back well into the pre-Cosmic Era. "The path of a soldier is all I have."

"You could stay with Flay," said Serenity, coming to a stop in front of a set of double doors. "You could leave the military behind. Stay with Flay, or head out into the world on your own to find what it is that you desire."

"But…"

"Even if you don't know how to be anything but a soldier, it doesn't mean you can't find an alternative path," said Serenity, pushing open the doors. Treize gasped on seeing the lawn/garden on the other side. Serenity walked out into the yard, and Treize hesitantly followed her. "No one begins life as a soldier. No one begins life as what they'll choose to grow up to be." The Taiyonoha Matriarch knelt down next to a hedge filled with roses, reaching out and gently stroking one. "There's no reason you can't choose to be something else."

"I don't even know how," said Treize.

"Then learn," said Serenity. "Adapt." Her hand clenched around the rose and she tore it free, shredding the petals in the process, shocking Treize. "Life adapts. Sometimes in a single moment, sometimes over countless generations. But inevitably, life adapts. This rose won't die that easily… except that I've cut off its source of life." She turned to face him, fire blazing in her eyes. "As humans, we have the gift of choice. _That_ is how we adapt. How we survive. It is the source of our life. So tell me, are you going to continue as a soldier, on the path set for you by Blue Cosmos, or are you going to damn well try and find something more to live for?" Despite the fire in her eyes, her voice remained perfectly calm—serene.

Treize stared at Serenity in shock as her burning emerald orbs gazed into his very soul. He somehow felt small before this woman now. Always—_always_—he'd wondered how it was that this woman was perhaps the most feared in all of Orb (and perhaps even the world), respected beyond all others, able to tilt the balance of power however she saw fit.

Now he knew: Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha seemed to transcend mere mortality and became something more. Before her, he felt like an insect standing in the presence of some holy goddess. And if she could have this effect on _him_, than the mere thought of the effect she could have on others, especially those loyal to her, was… indescribable.

Treize felt himself straightening up, squaring his shoulders.

"Ma'am," he said. "I _will_ find something to live for. I will not be _just_ a soldier. Not anymore." The conviction in his voice was so great that there could be no doubt that he spoke the truth—or at the very least, that he meant every word that he said.

Serenity nodded, features softening, the fire in her eyes disappearing to be replaced by the serene, warm forests they normally were.

"Then go back," she said. "Join them. Enjoy being alive and being able to celebrate this—or anything—with people that care about you."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Serenity had made sure no one got left out—though she'd been especially generous regarding gifts for her daughter, sister and niece.

Besides Miyuki, Makoto had received plenty of new clothes (including yukatas, kimonos, a new dress and a bikini), some jewelry, a recently released novel she'd wanted (but had been unable to get on account of being on the _Archangel_), the latest model of portable computer (literally a compact computer that used holographic technology to project all the components for a laptop), a guidebook on raising Alaskan Malamutes, and the most embarrassing present she'd ever gotten, lingerie—lots of it, with a strange emphasis on showing how much she'd bloomed in the chest area.

Shizuka had received much the same: clothes, jewelry, books on engineering and mechanical theorem, a compact holo-computer of her own… but to replace Makoto's embarrassing lingerie, she instead received an… elaborate… wedding kimono to embarrass her with.

From there, hilarity ensued for some, allowing others to continue unnoticed (hopefully hiding anything embarrassing of their own).

For Minako, the clothing option, among others, was out. Instead, Serenity had procured a (read: _very_) shiny new car for her niece with the keys as the present, the same new holo-comp as Makoto and Shizuka, a photo album (including Makoto's drunken first kiss (an event she'd never live down) and a lot of Naomi and Ichida), MS models similar to the many that Makoto had and an allowance; she'd managed to evade the embarrassment inflicted on her aunt and sister/cousin.

The others, despite not receiving as many as the three Taiyonoha did, nevertheless received the sort of presents most other families would've saved up a lot of money for—starting with Kira.

The brunette had gotten three notable presents beyond all the small knickknacks: yet another of those holo-comps, and two sets of keys, one for recently released motorcycle model, the other for a rather expensive, reliable and fuel-efficient family car.

Ami hadn't gotten much from the Taiyonoha other than Makoto's music albums and some fancy clothes in approximately her size, but she'd gotten something far more important: a photo album from her aunt and uncle, along with a card apologizing for not being able to come see her, as they were already living in Izanami (she wasn't very clear on what that was beyond the name used for the territory of the Taiyonoha-controlled L3 region). The album was filled with pictures of Kira, Cagalli, Caridad, Haruma, and Canard Yamato, and most importantly, Ulen and Via Hibiki—her parents. She spent a long time admiring the album and getting a good look at her entire family for the first time, even if not in person.

For Shani, Clotho and Louisa, there was something for each of their favored hobbies: Shani had gotten the latest portable music player, Clotho had received several new game systems, and Louisa had gotten a special laptop with a touchpad and pen, along with new artistry supplies.

Flay had gotten some jewelry and clothes, but mostly things that were much more modest than what Makoto and Shizuka had gotten. She was also gifted with a car, as she'd never even bothered getting one for herself. Alex got plenty of toys and children's books.

For the most part, the rest received fairly modest presents (well, John and Victor got new sniper rifles, but those were stored elsewhere, hardly being appropriate for this sort of thing). Cagalli, however, was an exception.

The (currently deposed, but that was soon to be rectified) Orb sovereign had been presented with clothes—lots of them, almost _all_ feminine, much to her indignation. Of course, there were some more masculine outfits in there, and like Kira, she'd gotten both a car and a motorcycle as well—she was _very_ appreciative of the latter.

When Treize returned, it was to find the group in a rather playful, celebratory mood, which caught him off-guard. He found himself uncomfortable, but Flay and Liz were quick to spot him, and put in an effort to make him feel more at home.

Nor had the former EX-C been left out of the picture entirely as far as gift-giving went, though in his case, it was really just some videos, journals and photo albums, intended to let him get to know Chris a little better and, hopefully, find his own path.

"So, what do you think?" asked Makoto a short while later, returning to the ballroom in one of her new outfits. More than a few eyebrows went straight into their owner's hairlines at the sight.

Makoto hadn't just put on a new outfit—she'd gone ahead and cleaned up a little as well, giving her silken red hair a slight sheen as it fell to her waist. Rather than wearing one of the more conservative outfits, she'd gone with something a tad bolder than usual, consisting of a black halterneck with a deeply plunging neckline giving a generous view of her ample cleavage, black evening gloves, a black miniskirt and thigh-high black socks, leaving a bit of the skin of her thighs exposed. Accentuating this, she was wearing black low-heel dress shoes (even those were practically unheard of from her), diamond-studded earrings and bracelets, and a diamond and emerald-studded necklace ending in gold sword wrapped in four serpentine dragons, each with a different gemstone for the eyes: a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald and an amethyst.

All in all, the Dauntless Angel really _did_ look like an angel, barring the lack of wings and the black clothes in place of the white one would normally expect.

"Liz, Louisa, quit drooling," said Cagalli after shaking off her surprise.

"I take it that means it looks good?"

"Beautiful," said Kira, smiling slightly as he tore his gaze away to conceal a slight blush—damn that girl.

He didn't notice Makoto blush slightly at the compliment as well—damn that boy!

"All right, enough attention for my niece!" said Shizuka, speaking up and glancing around, grinning wickedly as her eyes fell on a certain blonde. "Cagalli, you're next!"

"What?"

As Cagalli was forcefully dragged off to get changed, Minako continued to eye her cousin, admiring the somewhat younger girl's beauty. And, of course, like everyone else, she'd taken notice of Makoto's chest—and to her immense surprise, the redhead was actually even _bigger_ in that area than she'd thought. She shook those thoughts away, walking up to Makoto as the redhead wandered uncertainly back over to the group.

"You look lovely," complimented the brunette. "Now why don't you dress like this when giving performances?"

"Image?"

"Like you care."

"Exactly!"

As the cousins chatted, Liz and Louisa wandered off to a corner to… plot.

"They haven't resolved things between them," said Louisa, glancing at Kira and Makoto when Kira joined the cousins, accompanied by his sister.

"Yeah," murmured Liz, sighing slightly. "So, time to act?"

"I think so."

"Any ideas?"

"Some," admitted Louisa. "I want to run them by Lacus as well… speaking of which, we really should get a comm. established so that she and Kira can talk anyways. It's a shame she couldn't be here for this."

"Hmm, yeah, that's probably a good idea," said Liz. "But first… we put up some mistletoe, right?"

"Yeah, but save that for after our talk with Lacus," said the rosette. "Come on, let's talk to Faith without the rest of them disturbing our evil plot." Louisa grinned lightly, and Liz giggled at the small joke.

Meanwhile, Treize sat at one of the tables setup in the large ballroom, studying his gifts, in particular the photo albums. They were interesting to study, especially alongside the journals, giving him a serious peek into the man obscurely known as the Midnight Raven.

Christopher Dante had led a quiet and humble life, despite his larger-than-life origins. It was astounding to Treize, learning that, and it made him reconsider the lives of the two Angels… well, of Kira Yamato, at least. Perhaps he'd ask about it sometime…

A commotion drew Treize's gaze away from his 'studies', and he raised an eyebrow on seeing the cause: a very embarrassed and dressed up Cagalli Yula Athha.

Unlike Makoto, Cagalli had been dressed up in a simple red evening gown complimented by matching heels. She also had two gold bracelets on her left wrist, emerald-studded earrings, and was blushing furiously as the others complimented her.

Treize shook his head in amusement at how easily the Orb sovereign was embarrassed by wearing something feminine for once.

"Heh, she actually looks like a girl for once," he commented to himself. He heard a slight gasp behind him, and looked back to see Flay staring at him with an unreadable expression. "What?"

"Chris… Chris said the same thing once," she said softly, stepping closer to him.

"I see," said Treize, looking back at the album. "I'm sorry if I brought up painful memories for you." Flay shook her head.

"No," she said. "It's okay." She smiled slightly. "I'll be fine."

**

* * *

**

A little while later

"_Hi Kira! Merry Christmas!_" said Lacus, smiling cheerfully as Kira sat down at the comm. terminal. He smiled back.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lacus," he said. "We haven't gotten to talk in awhile."

"_Yeah,_" said Lacus, still smiling. "_I'm sorry I couldn't make it back. Things have been a bit of a mess up here._"

"It's fine," said Kira. "How's the distilling of information coming?"

Lacus couldn't help it—her smile took on a slight, wicked glint.

"_I'm thinking we should go into business brokering information,_" she said jokingly. "_We've spread our own records of the incident, as well as rumors and footage from Angel Down. Durandal's trying to clamp down on it, but there's been some curious mix-ups with ZAFT Intelligence…_"

"Do I even want to know what you've had Makoto's agents doing?" questioned Kira lightly, humor lacing his tone.

"_Yuri's been handling it,_" she said, the wicked glint leaving her smile. "_In any case, that's not what we should be worrying about right now._"

"You're right. Sorry."

"_So, tell me, what did Lady Serenity get you? I have something for you myself, but we couldn't get it delivered._"

"New computer, new car, new motorcycle, clothes…" said Kira. "You know, the usual." Lacus giggled slightly.

"_I don't think she's gotten you the first three before,_" she said. "_What about Makoto? Did you get anything for or from her?_"

"Uh, well…" Kira was suddenly uncertain how to answer.

"_You haven't made any progress with her, have you?_"

"I…" Kira sighed. "I feel like I'm trying to break both our hearts."

"_You two don't need to worry about us,_" said Lacus. "_Why can't you just resolve this? I mean, sure, Louisa, Liz and I are here now, but we don't mind, so why can't you just deal with it like you dealt with us?_"

"It's not that simple," said Kira softly. "Neither of us can just…"

"_Turn your back on us?_" asked Lacus, letting out a sigh. "_You're not Kira. If anything, refusing to deal with it is the greater betrayal._"

Kira had no reply to that. Lacus sighed again.

"_Kira, you two need to resolve this, and soon,_" she said. "_If you don't, it'll only…_"

"I understand," said Kira. "We'll figure something out. I promise." Lacus sighed.

"_Well… alright then,_" she said before changing the subject. "_So, what did you get me?_"

Kira grinned. "You'll have to come back if you want to see it."

"_Meanie, you know I can't do that right now,_" said Lacus. "_Fine, I'll just get them to work faster._"

"You do that," said Kira. "I want to see you as soon as possible. My present for you is already long overdue." Lacus giggled slightly. "Besides, I want to see you in person, not on this display screen."

"_Alright,_" said Lacus. "_So… tell me about Ami._"

**

* * *

**

The Ballroom

"So, you like it Ami?" asked Minako, smiling at the blonde as she twirled about cheerfully in the simple violet dress she'd been given.

"Yeah!" said the blonde, smiling at the brunette. She really did look lovely—with a bit more maturity, the girl could become a serious heartbreaker. Right now, she was just a little too innocent for that…

"Well, I'm glad to see everyone's enjoying themselves," said Serenity, stepping into the ballroom with Samuel following after her. She smiled at the gathering. "I want everyone to just have fun for awhile, but please, be back here before seven, okay?"

"Okay!" It was a nearly unanimous reply from most of those present. Serenity's smile grew slightly.

"Hey, Liz, come with me, there's something I need to show you!" said Louisa, grabbing the objecting brunette and dragging her from the ballroom. Makoto watched them go, a sad tint entering her eyes for a second before vanishing—but Minako didn't miss it, walking up to her cousin.

"Hey, there's something I'd like to do," she said, drawing Makoto's attention. "It's cloudy, so now may not be the time, but I honestly think it would be fun."

"Hmm?"

"Come with me," said Minako, grabbing the redhead's hand and leading her away. Others followed, heading off for their own things, and soon, the ballroom was void of human life again.

**

* * *

**

A little while later

"I can't believe you dragged me off to show me three sketches, and now you're taking me out _shopping_?" Liz rolled her eyes. "Louisa, I love you, but shouldn't we be setting up for the move we discussed with Lacus?"

"Faith will take care of it," said Louisa confidently.

"Oh sure, in her copious spare time in which she isn't working on the new program," said Liz, rolling her eyes.

"We've got time to spare," said Louisa, rifling through a rack of dresses. "She can handle it." She pulled one off and held in up against her chest, turning to Liz. "What do you think?" Liz rolled her eyes.

"You know you're a better judge of this than I am, what with all that time you spend modeling others," said the brunette. Louisa smiled, looking at the rack again, then around at some other dresses.

"Ah, my dear, sweet, _innocent _Elizabeth," said the rosette, catching Liz off-guard with the use of her full given name. "You don't get it, do you? The purpose of this isn't to impress myself or others—and you're going to pick something that goes with it. We're gonna knock the pants right off Makoto tonight."

"Wait, what?"

"_Pick out a dress so we can start matching up!_"

A little later on, the two girls walked out of the store, and Louisa led Liz off to a small chain restaurant for a bite to eat.

"I can't believe you," said Liz, carrying the bag with her new dress in it. "You're incorrigible!"

"Thank you!"

"That was _not_ a compliment!" said the brunette, scowling. "You seriously want too… too…"

"Yes… yes I do," said Louisa, grinning wickedly at her girlfriend.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Manor

Lacus laughed slightly as she finished watching the video Faith had sent her—specifically, the one of Cagalli being dragged into the ballroom in her new dress.

"_She needs to dress up more,_" said Lacus.

"I know," replied Kira. "She could take some lessons from you, or Makoto, or even Ami."

"_Given what you've told me about her, I'm inclined to believe that bit about Ami,_" said Lacus. "_I can't wait to meet her!_"

"Just as soon as you get back down here," said Kira. Lacus smiled.

"_Ooh, more incentive?_" Lacus's expression softened. "_I think its time for me to go._"

"Yeah," said Kira softly. "Lacus…"

"_Don't worry, I'll come back soon,_" she said. "_Now I want you to enjoy yourself tonight._"

"I will," said the brunette. "I love you, Lacus."

"_I know,_" she said softly. "_I love you too, Kira. Bye._"

With that, the transmission ended.

**

* * *

**

Cat's Eye Café

"This is new," commented Treize, leaning back in his seat, casting his eyes about the café.

"You need to get used to these sorts of things," replied Flay, carefully keeping her voice even.

"What about Alexander?"

"Serenity's looking after him," said Flay. "She thought you and I could use some time alone together."

"Really?" Treize eyed the redhead uncertainly. "I would've thought you'd be uncomfortable with that."

"You're not Chris," said Flay. "But that is his face. Yes, it makes me a little uncomfortable, but I have to get used to it. And… and I want to know _you_."

"Are you serious?" muttered Treize, utterly bewildered.

"Yes," said Flay. "More than anything else, I don't want to let myself think of you as some sort of… some of _replacement_ for Chris. That isn't fair. Not to Chris, or Alex… and especially not to you."

"I see," said Treize softly. "I… appreciate that."

They were silent for a moment, during which time the café owner came by and put some drinks on the table for them—tea for Flay and coffee for Treize.

"So… tell me about yourself," said Flay. Treize shrugged, shaking his head.

"There isn't much to tell," he said. "Up until recently… well… I was more weapon than soldier. That's changed now, but there isn't much left to me once you wipe away what Blue Cosmos did to me."

"I see," murmured Flay.

"I'm sorry." Flay shook her head.

"It's fine," she said. "It's not your fault."

"Well, why don't you tell him about yourself?" interjected a voice suddenly. Both turned in surprise to see their waiter standing there unnoticed, smiling at them.

"Uh, um…" Flay sputtered nervously. Their waiter just smiled a bit more sweetly.

"Don't worry, I'm already aware of the situation," she said. "I'm a confidante of the Taiyonoha you know. So stop acting nervous. Anyways, I've offered some advice. Oh, and here, on the house." With that, the girl set a plate with two chocolate cakes on it in front of them. "Please enjoy!" With that, she walked away, leaving two very confused patrons at the table.

"Hmm," murmured Treize, turning to look at Flay. "She's right you know. There isn't much to me. But I'm interested in hearing about you. And…" Treize tapped his temple lightly. "I know you want to keep me and Chris separate in your mind. But I'm sure he's interested in knowing how you've been doing as well."

Flay stared at Treize uncertainly, fidgeting slightly. What did that truly mean? She didn't know, but she nodded slowly.

"Alright," she said. "I'll tell you about myself."

**

* * *

**

Mizuryū Beach

"Nobody ever goes to the beach on cloudy days," commented Minako as the cousins walked along the shore. "I think it's a real shame, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Makoto, glancing out at the ocean. "Even if the water isn't clear as crystal, it's still beautiful in its own way."

"Still, there are advantages," said Minako, turning to Makoto and shifting into a seductive pose, right hand raised behind her head, chest thrust out. "After all, in these outfits, we'd be getting catcalls all day."

Makoto chuckled at the vanity of it, but couldn't deny what Minako was saying—the brunette was only wearing a fairly average blue bikini with a light pink jacket, but Minako was fairly attractive. Makoto herself was wearing a somewhat less conservative white bikini with a matching light jacket.

"Hey, you're laughing! Don't mock me!" fumed Minako. Makoto simply started giggling, which just annoyed the brunette further.

"Hmm, we haven't settled things completely," said Makoto.

"Huh? What do you mean?" questioned Minako.

"You're still hiding, aren't you?"

Minako paused. After a moment, she nodded slowly.

"Maybe a little," she admitted. "I thought about it a lot. How I would act when I finally got to meet you. I… threw a lot of it away when mom and dad died. I didn't forget everything, though. I'm just… I'm trying to act on that."

"Why?"

"Don't go back into it," said Minako. "We settled things back on the _Archangel_."

"I don't think we've settled _everything_," said Makoto, smiling slightly. "How about we settle it in the family dojo at some point?"

"I don't want to fight you," said Minako. "I might lose my head again and let things escalate."

"Okay," said Makoto softly. "Then there are just two things."

"Yes?"

"First, can we take a look at Astarte? We, uh…" Makoto scratched the back of her head nervously. "We started development on a series of machines based on yours."

"You what?" exclaimed Minako, shocked.

"Sorry."

"Uh, no, it's… it's fine!" said Minako, waving her hands in front of her. "You can go ahead and look through Astarte's systems. It's not a problem… well, as long as I'm supervising. Nobody touches my machine without my supervision."

"I can understand that a little," said Makoto, smiling slightly.

"And the other thing?" questioned Minako as Makoto pulled off her jacket, letting it drop to her feet.

"We'll settle this in the water!" said Makoto, rushing forward and tackling her cousin straight into the waves.

"Ah, Makoto!" cried the brunette as the redhead untangled herself and splashed water at her. "Damn it, this water's cold!"

"You'll get used to it!" said Makoto, splashing more water Minako's way.

"Ooh, you… you…" Minako sputtered for a moment before getting hit by more water from her giggling cousin. The brunette snapped, and splashed water back. "Take that!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Manor

That evening

"She could've told me she was planning something like this," said Makoto, sounding distinctly disgruntled as she looked about the ballroom. The _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ bridge crews were here, along with Samuel, Mina and Asagi, along with everyone who'd been staying in the manor, and a few additional guests.

"I wish she'd told _me_," said Cagalli through grit teeth, fidgeting slightly as she tugged at the leg of her dress, the same one she'd been forced into earlier. "I'm expected to _dance_ in this thing?"

"Oh, quit complaining," said Minako, shifting slightly as she looked herself over—she was now dressed in a simple, long, shoulderless violet dress with a low-cut back that also very teasingly showed the top of her cleavage, matching evening gloves and glass-like violet heels. The only jewelry she wore were a pair of gold ankle bracelets and a heart-shaped sapphire pendant Makoto bought for her earlier.

"Yeah, it isn't so bad," said Makoto, twirling about to emphasize her point. Her dress was identical in style to Minako's, but a light cyan color instead of violet, complimented with matching evening gloves and heels. For jewelry, she was wearing all of her new trinkets, with the exception of the bracelets, but managed to put an odd emphasis on her new dragon necklace.

"I have a harder time moving in these," said Cagalli, shifting her feet slightly to put emphasis on her words.

"You'd be better if you actually _wore_ them from time-to-time."

"I hate them!"

"Learn," said Makoto firmly. "You're supposed to be a politician—that means being able to project the right image when you need too."

"But…" Cagalli sighed. "Alright."

"Good girl," said Minako, smiling as she started to walk out of the doorway and into the ballroom proper, drawing a _lot_ of attention.

"Where's Kira?" questioned Makoto, glancing around.

"I… actually don't know," said Cagalli, equally surprised.

"Ami's not here either…" said Minako, sounding confused and ignoring the stares the trio were garnering.

"Elizabeth and Louisa are missing," added Makoto, closing her eyes. "Ah, there they are." She turned towards the source… and nearly choked at what she saw, throwing attention that way.

There were Kira and Ami being _pushed_ into the ballroom by Liz and Louisa. The former was dressed in the dress uniform for an _admiral_ of the Taiyonoha Fleet, similar in appearance to his normal uniform, but with a lengthened shirt, white gloves and much more ornate, with rank stripes to match. Ami was dressed in a somewhat smaller version of Makoto and Minako's outfits, but without any jewelry, and using dark blue as the dominant color.

What _really_ turned heads, though, were the outfits Liz and Louisa were wearing.

Although it hadn't been Louisa's original intent, the two were wearing identical outfits, aside from the color (black for Louisa and violet for Liz): a low-back, _very_ low-cut dress with spaghetti straps, evening gloves connected to the dress itself, with a long slit running from the wrist to the top of the gloves. The dresses were tight, conforming precisely to the curves of the two girls, and the skirt was slit from the hips down, amply showing off their legs. They wore high heels that further emphasized their legs, along with ankle bracelets, sapphire-studded earrings, and sapphire pendants.

"I think I died and went to heaven," whispered Makoto.

"Don't drool, that's supposed to be _their_ job," said Cagalli.

"Okay," replied Makoto numbly. Cagalli glanced at the redhead.

"And are you talking about your girlfriends or my brother?"

Makoto started sputtering, blushing furiously—Cagalli hadn't thought it was possible to elicit such a reaction out of her without directing her attention to the _Kusanagi_ launch ceremony over six years ago.

It was at that point that some light music came on, filling the ballroom.

"Hmm… should we find some dance partners?" questioned Minako.

"Y-yeah," said Makoto, turning and walking into the comparatively small crowd—apparently avoiding Kira, Ami, Liz and Louisa. Minako giggled slightly at that, and gave Cagalli a push towards her siblings.

"Go see them, I'll keep an eye on Makoto," she said, following after the redhead. Cagalli sighed, walking over to Kira.

"So, what's with the uniform?" she asked. "_Admiral_ Yamato?" Kira chuckled slightly.

"It was Lady Serenity's idea," he said, scratching his head slightly. "She… didn't think it was appropriate that I only held the rank of ensign."

"She's right," said Cagalli. "Ensign isn't nearly good enough a rank for the White Angel." She turned her attention to her sister and smiled as the younger blonde fidgeted slightly. "That looks good on you, Ami."

"T-thanks," stuttered Ami, blushing slightly. This was _definitely_ new to her, but she couldn't really say she didn't like it.

"So, why didn't Makoto join us?" asked Louisa slyly.

"She seems to be dazed and avoiding you," said Cagalli. "I believe her exact words were 'I think I died and went to heaven'." The others laughed.

Across the ballroom, Treize shifted nervously. Okay, so socializing seemed like a good way of stepping out of being a soldier, but it just seemed that everything was being thrown at him at once. Being dragged to a party certainly wasn't something he was really ready for.

_It could've been worse_, he thought to himself. _They could've made me wear a tux._ The EX-C shuddered at the mere thought, and was grateful that he'd been allowed to wear a Taiyonoha Fleet dress uniform instead.

At his side, Flay seemed to be enjoying herself. She was wearing a female Taiyonoha Fleet dress uniform, which basically amounted to combining the top and bottom into a single long dress that looked like an Orb uniform with the Taiyonoha sword crest.

"So… how do you feel?" asked Flay, glancing at the white-haired man next to her.

"Uncomfortable," he replied without hesitation.

"You need to get used to it," said the redhead. "Besides, I thought people… well, people like you, enjoyed tackling everything they could handle at once."

"I've learned restraint."

"Well, that's no good," said Flay, carefully hiding her own nervousness. _I'm sorry, Chris. This is all so strange, but…_

Flay's hand snapped out and wrapped around Treize's, catching him off-guard.

"So… shall we?" she asked, smiling to hide her nervousness. Treize saw right through it, though. He hesitated half a second, and found himself dragged out into the middle of the dance floor, Flay determined to see this through, whether he liked it or not, and before her nervousness could make _her_ hesitate.

Having dragged Treize out to the dance floor, Flay turned to face him.

"I… I've never done this before," said Treize. "Nothing even remotely like this."

Flay giggled slightly at his behavior—Treize Zabiarov was finding his humanity, and it was all completely new territory for him.

"Here," she said, guiding his hand to her hip. "Just follow my lead." Uncertainly, Treize nodded, deciding that this… really may have been for the best.

Then, Flay began to guide Treize through a slow dance, matching the beat of the music. The dance floor began to clear around them, allowing them to become the center of the party—if only for a moment.

"Hey Kira," said Liz, grinning at the twins, drawing looks of confusion from them and their sister. "You and Cagalli should dance as well."

"What?"

"Oh come on, family dances with family all the time," said Liz, glancing at Louisa, who nodded in agreement. The two grabbed the twins and pushed them towards the dance floor. "Go on!"

"Uh… alright," said Kira uncertainly, glancing at Cagalli, who nodded.

A moment later and Kira was leading Cagalli through a gentle dance alongside Treize and Flay. Although not a politician by any means, Kira was a better dancer than Cagalli, having learned amply from Lacus after the last war—which, of course, was not to say that Cagalli was a slouch either.

"This is awkward," commented the blonde, glancing about.

"I'm not sure I follow," said Kira. "Liz is right. It's hardly out of the ordinary between family, especially nobility, which you are by adoption."

"Well… I suppose," said Cagalli—but the real reason was that, a few years ago, this sort of dance would've had a completely different meaning to her, one she was _not_ proud of.

It wasn't long before others began to join them on the dance floor—the first 'couple' was Tolle and Miriallia, followed by Victor and Shizuka a moment later. Then, as the music shifted to something more upbeat, Liz and Louisa joined them, which _really_ started to turn heads.

"You should join them," said Minako, glancing at her cousin. Makoto shrugged slightly.

"No dance partner," she said simply.

"Oh come on! There's Shani, Clotho, Ami, Commander Alaric…"

Makoto smacked the brunette.

"John's more than a decade older than me. Don't even joke about that."

"Oh, if you insist," said Minako. "Well, what about me?"

"Huh?" That was all Makoto managed to get out before Minako dragged the redhead out to the dance floor, which simply drew more attention.

"Oh come on," said Minako. "Is dancing with your cousin such a bad thing?"

"Well, no…" said Makoto slowly as she was forced to dance with the brunette—which was rather awkward with both of them in high heels, but they managed.

As the various couples danced, Serenity stood on the third floor balcony overlooking the entire scene, a small smile touching her lips.

"Things seem to be going well," came a voice behind her. Serenity glanced over her shoulder to see Samuel Dante walking up to her. She looked back down into the ballroom.

"Yes," she agreed. "Perhaps a bit better than expected, even." She glanced at the general as he stopped at the railing next to her. "How are you handling this?"

Samuel sighed slightly.

"It's strange," he said. "For two years, I thought the only family I had left was Liz, Alex and Flay, after a fashion. Even when I first heard about what had happened to Chris… I admit that I wasn't so idealistic as to believe there was much hope, no matter how much I wished to do something, _anything_. Now he's here and yet… even from up here, I can see clearly that that man dancing with Flay is not my grandson. And I don't know if he ever will be again."

"This is worse than him actually being dead, isn't it?" murmured Serenity. Samuel nodded.

"He's right there, and yet so far beyond my reach that there's nothing I can even hope to do," he said, letting out another sigh. "It feels like the world is mocking me."

"We can all feel like that, at one point or another," said Serenity. "I used to feel that way about my husband, back when we were kids. And, in a twisted way, I felt like that way about Makoto too."

"She was always there for you and knew who she was!" snapped Samuel, glaring at her for a second before it melted away into an expression of disgust with himself. "Sorry," he murmured.

"It's fine," said Serenity. "This whole thing has you on edge." She sighed. "But… what will you do? Because you're right. That's not Chris. Treize has no home. And even if Chris comes back, he'll follow Flay, the same as Liz will follow Makoto."

"And they're all going to Izanami," said Samuel softly. "But… Orb is my home. I won't leave it. No matter what."

"I know," she replied. "He's not Chris. He may never be Chris again. You should go down there. You should get to know him." She looked down at Treize and Flay, still dancing. The EX-C was getting better, and her gut told him he was enjoying himself somewhat, even if he would never admit it. "After all… he may end up being a father to Alexander. And both Liz and Flay are willing to accept him. You shouldn't make them choose between you and the man that had once been Chris."

"You're right," said Samuel. "I know that. But this isn't the time. Let them enjoy themselves without an old man like me getting in the way." Samuel straightened up, turning to look at her. "Good night, Lady Serenity."

"Good night general," she replied as he left the balcony. She turned back to stare down at the dance floor. The dancers had just switched partners around—John was now dancing with his sister-in-law-to-be, Kira was dancing with Ami, Minako was dancing with Treize, Makoto was dancing with Louisa, and the others had all pulled to the side. Serenity could see Flay and Liz talking.

"Why haven't you joined them, Lady Serenity?" questioned Faith, materializing next to the dark-haired woman. For the night, she'd chosen to use a long, thin white dress on her avatar. Anyone ignorant to her would've mistaken her for another daughter of Serenity—or possibly even another sister.

The Taiyonoha Matriarch sighed. "Minako is still nervous around me," she said. "And this…" She waved her hand, indicating the crowd in the ballroom below. "This is the new generation. I'm just an old woman looking out for them."

"You're only forty-four years old, and don't look a day over twenty-five," said Faith softly. "How can you say that?"

"Times are changing Faith," replied Serenity. "They change so quickly and so readily that I have a hard time adapting quickly enough. I grew up living in a mold, and grew past my prime in that same lifestyle. Damn it Faith, I want to be there for them, but I can't even keep up with Shizuka anymore. I don't belong in such a young crowd."

"Lady Serenity…" murmured Faith. Serenity sighed.

"Faith… as a child, I always dreamt of being able to raise a princess of my own," she said. "To spoil her and show her the world. I got it, in a way. I also always dreamt of my daughter accomplishing the dream held by the Taiyonoha for generations, to change the world for the better." She sighed again. "Orb… it was a grand experiment on our part. A part of me always sympathized with the Sahakus ideas of enforcing our beliefs elsewhere, but I discarded it because it would just undo what little we had accomplished. But Makoto… with the help of Kira and Lacus… I believe she'll finally do it. She'll finally make our dream a reality. And maybe… maybe it's time for me to step down."

"You can't be serious," whispered Faith, shocked. "She's still just a teenager herself. Makoto isn't ready to lead the Taiyonoha."

"Faith… don't you believe in her?" asked Serenity, closing her eyes. "Makoto is already leading us. I… hesitated, remember? Makoto was the one who pushed for withdrawal even though I was still somewhat uncertain. She convinced me that it was for the best. And she was right."

"Makoto still needs her mother," said Faith. "And Minako… Minako really needs a mother right now as well. You're still there for them… aren't you?"

Serenity hesitated, opening her eyes and staring through the massive window opposite the balcony. Staring out at the stars and the barely visible ocean beneath them.

"Yes," she breathed. "You're right. I'm still here for them. Thank you Faith. I… really needed that."

"I'm… glad to be of help, Lady Serenity."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"I like the dress," said Makoto as she danced with Louisa. "You made Liz get a matching one, didn't you?"

"Yeah," admitted the rosette. "You're so cute when your embarrassed, but it's hard to actually get you that way."

"So the entire purpose was to try and embarrass me?" questioned Makoto, twirling her girlfriend about.

"Well… sort of," said Louisa. "I also enjoy taunting people."

"Heh."

Nearby, Minako stared into Treize's mismatched eyes.

"You're dealing with this better than I expected," she commented.

"It still makes me uncomfortable."

"Well, from your point of view, you were essentially raised to be a soldier," said Minako, slowing the dance before stopping completely and instead leading Treize towards Flay and Liz. "No… not a soldier. A weapon. A soldier would have to know how to deal with things like this on occasion. But you're not a weapon anymore. So repress that discomfort." Treize couldn't help it—he rolled his eyes at how silly her words seemed to him.

"Uh… hi… Treize," said Liz softly as they reached her and Flay. Treize nodded in acknowledgment.

"What? Not comfortable?" questioned Flay somewhat uncertainly. Minako glanced back… and blinked in surprise.

"Liz… what are you making Ami do?" she asked. The awkwardness melted away for a moment as everyone turned their attention towards two of the dancing couples… just in time to see Ami and Louisa push Kira and Makoto away and right into each other, off to the side… under some mistletoe hanging from one of the rope lights in the room.

"You _didn't_…" muttered Minako, shocked. Liz just smiled.

Under the mistletoe, though…

"They planned this," muttered Makoto. "I'm gonna _kill_ them."

"I agree," said Kira, glaring at Makoto's girlfriends, his sister, and perhaps just the room in general. "Faith is probably recording all of this too."

"And she's 'conveniently' gonna fail to hear me if I tell her to stop too," said Makoto. "What do you say? We're angels, is it time to subvert tradition?"

"I'd say 'yes', but they'd probably just irritate us more," said Kira, sighing. "I feel like getting this over with, but that also feels like I'm insulting you."

"Don't worry," said Makoto, smiling thinly. "I feel the same." She hesitated. "They're right, though. We are avoiding the situation."

"Hmm…" Kira closed his eyes, thinking on everything. What was right in this situation? He didn't want to hurt Lacus…

No, that wasn't it. Kira was afraid. Afraid of admitting how he felt about Makoto. Afraid because it was so counter to everything he'd known growing up.

But Lacus was right—this had to end, and sooner rather than later.

_Ah, to hell with it!_ thought Kira before he leaned forward and gave Makoto a quick, chaste kiss, catching the redhead completely off-guard. He heard muttering completely overtake the crowd, and pulled back quickly, grinning slightly at Makoto's dumbstruck expression.

"Merry Christmas, then," he said. The redhead shook it off. Kira began to pull away, but Makoto's hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist.

"Oh no," she said. "You think you're getting away with that? You owe me a dance now."

"Heh."

"Finally!" said Louisa. "For a minute there, I thought they were gonna come over here and kill us."

"Okay, I'm finding myself thoroughly confused," said Minako. "_Why_ did you just do that?"

"And… what's going on between them?" asked Ami softly. "Cagalli, you said they weren't…" Sufficed to say, Ami was rather confused.

"I don't know, I'm in the dark as well," said Cagalli, turning to glare at Liz and Louisa. Treize and Flay were also focusing their attention on the two, but the rest of the room had focused on Kira and Makoto, now the only ones on the dance floor.

"Oh, come on Cagalli!" said Liz. "You mean to say you really haven't seen it? The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. Lacus noticed it first—that mistletoe thing was actually her idea."

"Are you serious?" gasped Cagalli. Treize shifted, clearly getting lost by the direction of the conversation. Flay, seeing that, sighed and pulled him to the side.

There was still a lot more to be explained to him.

"Yes, we're serious," said Louisa. "If they don't resolve this soon, it could end up hurting a lot of people."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"ZAFT's anti-Logos campaign will take awhile," said Louisa, cutting her off.

"So we figured now was the best time to handle it," continued Liz. "Now, before it boils over into a mess."

"Okay…" said Minako softly, staring at the dancing 'couple'. "And you didn't let the rest of us in on this because…?"

"Um… not enough time?" suggested Liz uncertainly. Cagalli groaned, while Ami blinked uncertainly.

"This isn't so bad," commented Makoto on the dance floor. "Eheh. That uniform looks good on you."

"That dress looks good on you too," replied Kira evenly, twirling her about. "And yeah… I'm more comfortable with this then I'd expected."

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna kill them for this later."

"I'll help."

**

* * *

**

Later

"Alright," said Makoto, glaring at everyone and no one in particular after the guests had cleared out. "Whose idea was it to push me under the mistletoe with Kira?" She cracked her knuckles for emphasis. Kira stood off the side, watching the scene with amusement dancing in his violet orbs as Liz and Louisa both shifted nervously—everyone's attention was focused on them.

"Lacus," said Liz after a moment. Kira nearly fell over.

"What?" he cried. Makoto just stared at her girlfriend like the brunette was crazy.

"Wha… bu… Lacus?" cried Makoto, trying to wrap her mind around what she'd just heard.

"Yeah," said Liz. "Lacus wanted to get things dealt with and given when you were arriving, she thought this was just crazy enough to work."

"Gah!" Makoto tugged at her hair in frustration before quickly letting go and turning around. "I'm going to bed and hoping I wake up to find that this was all a dream so that I know I'm _not_ going crazy." With that, the redhead quickly left the ballroom. Kira sighed, settling a glare of his own on the group.

"I don't _care_ what any of you think," he said. "I don't want anyone interfering." That said, he also turned on his heel and left. Liz and Louisa both let out small sighs.

"Honestly, that actually went better than I'd expected," said the brunette.

"Considering we both hadn't finished our wills?" asked Louisa, turning to Liz. Cagalli snapped to stare at the two.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "I mean, sure, it looks like you're helping, but to me, it just looks like you're aggravating the situation further."

"The situation _needs_ to be aggravated Cagalli," said Louisa defensively. "Those two have been dancing around each other for the better part of two years now. They're hurting themselves and in that way, they're hurting us as well."

"Alright, settle down!" said Shizuka, stepping in before _this_ situation escalated. "What's done is done, so stop worrying about something in the past. This isn't the time for us to be snapping at each other."

"Um… it occurs to me that this situation should probably be settled a little later on," said Minako. "Like when Miss Lacus is around to keep everyone calm?"

"Yeah… you're right," said Cagalli, sighing.

"Sorry about snapping," said Louisa.

"So am I."

"Okay, situation settled," said Shizuka, sighing slightly in exasperation. "Just one more thing."

"Hmm?" Ami looked confused.

"Faith, did you get all of that?" asked Shizuka, staring at the ceiling.

"Of course," replied the AI.

"Good. You know what to do with it. And make sure those two _don't_ find out."

"Right away," said Faith, smiling to herself within the systems.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Several hours later

It was nearing midnight local time, but since they'd spent a lot of time operating about a third of the way around the world (west), most of the crew was still wide awake. All this travel certainly wreaked havoc on a person's internal clock, which was the reason Nicol (and more than a few others) preferred operation in space.

That said, from Nicol's point of view, today was still the 25th of December. Less and less people celebrated the occasion, but after spending two solstice celebrations with the Taiyonoha along with his family, Nicol had gained a bit of a taste for it. He'd sent a letter to his family and received one in turn, and had gotten a rather interesting present from Terminal that he was intent on sharing.

The Grim Reaper couldn't help but shake his head slightly in amazement—he'd always discounted the rumors, but it seemed that they really _were_ true… at least, to some extent, if he was any judge.

"Nicol? You in there?" came Saul's voice from the other side of Nicol's door. The elite pilot minimized the video feed on his computer and turned to the door.

"Yeah, it's open!" he called back. The door slid open and Saul stepped inside, followed by Athrun, Shiho, Suiren and Luna.

"Alright, care to tell me what this is all about?" asked Saul, sitting down on the bed.

"Yeah, it seems odd to call all of us here," said Athrun.

"Especially leaving out the others," added Shiho. Suiren and Luna remained silent. Nicol grinned slightly as the door slid shut.

"Could you lock that, Suiren?" he asked. The blonde, confused, nodded and did as told.

"Alright… what's the big secret?" asked Suiren.

"This," said Nicol, shifting the screen so that everyone else could see and bringing up a video…

… of the Taiyonoha Manor ballroom mere hours ago. Eyes widened slightly at the sight of the various individuals shown in the video.

"W-what is this?" questioned Luna, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

"Some small news station apparently got this footage," said Nicol. "It's from the Taiyonoha Manor in Orb. And it's only a few hours old."

"What?" Nicol had to conceal a grin at the gasps from literally _everyone_ else in the room.

"That's ridiculous," breathed Athrun.

"Really? Then who's that guy?" Nicol pointed to a dancing couple in the video.

"Chris?" gasped Athrun. The others stared, words apparently failing them… except for Suiren, who stepped forward, frowning as she looked at the video more closely.

"And unless I'm mistaken…" she murmured softly. "Isn't that Kira Yamato dancing with Lady Cagalli?"

No one said anything. Of course, most of them had already known Kira was alive—only Athrun hadn't gotten at least a hint to this, though Luna, deep down, hadn't genuinely believed Suiren about that. But there he was, dancing with Cagalli in a video that also had a white-haired Chris… or was it Treize? There were other individuals that pretty much confirmed to Athrun the authenticity of this video as very recent. And then…

"Isn't that that Extended girl?" questioned Luna, leaning forward when she saw Kira change partners to another blonde that bore a striking resemblance to the one he'd just been dancing with. "Stella?"

"Yeah, that's her," said Suiren.

"Athrun, how come none of us noticed that before?" questioned Saul.

"Huh?"

"Athrun, _look_ at that girl. Doesn't she remind you of anyone?"

Athrun looked at Stella again… and realized almost immediately what Saul was talking about, because for a second, he'd thought Kira was dancing with Cagalli again.

"No… way…" whispered Athrun.

"She looks just like Cagalli," murmured Shiho as everyone started to crowd around the screen. Makoto crossed prominently into the picture, dancing with a brunette that only one of them recognized. But after seeing so many unbelievable things, Athrun only barely registered it, and didn't show his shock.

"Who's that dancing with Makoto?" questioned Saul. The question snapped Athrun back to reality, and he focused on the brunette. "Uh… shoot…"

"I already know who Lady Setsuna really is," said Luna, sounding very, _very_ cheerful—probably relieved to know that Kira really _was_ alive.

"Yeah, okay then," muttered Saul. "So, any of you recognize her?"

"I do," said Athrun. "That's Hotaru Aino."

"Huh? Isn't that the woman you told us about at the Marshall Islands?" asked Nicol, genuinely surprised. Athrun nodded slightly.

"Yeah, but she disappeared after the war," he said. "What's she doing…?"

Suiren was silent. She had a guess, but…

"So… you edited this video to cut out the news broadcast proper, huh?" commented Shiho as Hotaru switched from dancing with Makoto to dancing with Treize, and the redhead instead began dancing with one of her girlfriends.

"Yeah," said Nicol. "If you'd prefer to watch it with all the annoying comments, I can play that instead."

"No, this is good," said Shiho quickly, causing a chuckle from a few in the group.

"So Kira's… alive," said Athrun, relief flooding his voice as he sat down on the bed. "But how did he do that anyways?"

"As I understood it, the Freedom was basically destroyed at Second Jachin," commented Suiren. "Is an ejection system really out of the question?"

"Uh, well, no…" admitted Athrun. Saul chuckled slightly.

"Wow, Athrun, aren't you supposed to be a genius?" he said, grinning cheekily. "How is it that you didn't even _consider_ that?"

"Shut up."

"Um…" muttered Luna, drawing everyone's attention. Her eyes were riveted on the screen, and when everyone else followed, it became apparent why:

There were Kira and Makoto, standing under the mistletoe, looking at each other for a moment… before Kira leaned forward and gave Makoto a quick kiss that clearly dazed the redhead.

"Wow…" muttered Shiho, watching Kira pull away only to get pulled back in by Makoto, who smiled at him and dragged him out to the dance floor. "Never thought I'd see that."

Saul shook his head, grinning. "Well, what do you know? Those rumors held a grain of truth," he said jokingly.

"That's… interesting," said Luna as the video zoomed in to show the two in more detail. There was something… oddly shy about their smiles.

"More like entertaining," commented Suiren. "Athrun, you're more familiar with the subject than I am, so can you please confirm: aren't those admirals stripes Yamato is wearing?"

"What?" cried Athrun, rushing forward to get a closer look. That elaborate dress uniform and there on the chest and collar… "Yeah. That's definitely the attire of an admiral."

"So… Kira's been promoted… what, six ranks?" said Saul, grinning.

"Seven," corrected Nicol. "I think he's just set a new record."

"Actually, Makoto has him beat _just slightly_," said Shiho. "From ensign to supreme commander."

"No, from _princess_ to supreme commander," said Nicol. "There is a difference."

"Heh."

After a few more minutes focused on Kira and Makoto dancing, the video came to an end.

"Hmm, interesting," commented Suiren. "Thanks for showing me that, Nicol." She gave a slight nod of the head and left, apparently to do some thinking.

"You know…" said Saul. "Now that she's gone, I have to wonder how she knew what Kira looked like."

"Yeah, you're right, that is odd," said Athrun, frowning slightly. Unnoticed by the others, Luna blushed, knowing exactly where Suiren got her hands on a picture of the White Angel. Shaking it off—mostly, anyways—she stood up.

"Well, I'll be going now," she said, leaving in a hurry.

"What's the rush?" questioned Saul.

"And why did you invite Lunamaria here?" asked Athrun. "I mean, I understand us and Suiren, but…"

Nicol grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed," he said.

"Noticed what?" asked Athrun, sounding annoyed. Saul and Shiho stifled laughs at his ignorance.

"Luna's got a crush on Kira," said Nicol, face completely straight. His will failed, though, along with Saul and Shiho's, as Athrun started sputtering in surprise, and the three broke out into laughter.

After a few such minutes at Athrun's expense, the FAITH agent left the room. As soon as the door was locked again, Saul and Shiho turned to Nicol, expressions turning serious.

"All right Nicol, I want the truth," said Saul. "How did you get that video? I don't believe that crap about a newsgroup."

"Well, the newsgroup is real," said Nicol. "But you're right. I was sent the video directly from the Terminal and told where to look for it being broadcast. It's gonna see some rumors starting up, and eventually a flood, but I don't think it's likely to move much beyond Orb. The odds of anyone else catching it are slim-to-none."

"So, a present from the Terminal then?" murmured Shiho, shaking her head with a slight smile. "Well, it was certainly nice to watch."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Manor

After making sure everyone else was asleep or on their way home, Serenity headed to her office with Shizuka, Makoto and Minako, as well as a still energetic Miyuki. Once inside, she ordered Faith to secure the room, and when that was done a few seconds later, the AI materialized her avatar in the office.

"So… now that it seems we've got some free time," said Makoto, sitting on one of the couches and patting the cushion next to her. Miyuki jumped up and laid down there, allowing Makoto to pet her. "How have things been going with Izanami?"

"Very nicely, actually," said Serenity. "There are a lot of people who want to move to space. We've had immigrants from literally all across the world. Of course, there's still a lot of spare room."

"Yeah, of course," murmured Makoto. "What about the Fleet?"

"The production model of the M4 is being put into place," said Serenity. "Our flagship is nearing completion, we've added a dozen battleships to our fleet, new prototypes are being researched… oh, and we've begun construction of a lunar base in the Catharina crater." _That_ raised more than a few eyebrows.

"You're kidding," whispered Shizuka. "A _lunar_ _base_?"

"I haven't even been told what exactly Izanami is, but I know it's based at L3," said Minako. "That's way too far for a lunar base to be practical.

"So you're planning…?" started Makoto. Serenity nodded.

"We're not gonna stay at L3 for much longer," she said. "Once Catharina is complete, we'll move to L1 or L2. Taken together with Ascendant Justice, Endless Tranquility and the Timeless Garden, we'll have a significant defensive force."

"Does that mean those three are complete?" asked Makoto, while Minako glanced around, completely lost—she'd never heard about most of this. The information she'd been given on the Taiyonoha was, at best, rather vague.

Serenity nodded. "We finished about a week ago," she said softly. "The first three Gates of Heaven are complete."

**

* * *

**

Heaven's Base, Iceland

Three days later

Djibril grit his teeth in frustration as he poured over the information in front of him.

Over the course of ten days, half the pillars of Logos were torn to shreds. The society has always relied on its secrecy to get by, and this exposure, especially with the implications amplified by Durandal's lies about the organization's age, may very well have irreparably damaged the society.

But that wasn't half as important to Djibril as the setbacks it presented to Blue Cosmos. He couldn't care less about money—he was already quite well off. But with the damage presented, a lot of their forces had been lost to neutrality or turning against Logos, and by extension the forces controlled by Blue Cosmos. They still retained the Atlantic Federation, Republic of East Asia and Orb, but this still presented a major setback.

Requiem then. That would have to be his solution. With it, there would be no target in the entirety of the Earth Sphere that he couldn't obliterate. But the cannon itself still wasn't complete, and the relay stations were only just getting started. He had to delay ZAFT, which is why he'd instructed all other Logos members to scatter and keep the enemy from being able to focus all their attention in one place. But some of those fools had come to Heaven's Base regardless. Well, at the least, even if ZAFT managed to take this base, it would be awhile before they could assemble a sufficient force to do so.

"Admiral," called Djibril to the base commander. "Send a message to the _Bonaparte_. All forces of the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group are to report here immediately."

"Yes… Lord Djibril."

Djibril smirked. There were still a few things to consider and a few aces at Heaven's Base that would ensure his absolute victory. And then…

The dream of Blue Cosmos fulfilled. For the preservation of a blue and pure world.

**

* * *

**

_Minerva_ Pilot's Lounge

January 5th, C.E. 74

"Now that we're in Gibraltar… I wonder what they got in store for all of us," commented Shinn, glancing at Rey. Luna, standing over by the vending machine, glanced over at the two, somehow knowing that neither of them was paying any attention to her.

"Dunno," said Rey. "However, I would guess our next mission will simply be an extension of the last one."

"Hmm."

"You mean attack Logos?" questioned Luna. "Intercepting them is one thing, but even the Chairman himself said that attack would be difficult."

"Well… given the wretched state of the world, maybe he thinks it's something that needs to be done?" suggested Rey smoothly. Shinn grunted, drawing their attention. "Are you okay with facing Logos? You don't exactly seem thrilled."

"No, I'm fine with it," said Shinn, who'd merely been thinking about the Destroy Incident and Stella's murder. But that wasn't important anymore. He'd keep it in the past, like his parents. He had to focus on the here and now, including his real sister. Given that, he decided to finish his answer. "I found the Chairman's words to be very moving. He said it was gonna be difficult, but he's the type of guy who follows through on his word. He doesn't give up. Because if we ever wanna end this war, _this_ is the way to do it."

"Huh…" Luna wasn't entirely certain she agreed with him, perhaps that strange gut instinct that seemed to have been developing ever since her stay in Suiren's quarters. But right now, given what she knew, Shinn seemed to be right—mostly, because she still did not understand Angel Down.

"And I'll fight _any_ enemy, _anywhere_," finished Shinn, crushing the can in his hand. Rey smiled slightly, while Luna glanced away, remembering Athrun's words, Suiren's words and most importantly Kira's words. That kind of thinking… was wrong. Rey placed a hand on Shinn's shoulder.

"That kind of resolve," said Rey, smiling. "Is exactly what is needed to bring an end to all wars."

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Terrestrial Base Gibraltar

An hour later

The _Minerva_ had docked with the base, in the company of a fleet of _Vosgulov_ submarines, less than an hour ago. Orders were for the crew to relax and get a bit of shore leave, while all the mobile suits, damaged or otherwise (with the exception of the Impulse) were unloaded from the vessel, on orders from the Chairman. For the Rose and Saviour, it meant better maintenance then the mechanics aboard the _Minerva_ could provide. For the rest, though, it meant preparation to be shipped to their new home—a war museum.

While the rest of the crew enjoyed their shore leave, Suiren instead opted to enjoy the view from her quarters. It was, in its own way, majestic, seeing the fleet of vessels anchored in the docks, mobile suits standing like titanic security guards and crews running about doing their jobs. In the distance, one could even make out the small figures of crews enjoying their shore leave.

"Commander," came a voice behind her. Suiren glanced over her shoulder to see Auron Trinity, the one who'd spoken, and Murase Aker standing behind her.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, turning back to look out over the base and ocean.

"The team's curious about what you think of all of this," said Murase, stepping forward to lean against the railing.

"What I think? Heh." Suiren closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. "I think you need to stop placing so much stock in me." The two were silent in response. Suiren opened her mismatched eyes, looking into the sky overhead. "Fine. I think something is going to change soon. Something is going to break. And I intend to be ready for it."

"Hmm." Auron stepped forward at this point, looking out at the ocean as ships began to peak over the horizon. "How do you intend to do that?"

Suiren's eyes came back from the sky, also staring at the ships. A reinforcement fleet from one of their terrestrial allies.

"I'll talk to Sakura," she said. "Its time to leave the _Eagle_ behind."

**

* * *

**

Space Shuttle _Tsiolkovsky One_, Orbit over Gibraltar

January 7th, C.E. 74

Durandal let out a faint sigh, staring out the window of the shuttle as it began its descent on Gibraltar. Things were going well. The illusion of Meer as Lacus had received sufficient reinforcement to safely use her once again, and the rumors that had begun to float around in the PLANTs hadn't set back his plans at all.

Of course, the Taiyonoha Fleet's new project on the moon was of slightly greater concern, but not too much. On the other hand, Rey had informed him that it seemed unlikely Suiren would ultimately support the Destiny Plan, but again, it shouldn't prove too troublesome. It had almost made him veto her request for the next _Minerva_-class ship available, but that would've caused unnecessary trouble, and the third ship of the class, the _Diana_ (which somehow seemed oddly appropriate) was to be assigned to the Kyusai Team. Since they'd previously turned down the second vessel, the _Apollo_, which had already been completed, that one had been made into ZAFT's official flagship.

Fortunately, it would all prove a moot point soon if things went according to plan. The Destiny Project should put Zane more in favor of the team, so if Suiren did cause trouble, she'd do so without nearly as much support as she might've believed. The mobile suits themselves were complete, and were being delivered to Gibraltar by two transports accompanying Durandal's shuttle, whose passengers included both Meer and Nabiki Ombre.

The situation with Logos was also going well. By his estimates, more than sixty percent of the society had been destroyed, and the rest were being driven to Heaven's Base. It would be another week or so before they'd assembled a large enough force to take the military headquarters of Logos, but with the reinforcements coming in from defected Earth Alliance member states (former, at any rate) and ZAFT's original terrestrial allies, taking the base could be done with comparative ease, especially with the power of the Destiny Project behind them. No mobile suit would _ever_ match the power of those four, most especially the might of the Destiny when Shinn was put at the controls, if for no other reason than the fact that war would become obsolete, a distant memory, by the time anyone became capable of developing something that could even hope to match them. The only concern was the possibility of Logos using more Destroys, but even that wouldn't be a very big one.

Durandal had to suppress a chuckle at the thought of what Djibril's expression might be like. He wished he could have the chance to see it, but the culmination of the Destiny Plan was more important than some final pleasures taken from giving in to his own human nature and weakness.

"_Chairman, we'll be landing at Gibraltar shortly._"

"Yes, thank you," said Durandal.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Gil…" murmured Suiren, staring up at the shuttle and two small cargo transports now descending on the base. The entirety of the Kyusai Team was sitting at tables behind her, along with the _Minerva_ pilots.

"What could the Chairman be doing here?" questioned Shiori.

"I've got a guess," said Zane, also staring the shuttle and transports. He turned to Athrun. "You remember what Ombre said to us?" Athrun nodded.

"New machines…" he murmured, surprising several of those present, while others nodded in agreement.

"He probably wants to lead the campaign against Logos personally," added Rey thoughtfully.

"Heh. _There's_ a real leader," said Shinn. Some of the others glanced at him, but the Kyusai Team all gave slight nods, frowning thoughtfully.

After that, the group fell into small talk… at least, until about fifteen minutes later.

"_Commanders Kyusai and Dante, along with all pilots of the LHM-BB01 __**Minerva**__ are ordered to report to Hangar A-2,_" came a voice over the PA. "_Repeat, Commanders Kyusai and Dante, along with all pilots of the LHM-BB01 __**Minerva**__ are ordered to report to Hangar A-2._"

"Huh… now what could that be about?" murmured Suiren. She glanced around at the others, particularly her own team. "Auron, take charge here. Let's go see what they want."

Elsewhere, Ledonir Kisaka, disguised as a crewman aboard one of the North African vessels that had docked, stared out at the base, wondering what would happen now.

**

* * *

**

Benzaiten Beach, Onogoro Island, Orb Union

It had been awhile since Makoto had a public performance, and even longer since she'd done one at night. She'd planned to have one back in October, but those plans were thoroughly derailed. That was okay—she had something different she wanted to sing anyways, and it was better to have more of her friends here.

Benzaiten, appropriately named for the Shinto Goddess of 'everything that flows' (words/knowledge, speech, eloquence and music), was Makoto's favorite place to perform. A platform had been setup along the shore, and all the equipment put into place. And this performance would be especially enjoyable, because she'd regained so much recently. It was going to be broadcast worldwide as well. She couldn't help but wonder what people would think.

As the Taiyonoha Princess prepared herself, she thought about everything that had happened since Christmas. New Years had been a rather minor affair, more an extension of the Solstice Celebration than anything else, but it had been fun. Makoto had made it well known that she was back in Orb, and had been around a bit enjoying herself on what amounted to an extended shore leave. Everyone else had been enjoying much the same. After several months of work, the development on new weapons was nearing completion, which wasn't bad, considering how Terminal operated with more limited resources than groups such as ZAFT or the Alliance.

Her situation with Kira was being taken at a much slower pace, largely thanks to the two of them spending time with the family they'd regained. Cagalli was working with Mina to subtly put more and more pressure on the Seirans. The blonde had gone sadistic on them—she wasn't satisfied with merely taking back Orb, which seemed to be safe for the moment regardless. She wanted to completely crush the Seiran House and remove the threat it posed to Orb forever. And she was squeezing the pressure on the Seirans for every drop she could get.

And then there was the matter of Treize. He seemed to be having an easier and easier time every day, which was good. He was comfortable now, at the very least. Sure, his meeting with Samuel had been awkward, and clearly painful for the aging general whom Makoto suspected would retire soon enough.

The redhead shook those thoughts away and studied herself in the mirror. The outfit she'd tried out the day of the Solstice, before going to the beach with Minako. Yes, this seemed like it would work here.

"Hey, Makoto, you ready?" asked Shizuka, poking her head into the room. Makoto turned to face her aunt, smiled, and nodded.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar Hanger A-2

Durandal stared up at the machines, a dangerous smirk on his features as Meer played with her red Haro and Nabiki leaned up against the railing, staring at the largest silhouette in the hangar.

"And now we see," said Durandal. "Will this be the final card… or not?"

"Excuse me sir," came a voice as the door opened a moment later, drawing the attention of the hangar's occupants. "I have Commanders Kyusai, Dante, Zala and Kessel, as well as the requested pilots, here with me." Meer let loose a small cry of excitement as the group walked up to the Chairman along the catwalk, their escorts leaving the hangar. The group stopped in front of Durandal, saluting him.

"It's been quite awhile, Chairman," said Athrun as they stood at ease.

"I heard your speech sir," said Shinn. "It was thrilling!"

"Well, thank you," said Durandal, holding out his hand for Shinn, who accepted the quick handshake. "I myself have been hearing great things about all of you. You've faced many challenges, and have done a superb job."

"Thank you sir… but I'm not sure we've done that well," said Shinn. Durandal merely smiled while everyone else shifted slightly… except Meer, who ran up to Athrun, throwing her arms around him.

"Athrun!" she cried excitedly. She released him, but only so that she could lean against his chest, uncomfortably close. "How have you been doing? I've missed you so much." Athrun's eyes clearly displayed his discomfort. He wasn't even certain how to answer, glancing away slightly, which brought a hurt look into Meer's eyes. Most of the pilots, though, understood exactly why Athrun was so quiet.

"Well, I don't need to review current events," said Durandal, glancing to the side. "Considering the fragile state of world events, I may have started something a little crazy here."

"No!" objected Shinn. "I wouldn't call it crazy! It's good!" Durandal smiled.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Makoto stared out over the large crowd, gathered to watch her performance. How long had it been since she'd had these many people gathered? She didn't know, but she did know that she'd never had so many friends around her before.

The music began and Makoto took in a deep breath, waiting to begin.

_Teach me sadness…_

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

"There are many things I wish to discuss with all of you," said Durandal, looking at the large silhouettes. "But first take a look over there. I can see your eyes have been drawn to them." Suddenly, as everyone looked to the silhouettes, the hangar lights came on in full… revealing ten mobile suits, six of which appeared to be variations of the GOUF Ignited, and as to the remaining four…

"No way…" breathed Zane, shocked. The eyes of everyone present were wide, and Athrun, Nicol, Saul and Shiho found their gazes drawn to what was easily the most massive of all the machines.

**

* * *

**

"_If you close your eyes, you won't gaze into sadness."_  
"_If you forget the feeling of warmth, you won't feel pain."_

**

* * *

**

One of the four bore a slight resemblance to the Impulse, but had a somewhat larger and smoother body, with a pair of large wings mounted on the back, an anti-ship sword and beam cannon visible between them.

**

* * *

**

_I can't recall that gentle voice  
In the depths of my mourning heart._

**

* * *

**

The next reminded a few of them of the Providence, but its body, especially the shoulder armor, was smaller, more slender, and in place of the backpack of the Providence it had two half-disks resembling the backpack of the Conviction with turrets mounted on each.

**

* * *

**

_Someone is calling me from my forgotten past,  
Asking me when I will take sorrow into my hands again.  
At this moment that will never come twice,  
You are all I can see._

**

* * *

**

The third was one most of them recognized. For those who hadn't seen the Retribution, this machine more closely resembled the second, but for those who had seen the final machine Zane piloted in the previous war, it was clear just what this long-skirted machine was, though it had the look of a much more advanced machine, with a long, two-barreled beam cannon held in one hand, and a large backpack with what seemed to be spikes extending outwards.

**

* * *

**

_A little ship glitters silently in the distance, alone.  
Swept away by a torrent of grief, it disappears under the waves of my heart._

**

* * *

**

The last and most distinct, though, was something even the rookies in the group could recognize. The machine had a very thick, bulky and well-armored body that made it seem twice as large as any of the others—even the head seemed to have twice the mass of the heads on the other machines. There was a folded cannon on each knee, two cannons on its backpack, and two cannons held in hand, along with a very large cannon in its chest.

**

* * *

**

_Why do I search the ocean depths aimlessly,  
For the warmth that I should not have known?_

**

* * *

**

"ZGMF-X42S Destiny," said Durandal, indicating the first machine, answering the unspoken questions. He motioned to the second. "ZGMF-X666S Legend." He motioned to the third. "ZGMF-X777S Reckoning." And then, turning the last… "And finally, ZGMF-X65S Avenger."

**

* * *

**

_Swaying with the ripples, the ship of life sails on.  
Though no stars can be seen, it overcomes waves and advances on.  
Beyond the darkness,  
You are all I can see._

**

* * *

**

"These four machines are state-of-the-art," said Durandal, smirking. The ecstatic look on Shinn's face turned a couple of stomachs. "They are superior to anything else produced up to this point. I will provide you with more details later." He turned back to face the gathered pilots, the younger and more inexperienced of whom all seemed awed. "But along with the GOUF High-Maneuver Type 2s, I foresee them playing pivotal roles in the coming struggle."

Shinn let out a small whoop of excitement, while Athrun glared at Durandal slightly.

"Chairman, are these…?" he started.

"They are yours," answered Durandal, cutting him off. "They are your new machines."

"My… new machine?" questioned Shinn, thoroughly excited.

"Indeed," said Durandal as Shinn looked back to the Destiny with absolute awe in his features. Nabiki concealed a smirk as she looked back to the Avenger, while Zane stared at the Reckoning with a look of sorrow and pain in his eyes, and Suiren and Rey stared at the Legend, vividly remembering the man who'd piloted its predecessor.

**

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**

Orb Union

_The waves that we saw are flowing towards serenity,  
Flowing to the kindness that disappeared underwater._

Makoto opened her eyes, drawing gasps from everyone present as she revealed the practically glowing orbs of silver through which colors periodically shot like a bolt of lightning. The redhead bathed in the glow of life and light that surrounded her, wrapping her and the world in a blanket of warmth, comfort and strength.

_I know that there's a future where we will love each other.  
Until I take the sorrow back into my hands again,  
At this moment that will never come twice,  
You are all I can see._

As Makoto's song came to an end, applause overtook the crowd, and she felt more warmth from those around her. This was the second time her emotions had driven the 'mystical' SEED resonance to the state of blanketing the world, but this time, she controlled it and remained the only person to know it had even happened… well, aside from Kira.

The light faded from Makoto's eyes, returning them to their normal piercing emerald color, but they seemed dull compared to what they were before. She smiled at the cheering crowd before looking to the starry sky.

_Lacus… I hope you understand me…_

**

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**

Aprilius One

The first song had just ended… and it was truly beautiful. Sakura smiled slightly, reaching out as though she could actually touch the other redhead, but her thoughts were also on the people—and especially the _particular person_—she knew the redhead was thinking about as she sung that song.

"Makoto-chan… Kira-kun… akirameru suru de nai."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ^_^ Fun, ne?**

**Being as long as it is, there's a _lot_ of stuff going on in this chapter****… and absolutely none of it is action. This chapter is focused, start to finish, on the characters as ordinary people and the emotional ups and downs they experience. Even the military related stuff, with the possible exception of those last scenes, all came out focusing more on what the characters were experiencing. And that was a lot of fun.**

**Anyways****… where to begin? Well****… I suppose let's try start to finish (I foresee a long A/N).**

**This chapter opens with the _Archangel_'s return to the Enclave, and some awkward and uncertain reunions to accompany it. A lot of characters only get to play background, but a few will get to have more prominence at different points. It is also only the beginning of all the awkwardness Treize has to face, especially with regards to Alexander, who knows Treize looks like his father is supposed to****… and isn't certain how to react when Flay denies that Treize is his father.**

**After that, we get Makoto's application of the Cosmic SEED. Obviously not perfect****—just as she suspected, it was only truly helpful to restoring Ami (making her entirely "Ami" and not some mix of her two selves, which is actually the opposite of what some people seemed to be expecting. ^_^) and curing Treize of his need for drugs. That's gonna hurt his abilities for awhile, but will make him stronger in the long run (we all saw what happened to him when he got them throttled back). Following Makoto's extended use, she's knocked out, and then we get a series of scenes offering an overview of Orb and some character interactions, including the overdue one between Liz and Treize.**

**This all gets a follow-on with Ami, where we get to really see some of the effects of her "session" with Makoto and the Cosmic SEED. Please note that Makoto is not solely responsible for the results****—Kira had a pretty big hand in it simply by being there for her so much. Of course, Makoto could even have the SEEDs/souls of the three siblings "touch", which certainly helps, even if it went unnoticed by the twins. ^_^**

**And then we get to see Leon, learn more of his motivation****… oh yeah, and learn that Raphael seems to be affably evil. Or maybe just a royal prick. It can be hard to tell them apart at times, but then, I've got a unique perspective on the matter****…**

**And of course, this is all just _leading up_ to the _real_ meat of the chapter: the Christmas Party. ^_^ That's right, I actually bothered to show some of these things for once. Of course, with everything that happened there, you can see how it's so significant? It plays on so many things, teases in so many areas****… and in general, was just _that much fun_. I think I****'ll just… skip over discussing it, or we'd be here all night. Moving on:**

**We return to our heroes on the _Minerva_, who recieve confirmation that, yes, Kira is alive, yes, Stella is alive, yes, Treize is with them, and yes, there is some romantic tension between Kira and Makoto. And no, I'm not gonna tell you more about that. Luna was fun though.**

**After that, we get to see more of what's up with the Taiyonoha. They've got Izanami, their own damn fleet, Morgenroete, these "whatevers" (Ascendant Justice, Endless Tranquility and Timeless Garden), and now they're building a _lunar base_ on top of that? Yes, the "Izanami Nation" is powerful. _Very_ powerful.**

**And then there's Djibril. That scene reflects on a few of my own opinions on things. For one, I seriously doubt Logos could be nearly as old as Durandal claimed. Honestly, I have some serious issues with Logos as a whole, and much preferred Blue Cosmos as Natural-based antagonists. Every single character said to be part of Logos also always seemed more motivated by a desire for the extermination of all Coordinators, hence Djibril's scene once again.**

**After that, we return to the ZAFT POV, getting their side of things. The situation with Logos progresses pretty quickly, but that by virtue of some unmentioned work on Durandal's part, nudging people further along and arming them to do the job for him. Later on, the scenes become intercut with Makoto giving a concert, which, though unintentional, ended up progressing longer than the introduction of the machines from ZAFT's "Destiny Project". And it all culminates with a strange scene. So, who exactly is this "Sakura", really, and what the hell is she plotting? The Thirty Xanatos Pileup approaches! (I've been researching a _lot_ of tropes lately. ^_^)**

**Anyways, that should cover most everything. I hope everyone enjoyed this (extra) long chapter. Please, _please_ leave a review. I've hit the 500 mark, but I hope to hit an even higher mark, and with the help of all of you, I know I can do it!**

**I can't say when the next chapter will be about, but expect some****… heh****… unexpected twists. Also bits played, shall we say, "straight". I'll let you all puzzle over that.**

**Again, please leave a review! Say****ōnara, min'na!  
**


	36. Phase 36: Dark Knight Rising

**Well, this came out surprisingly quick, but I don't think anyone's complaining, ne?**

**Anyways, this picks up where the last chapter left off (more or less), with the reveal of the new Destiny Project Gundams. I tease you all with little details, but nothing definitive. That just wouldn't be my style, now would it? Of course, if one pays attention, you'll notice that the entirety of the corresponding episode****—****"Athrun on the Run"****—****could probably have been compressed into a mere seven to ten pages. A lot of _SEED Destiny_ is like that, unfortunately. I expanded by adding scenes, altering scenes, and giving us a good look into the minds of several characters.**

**Also, amusing for Kiiroi Senko and myself: people are confused by the final line of the previous chapter. Apparently, it's proven nigh impossible to translate. That just makes it more fun to continue denying you when you ask for it. So please stop asking. ^_^**

**Okay, enough boring you. I'll talk more at the bottom.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the ZGMF-X65S Avenger and ZGMF-X777S Reckoning.  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Six: Dark Knight Rising

January 7th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Terrestrial Base Gibraltar

"You are all looking at the fruits of the Destiny Project," said Durandal, smirking as he looked the pilots over. The only real concern was Athrun, with many of the others focused primarily on the Avenger, which was no surprise, as it was developed from a machine far better known than those from which the other three had been developed.

"The Destiny Project…?" murmured Suiren softly. Durandal nodded slightly, looking at the lead machine of the series.

"The Destiny surpasses the Impulse in firepower, defenses, mobility and reliability," he explained. "It is the most powerful mobile suit ever built." He turned to look at the X666S. "On the other hand, we have the Legend, a very ambitious machine. It is equipped with a next generation DRAGOON system, which thanks to improvements in the quantum interface can now be operated by anyone."

"This DRAGOON system is also equipped on the other two machines as well," added Nabiki, drawing attention to herself, though she remained focused on the Avenger. "The Avenger possesses a level of firepower and defensive strength not seen on any previous mobile suit. And the Reckoning is equipped with an experimental device known as the Neuro-Comm. Interface to enhance reaction time and the efficiency with which the pilot may control the DRAGOON system." She finally turned her attention away from the Avenger. "And then there's the Type 2 high-maneuver GOUF Igniteds, designed to complement these four machines. They are the most agile production model mobile suits yet developed, and were designed to be compatible with the Silhouette packs of the Impulse." Durandal nodded.

"Our arsenals worked tirelessly to create these masterpieces," he said. "Well, ladies and gentleman, what do you think?" When he received no answer, he turned to Shinn. "The Destiny has been made for you. Adjustments were made to it with your style in mind." _This_ caught everyone by surprise.

"Sir? With _me_ in mind?" questioned Shinn. He sounded both bewildered… and eager.

"We used the latest combat data from the Impulse," explained Durandal. "It seems that your operating abilities, your speed in particular, have developed to the point where they surpass those of ordinary pilots. Some astonishing displays of skill—and you are constantly developing those skills as well."

To Durandal's surprise, though, Shinn went very quiet all of a sudden. The young Redcoat was remembering his last encounter with a certain, legendary 'ace of aces'…

"_You've been praised as a super ace, but the truth is that your reflexes are so superb that your mind can't keep up. A super ace's foundation lies in the balance of skill, talent, instinct, reflex, awareness and higher thought."_

"Thank you, for the compliment, Chairman," said Shinn softly, sounding subdued, a sharp contrast to his earlier enthusiasm. "But… I'm nothing special."

"Nonsense," said Durandal. "Granted, you were defeated by the Freedom, but not every battle can end in victory, and your opponent had an overwhelming advantage in power. I'm sure the limitations of the Impulse must have frustrated you at times, that time especially, but those problems have been dealt with. I can guarantee that."

"Uh… thank you sir," said Shinn, bowing to the Chairman. "Thank you, for your words, and for this opportunity."

"And your machine is the innovative and challenging Legend," said Durandal, turning to face Athrun. "The DRAGOON system, Athrun. Are you up to it?" Athrun glanced away, a scowl starting to form on his features. "I feel you're sufficiently qualified to operate this machine." When Athrun was silent, it was enough to start drawing eyes to him. "Is… something the matter?"

"I take it these machines are for the fight against Logos?" asked Athrun in response. "Is that what you're saying?" A dangerous glint formed in Nabiki's eyes, something that did not go unnoticed by Zane. Meer shifted nervously, but Durandal remained perfectly calm and collected. "You told us we were going to fight Logos, Mr. Chairman, to end war forever."

"Yes," answered Durandal coolly. "I realize there's a certain bitter irony to say we're fighting to bring about an end to war. But it can't be helped, now can it? Our words are falling on deaf ears. That is why fighting is our only option." Athrun frowned, thinking about his meeting with Kira and Cagalli. They were right, weren't they? Durandal, he…

"But why did we attack _them_?" demanded Athrun. "Why did you give orders to destroy the _Archangel_ and the Freedom?"

"Athrun!" exclaimed Shinn, surprised that the FAITH agent was bringing it up here. A sharp look from Suiren, though, shut him up before he had the chance to say anything else.

"Athrun…" said Durandal softly, sounding confused.

"I know that ship just brought more chaos to an already confused war," said Athrun. "But they had the exact same intentions that we do. They wanted to end this war. They didn't want it to continue. When the Destroy was wading through cities, they were the first ones to face it." Shinn scowled. "Why Mr. Chairman? Why would you give that order without giving them a chance to talk?" Behind Athrun, the other pilots glanced amongst themselves. How were they supposed to…?

"Athrun!" cut in Durandal sharply. "Fine. Let me ask you this: why did they not come to us to clarify their good intentions?" Athrun faltered at that… and suddenly, he realized that he'd walked right into a verbal trap. Because he knew why they hadn't, and the Chairman probably suspected that he knew… but if Athrun spoke up, it would practically amount to accusing the Chairman of treason. And suddenly, he knew that there were eyes all around them, making sure the Chairman and 'Lacus Clyne' were safe.

"If we really did share the same goals, there should've been nothing keeping them from coming to us," said Durandal. "Wherever they were, I'm sure they heard my call. Why then did they take up arms without first consulting with us?"

At this point, Saul couldn't help it. He snorted, derisively and loudly enough that only a deaf man could fail to notice. As all eyes focused on him, he shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, Chairman," he said. "But with all due respect, don't you think what you just said is more than a little egotistical? Different people pursue the same goals by different means, and we have no right to police the world, or to police how others pursue peace. Is that… your justification for attacking the _Archangel_?"

Durandal almost faltered in surprise—of all people, he'd never expected Saul Kessel to be the one to speak out at this stage, and he didn't have a proper retort prepared. He'd just have to devise it on the fly.

"No, it is not," he said smoothly, hiding his brief moment of hesitation. "But it is part of the reason, for in these trying times, we cannot afford to face a situation like the previous war in which no one was truly certain what or who they should be fighting for." He motioned to Meer. "Even with Miss Lacus choosing to fight alongside us, we cannot afford that unpredictable element. She too was disappointed, but recognized the… necessity of it, and for more reasons than the one I just outlined."

"Mr. Chairman…!"

"Back off _Zala_," hissed Nabiki, stepping forward. Almost everyone in the room recoiled slightly at the dangerous air about her, Durandal being an exception as he motioned to Nabiki to step back.

"I understand your disappointment," he said. "'Why did it have to be like this?' 'Why isn't the world moving in the direction we had hoped?' It certainly can be frustrating, I know. But let's be honest here, the world we live in these days isn't all it could be."

"Huh?"

"What? What's he talking about?" whispered Tristan to the person closest to him, Lunamaria. She shifted uncertainly in response.

"In today's world, none of us really know who we are," said Durandal. "We are unaware of our strengths or the role we are meant to play. We live our lives at the mercy of the times." Durandal let out a small sigh. "The _Archangel_… and, in fact, even your good friend Kira Yamato at that. Without a doubt, I felt sorry for him. He was quite… unfortunate." As he spoke, Durandal walked to the railing, staring up at the Legend.

"Unfortunate?" cried Athrun. He was the only one to get anything out before Durandal continued.

"With such exceptional ability and power, he was born to be a true warrior," said Durandal. "So great were his skills that only a single opponent of his era could ever hope to defeat him in mobile suit combat." Shinn glanced away, feeling guilty for failing the Chairman, Stella and even Mayu by not destroying the Freedom himself. "But no one realized this, and because he didn't know this, he wasn't raised accordingly, didn't live accordingly, and ended up living his life at the mercy of the times." He looked back at the pilots. "Who knows what great things he might've accomplished if his abilities had been properly employed?" He walked up to Meer, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "After leaving Lacus, I don't really know what he was thinking. He kidnapped Orb's head of state, and then showed up on the battlefield attacking whomever he pleased."

Athrun knew Durandal was just trying to push his buttons at this point—and probably those of several other _Minerva_ pilots as well. But it didn't help him fight off the scowl on his features, or the low growl in the back of his throat.

"And what of the Sincerity?" said Suiren, drawing attention to herself.

"Many of the same truths hold to Makoto Arata," said Durandal softly. "Though her case is perhaps a stranger one, for she is a woman who has died on two separate occasions. Perhaps that ties into everything, for she is much the same as Kira Yamato… and where, I ask, is the meaning in such strange behavior?"

"He had his reasons," said Athrun with complete confidence—after all, he knew what they were, and Durandal had just short of outright confirmed Kira's beliefs. "They both did."

"It was none other than the kidnapped Princess of Orb who said that too much power would only invite another war," said Durandal. "As commander-in-chief of the ZAFT forces, I could not allow such an unpredictable factor of such great power to just roam about. That's the reason I gave the order. Truly, I had no other choice. The Angels were unfortunate indeed. If only they had realized who they were sooner. Than they would've understood their strength and their place in the world. They could've lived in places where their skills would've been appreciated. They wouldn't have had to worry, or suffer, because their strengths would've been recognized. They would've lived… a happy life."

"A happy life, sir…?" murmured Shinn. Suiren's eyes narrowed in disgust as she moved towards the back of the group, away from Durandal, something that did not go unnoticed by many of those in the hangar. Luna slipped away from Tristan to join Suiren, but Nicol, Saul and Shiho shifted a little closer to Durandal—and more importantly, Athrun.

Durandal looked all of the gathered pilots over. He knew he'd been taking a great risk inviting them all here at once, but he also felt it was a risk he needed to take. He had to gain their loyalty, flush out those whose loyalty he couldn't gain, and make the latter group look like dissenters in front of the former.

Shinn, of course, was quite eager, but that was no surprise. Rey had known about this from the beginning. Nabiki… didn't care one way or another. It seemed he had peaked Zane's interest. Heine's expression was unreadable, as was Suiren's. Aleksi and Tristan both looked uncertain. Athrun looked confused, uncertain… and perhaps, a little afraid. Nicol, Saul and Shiho all mirrored Athrun in this regard.

"That's right," said Durandal, answering Shinn. "If you understood yourself, were a useful member of society and were realizing your full potential, then wouldn't you be happy?"

"Uh, yes sir," said Shinn. Aleksi glanced between the others, trying to gauge how each was reacting to this.

"When this war is finally over, _that_ is the kind of world I would like to create," said Durandal, looking up at the Destiny. "If this becomes a world where everyone can lead this happy life, there will never be another war, ever. Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? But I plan to make that dream a reality." Durandal turned to the pilots, addressing all of them directly now. "To help bring about this future, I expect all of you to give your very best."

"Sir!" replied Shinn, Rey and Nabiki. Durandal looked the others over, but his eyes soon fell on Zane.

"Is… something the matter, Chris?" he asked softly.

"Zane," corrected the FAITH agent.

"Hmm?"

"My name is Zane Scirocco," repeated Zane coolly, turning to face the Chairman fully. "I apologize sir. This… isn't a joyous reunion."

"Ah, of course, my apologies," said Durandal, glancing at the Reckoning. "But this is to be your new machine. I admit, I had hoped that it would help you to… redeem yourself in your own eyes."

"I'm… not certain of that," said Zane. "But I thank you for the opportunity, Chairman." Durandal nodded, turning to one of the more silent members of the group.

"Suiren," he called softly.

"Yes Chairman?"

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called everyone here," he said. "I thought you should all know the situation. Nabiki has been assigned to the Avenger, and will now be serving as a pilot aboard the _Minerva_." Athrun sucked in a shocked breath. "Similarly, Zane and the Reckoning are also being assigned to the _Minerva_. As you are still using it as your own mothership, it will effectively be the new flagship of the Kyusai Team while we wait for the _Diana_'s launch. Furthermore, many of you are in need of new machines. That is what these new GOUFs are for. Heine and Rey, you two are being assigned as replacement pilots for the Saviour and the Impulse."

"Thank you sir," said both Heine and Rey.

"Hmm…" Aleksi stared sadly at the GOUFs, then glanced back at Suiren. The heterochromic blonde closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh, and turned to leave.

"Understood, Chairman," she said. "I'll go inform my team."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The Kyusai Team, along with many other ZAFT and former Alliance soldiers were gathered in the lounge, watching the international live broadcast as 'Setsuna Taiyonoha' gave her first stage performance in over six months.

"What's the latest from Captain Noriega?" asked Mai while the soldiers were distracted, glancing at her teammates. Shiori shrugged.

"'Protect the Commander'," said the redhead. "It seems the Captain doesn't need anything else from us right now."

"Protect Commander Kyusai, huh?" murmured Yuna.

"We wouldn't have done any differently," said Yuki softly.

"Suiren is our leader," added Christina. "Nothing anyone says or does can change that. We'd all give our lives for her, without hesitation. Am I right?"

"Yeah," said Max. "You're right."

"Suiren earned our loyalty," added Murase. "I'm ready to follow her straight to the depths of hell to spit in the devil's face." The others couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Makoto wiped some sweat from her forehead, but was still smiling as the limo headed back to the Taiyonoha Manor. The concert was exhausting, but still an exhilarating experience for her.

"Enjoyed yourself, did you?" questioned Shizuka, smiling fondly.

"Yeah," said Makoto softly.

"You didn't run that song by the producer either, did you?" questioned Serenity. _That_ turned Minako's head to face her cousin.

"You don't talk to your producer?" she asked. Makoto shook her head, smiling.

"Nope, because even if he said 'no', I'd do it anyways."

"Of course you would," said Minako, sighing slightly as she shook her head. "Typical Taiyonoha."

"You have no right to say that, _Princess_."

"Uh…"

"She has a point," said Kira, grinning as he leaned back in his seat.

"You stay out of this!" said Minako. "I grew up an ordinary girl, and I prefer it that way!"

"Your life was not 'ordinary' by any measure of the word," said Makoto. Kira shook his head slightly, turning to Makoto.

"Why the SEED?" he asked. The redhead shifted slightly before shrugging.

"That… wasn't my choice," she said. "I think I was just enjoying myself so much that it sort of triggered on its own."

"Like back during the invasion?" questioned Shizuka. Makoto nodded.

"Yeah, but as I'm sure you all noticed, it didn't spread out this time," she said before shrugging slightly. "In any case, it's not gonna matter. Most people will attribute it to simple trickery to look fancy. Everything else will just be rumors, except for those who already know anyway."

"Fair enough."

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Dusk

"Hey, Tristan, have you seen Suiren?"

The question gave Tristan pause as he searched for a table in the cafeteria, and he looked over his shoulder to see Luna standing behind him. He shook his head.

"No, why do you ask?" he replied.

"Because I haven't seen her since the Chairman showed us those machines," said Luna. "It's odd. Even those in the Kyusai Team haven't seen her since she told them about the new assignments."

"Huh." Tristan shook his head. "Well, do you want to join me?"

"Sure. Let me get something for myself though."

"Got it," said Tristan before continuing to search for a table, making a mental note to make sure there was room for Luna. As soon as he found such a table, he took a spot on it, letting out a small sigh.

He hadn't gotten to do much since Aleksi literally pulled him out of the line of fire back at Crete—his GuAIZ R was crippled, and everyone was so busy with their own things that the now lone Greencoat pilot ended up comparatively isolated.

He couldn't deny sharing some of Shinn's excitement at the prospect of new machines. After all, there was nothing a pilot hated more than being stuck on the sidelines as his comrades fought in a raging, desperate battle before his very eyes.

The GOUF Ignited High-Maneuver Type 2, huh? It sounded interesting, and the versatility of being compatible with the Impulse's Silhouettes would come in very handy, especially if called into formation by Aleksi. He wondered just how many new formations she could toy with or improve on using the new models.

A slight shuffling sound alerted Tristan to someone walking up behind him, and he turned to see Luna taking the seat next to him.

"So, what do you think of all this?" he asked. Luna shifted slightly, perhaps uncertain on how to answer.

"I… don't really know," she said. "It all just feels so confusing. What did the Chairman mean by creating a world where everyone could find their place in the world? And…" She hesitated for a moment, then decided not to continue. Tristan didn't know the full extent of the situation, certainly not as much as she did, and it would probably be better for him if he remained ignorant. Increasingly, Luna felt like those 'in the know' would have no choice but to support actions that seemed more and more wrong… or stare down the barrel of ZAFT's weapons. She didn't know how she knew, just that she did.

"I wonder about that too," said Tristan. "It sounds wonderful though, doesn't it?"

"Maybe…" Yeah, maybe it did sound wonderful. But what sense of accomplishment was there in always reaching such a point of contributing to society exactly as your abilities dictated best? And what freedom was there in it?

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Rey Za Burrel of the _Minerva_, reporting as ordered sir," said Rey, saluting the Chairman, who stood up from his seat, prompting the blond to stand at ease.

"Rey! How have you been?" asked Durandal, walking up to the Redcoat. "Are you feeling alright? Physically, I mean."

"Yes sir," said Rey, walking into the room, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"I hear you had a traumatic experience at the Lodonia laboratory," said Durandal, sitting down in the couch opposite Rey. "That was… careless, on my part."

"No Gil," said Rey, smiling. "It wasn't your fault. I'm all right now. And I'm just as surprised as you are that I would have such a reaction. It was unexpected."

"Can I get you something to drink?" asked Durandal. Neither noticed Meer hiding just around the corner, listening in on their conversation. "There are a number of things I wish to discuss with you in more detail." As he spoke, the Chairman stood up to go and get drinks for Rey and himself.

"Yes, thank you very much," said Rey. Just around the corner, Meer spotted something lying on the floor, and knelt down to pick it up. She had to strangle a small gasp when she recognized Athrun in the picture, in the company of Cagalli Yula Athha and a boy and girl she didn't recognize.

"So, how is everything? I'd like to hear your opinions before I make a decision," said Durandal as he started on the drinks.

"It is as we feared," said Rey. "Not only with regards to Athrun, but with Reine as well. I can't say anything for certain about Nicol, Saul or Shiho, though, and I believe there will be no trouble with the others. Aleksi would be the only concern, and I'm confident she will side with us over Suiren if it comes to that."

"I see," said Durandal softly, handing Rey one of the drinks, then lifting his own cup before sighing and setting it back on the saucer. "So Athrun won't do after all."

"You saw the evidence yourself," said Rey. "It seems his feelings for the _Archangel_ and Freedom are even stronger than you thought."

"Hmm, even though he too is nothing more than a warrior, he tends to dwell on the unnecessary," said Durandal sadly. "And so he's wasted all of his hard-won abilities." The Chairman's eyes shifted to Rey. "Perhaps it's Kira Yamato's fault. Apparently their little meeting has made Athrun an… 'unfortunate' person as well." Meer glanced at the photo in her hand… did that mean it was the White Angel that Athrun was meeting in this picture?

"That may be true," agreed Rey softly.

"But now that Kira is gone, maybe…" started Durandal, almost hopefully, but Rey cut him off.

"No," said Rey firmly. "He _is_ alive."

"What?" gasped Durandal.

"And as long as Athrun is alive, Kira will be in his heart," finished Rey.

Durandal sighed, glancing back at the photos spread across the table. "Then I think we have a problem," he said. "We've established his guilt. Can I leave the rest to you?"

"Yes sir." Eyes wide as she looked at the room, Meer began to walk away as quietly as she could, breaking into a full run as soon as she thought it was safe.

"Sir? What about Reine?" asked Rey softly. He'd never admit it, but the blond still had a definite soft spot for the heterochromic beauty that had broken his heart four years ago.

And Durandal knew about it all too well. "It's still too early to address Reine," he said, just as softly, for he too had a soft spot for Rau's daughter. "She is a dangerous element, true, but may yet come around, and at this stage, the Kyusai Team is likely to fracture between her and Zane if we force the issue, and they're still too valuable for that. After all, we may still need them to deal with the Kessel Team."

"I see," said Rey softly. "Gil…"

"I know Rey," said the Chairman. "I know. Even if she doesn't realize it yet, I swear that she'll be happy in the world we seek to create."

**

* * *

**

Athrun's Quarters

Half an hour later

Rain was pouring down outside the window, but Athrun hardly noticed, his back turned to the window as he thought of everything that had happened recently. He needed to figure something out, some solution… maybe the Legend really was the answer? Or if not that, perhaps the Destiny, the Reckoning or…

The Avenger.

It was strange—for Erik's machine to be succeeded by something like that, but there was no mistaking the Avenger's ancestry. The Conviction had been one-of-a-kind in a way that others couldn't boast. And not only did this new machine look like it had the firepower to rival its predecessor save for the distinct lack of turrets, but it was now equipped with that lethal weapon, the DRAGOON system? That more than made up for any other deficiencies. Honestly, given his experience with the Conviction, Athrun had some serious doubts about the idea that Destiny could be stronger than the Avenger. But maybe the Destiny would surprise him—who knew what kind of hidden systems it could possess to explain its lack of the DRAGOON system?

And then there was Nabiki. What was her involvement in all this? What did she want?

And then there was Kira. Athrun hoped he'd been convincing enough that they didn't question whether or not Kira was dead—his friend was safer as long as they thought they'd dealt with him.

Kira would know what to do. Him, Makoto and perhaps Lacus especially. He needed to see Cagalli as well, and…

"Athrun!" called a familiar voice suddenly, accompanied by knocking on the door. Athrun turned his attention that way. The door was opened, and the intruder reached out and flipped the switch beside the door, turning the lights on. "Ah, I knew I'd find you here! You're handling this all wrong!"

"Huh?"

Meer ran up to him, and Athrun remained quiet, knowing she'd finish explaining things.

"Look," she started. "Back in the hangar, you didn't give the Chairman the answer he was looking for. If you keep this up, they'll get suspicious of you."

"What?" gasped Athrun. Could they already have realized Kira was still alive, or was it something else?

"That kid Shinn is still down there with the new model mobile suits," said Meer, starting to pull Athrun toward the door. "You've gotta go too." However, Athrun yanked his arm from her light grip.

"Who's suspicious?" he asked, needing absolute confirmation of his own suspicions. "What do you mean?"

"They're saying you won't do!" said Meer.

"Why?" asked Athrun. He needed more time, and needed to know if he really could buy any. If not, things would be a lot more difficult.

"Look at what I found!" said Meer, pulling a photo from the concealed pocket of her skirt and holding it out to him. Athrun took it, and gasped at what he saw—how did they…?

"The Chairman was talking with that Rey guy," continued Meer. "Talking about you. They said you cared too much about the _Archangel_ and Freedom, and are saying you're an 'unfortunate person'. The Chairman even said 'we've established his guilt'."

"Are you serious?"

"_Yes_," insisted Meer. "Things don't look so good. You're in trouble. You have to hurry and show them that they're wrong. Otherwise, the Chairman's gonna take action against you." Somehow, Athrun doubted he could do anything to appease the Chairman at this point, but it all became moot when, at that instant, someone knocked on his door.

"Open up," called a gruff male voice. "Special Forces member Athrun Zala of the _Minerva_, this is security!" You know, Athrun never could figure out the logic of announcing who you were to the person you were obviously going to arrest in an attempt to get them to 'come quietly'. "We'd like to ask you some questions!"

"Well…" said Athrun softly. "The Chairman certainly isn't losing anytime." There was a slight smile on his lips, though twisted slightly with worry over the situation. This just got a _lot_ more difficult. "And he knows me very well indeed." Meer stared at Athrun uncertainly.

"Open this door, please!"

"I'm not gonna become his puppet and fight whomever he says without question," said Athrun, perfect calm and conviction lacing his voice perfectly. "That's not who I am. It doesn't matter how noble the things he's saying might sound!" Meer gasped.

Outside, the security guards glanced uncertainly between them. This was taking too long—what was he…?

The sound of shattering glass filled the silence. The time for waiting was definitely over. The lead guard tried opening the door, but found it locked, then tried shouldering it.

"Idiot, that won't work," said another guard as the first stepped aside, the second one shooting the lock instead before kicking the door open. The guards leveled their rifles… only to find Zala himself gone, and standing next to the broken window was Lacus Clyne.

"Damn, we got a runner!" said one of them rushing up the window as the busty rosette stepped aside, leaning against the wall, looking terrified.

"Find him!" shouted another as the others followed out the window. They looked around, but couldn't see him anywhere… when suddenly, something came down from above and slammed into the back of one of the guards, sending him flying to the ground to knock himself out, protected from death only by his helmet.

Faster than the others could react, Athrun slammed his elbow into the face of one, and used the action almost like a springboard to send him towards the last guard as the man level his rifle, only to have Athrun's other elbow slam into his stomach.

"You can stick your security id up your ass," he said, staring at the unconscious forms. "I'm not about to answer your 'questions'." Hearing Meer's whimpers of fear, Athrun knelt down to grab the rifle of one of the guard next to him, then ran back to the window, reaching inside.

"Hurry up," he said, holding his hand out to her. Uncertainly, she took it and let him lead her outside and down the fire escape outside.

"Athrun!" she cried on the steps, giving him pause as he glanced back at her. "Athrun, how come?"

"The Chairman only wants people that play the roles that he's assigned them," said Athrun, now beginning to understand from what Meer had told him the reality of Durandal's earlier words. "He wants a Lacus he can use. And he wants _me_ to be a pet mobile suit pilot." Meer gasped. Athrun couldn't help but notice that, for the first time, it seemed he was seeing the true Meer Campbell. "You're useful to him now, but he's not going to need you forever. And when he's finished with you, he's going to have you killed. You must come with me!"

Meer let out a louder gasp, thinking about everything she'd done up to this point. No… _no_! What Athrun said… it couldn't be true! The Redcoat began to run again, but Meer pulled her hand free, backing up against the railing.

"But I'm…" she gasped out. "I'm Lacus Clyne!"

"Meer…"

"NO!" she cried furiously, shaking her head desperately. "I _am_ Lacus Clyne! I'm Lacus!" Meer's mind briefly flashed back to before the Chairman approached her. To the singing career shattered because her voice was the same as the person who'd inspired her in the first place. "I'd rather be her!"

"You're not," said Athrun softly.

"I don't care if it's only a role!" cried Meer. "As long as I… as long as I play it right? What's wrong with that kind of life anyway?"

In spite of himself, Athrun couldn't help but think back on his own past. Alex Dino was a role he'd played… but it hadn't been true to himself. That's what was wrong with it.

"We can still… go back, Athrun," said Meer softly, eyes wide with desperation. "Come on… it'll be okay." She held her hand out to Athrun. The sound of footsteps echoed loudly above them.

"Please Meer!" said Athrun, holding his hand out to her instead. The impersonator recoiled, staring at Athrun, eyes still wide. After a moment, Athrun closed his hand, looking away. It was pointless… she was so desperate to be someone she wasn't that nothing he said could reach her. Athrun left, running down the fire escape.

Meer crouched down, burying her face in her hands. Athrun… no… she… she was Lacus. She had to be. It was the only way she could fulfill her dream.

She heard soft footsteps behind her, but that didn't stop her from crying.

"You know… trying to be someone you're not can only lead to suffering for you."

The words jolted Meer from her sorrow, and she stood up, turning around… and saw a shadowed form with what almost seemed like wings spreading out behind it rush up to her.

Then, her world went black as something slammed into her stomach.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"You secured all the exits, right?" questioned the security chief. When the guard nodded in confirmation, he continued. "Good. Now start checking the rooms."

"Right."

"We want to take him alive, but if else fails, we may have to shoot to kill."

The guards didn't notice Meyrin or Nurse Roberts from the _Minerva_ on the stairwell above them. They glanced at each other in confusion before continuing on their respective ways, Meyrin heading to the quarters she shared with Luna.

"What's going on?" questioned the redhead after closing the door, sitting down at her desk and accessing her computer. "It's so weird."

At that moment, she heard the door open and close, and turned to the source. She was surprised to see Athrun standing there, the dampness of his hair and clothes suggesting he'd been in the rain a moment ago. He was holding a rifle, so she guessed he must've been assisting the guards with whatever they were doing.

"Oh, Athrun," she said, excited that someone who could tell her what was going on was here (and maybe more than a little that Athrun himself was here in general), standing up to greet him properly, but Athrun rushed forward, pressing his hand over her mouth to silence her.

"I'm sorry," he said in response to her shocked and fearful expression. "Look, I just wanna get outside. Don't scream; please, be quiet." Uncertainly, Meyrin nodded. Athrun let out a small sigh of relief and let go of her.

"Are they chasing you?" she asked, looking for confirmation to what the situation appeared to be. "But what did you do?"

"Why not let Rey or someone else tell you later?" replied Athrun, glancing outside and seeing the searchlights.

"Huh?"

A knock on the door drew both Athrun and Meyrin's attention, and the FAITH (ex-FAITH?) agent internally cursed.

"Security, we have to search your room," came the voice on the other side. "Please open the door. This'll only take a minute."

"As soon as I jump out the window, scream," said Athrun quietly. "Just tell them I had a gun on you." Meyrin gasped, then glanced at the door. Athrun was taking more than a small chance with what he was saying. After being a hostage once before, Meyrin couldn't help but think that Athrun could use her that way, but he wasn't going too. Further, she'd been having certain… doubts lately that she couldn't quite place. With a look of determination, she grabbed Athrun's arm and started dragging him towards the bathroom.

"This way," she said.

"Hey! Who's in there?" shouted the guard outside, starting to sound impatient.

"Uh, one moment!" cried Meyrin, as she dragged Athrun into the bathroom and turned on the water.

"This is crazy!" hissed Athrun, having absolutely no idea what she was up too, but feeling like she was putting herself in a lot of danger with this stunt.

"It's okay," said Meyrin, pulling off her jacket, then her shirt, drawing a gasp from Athrun. Meyrin leaned over the bathtub, grabbing the sprayer head and lifting it up, soaking her hair with it, then dropping it to the bottom of the tub. She grabbed a towel and rushed outside, wrapping it around her.

She reached the door and opened it at the same instant one of the guards was to try and shoulder it open (that wouldn't work… didn't military base security have at least some military training?), ending up presenting herself to the group of guards and, to her surprise, her sister, wrapped only in a towel, wearing a confused expression. The looks she got back were priceless.

"Hey!" cried Luna, shouldering the guards aside. "Meyrin, what's wrong with you, answering the door in a towel?"

"Oh, hi sis," said Meyrin. "I was taking a shower and I thought they were going to break the door down." Luna turned her head to glare at one of the guards, who backed up nervously.

"You get right back in there and get some clothes on!" said Luna to Meyrin before turning her full attention to the guards. "And you! What's all this commotion about in the first place?"

"Uh, well, uh… you see we… uh…" The guard was left sputtering as Meyrin closed the door. She heard the sound of shuffling feet as the group outside left, and then let all of her tension out, collapsing to her knees, trembling as she gripped her arms, both from the chill air (due to the water) and from her fear. Athrun emerged from the bathroom and wrapped a robe around her shoulders.

"Thank you for helping me," said Athrun, placing his hands on her shoulders in appreciation and to draw her full attention back to him and away from her fear. "Why'd you do it?"

"I… I don't know," said Meyrin, shaking her head, still trembling.

"Well you saved me," said Athrun. "And… I owe you." He stood up, picking up his commandeered rifle, and began to walk towards the window when Meyrin reached out and caught his ankle.

"The… the hanger," she said, staring up at him. "Wait a minute." A moment later, after tying the robe closed, Meyrin was sitting at her computer, typing away.

"I'm gonna hack the base's mainframe and set off an alarm somewhere," she explained. "There, the harbor." Almost as soon as the words left her lips, alarms started blaring through Gibraltar. Athrun had to suppress a whistle—this girl could give Saul a run for his money.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Hmm?" he murmured.

"What's wrong?"

"It seems someone's moved ahead a step or two," he answered his companion. "He doesn't have this kind of skill, so he must've had help. Let's see… ah, the Hawkes' quarters. Huh… I didn't know they could pull something like this off. Not bad. I barely managed to trace it."

"Then delete it, no one else has any business knowing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," he said, already finished erasing the microscopic trail that had been left behind. "The harbor… they can't ignore that one. Hangar A-2 wouldn't work—it'd be sniffed out instantly." The hacker grinned. "But the _Minerva_ has plenty of places to hide. Meanwhile… there, this is where he'll head. Alright, make sure to cut things off for him… okay, got that satellite feed?"

"Of course."

"Let me see it. I need to know where he's at."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"I'll bring a car around," said Meyrin. "Jump in when you see me pull up."

"I'll be waiting for you," said Athrun as the redhead ran off. As she made her way to the car, she thought about just why she was doing this. There were several reasons, but the big one…

The big one was that she liked Athrun. A lot. Perhaps there was a certain small irony in her having a crush on the Crimson Knight of Justice when her older sister had a crush on the White Angel of Freedom.

Regardless, she'd done something stupid. She knew that. And frankly, she didn't care. Because whether or not she liked him, she couldn't sit idly by while Athrun was being hunted by base security like this. She didn't know what he'd done, but she knew Athrun wouldn't betray the PLANTs… it was impossible for her to miss that fact. If he'd betrayed ZAFT… well, their first loyalty was and should always be to the protection of the PLANTs.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"What is it?" demanded Talia, looking over the shoulder of the officer at the CIC station. At that moment, Durandal's voice came from the speaker.

"_Talia,_" he said. The captain leaned forward, hitting the switch for the loudspeaker.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked. "I'm here."

"_I don't have all the details yet,_" said Durandal. "_But apparently, Athrun overpowered our guards and is trying to make a getaway._"

"What?" gasped Talia, shocked. What in the world was the Chairman talking about? Why were there guards around or after Athrun in the first place?

"_I doubt he'll head for the __**Minerva**__, but I thought I'd warn you just in case,_" continued Durandal. "_It's possible I might have to borrow Shinn and Rey._"

"He's a fugitive?" questioned Talia disbelievingly. "What started it ?"

"_I told you I don't have all the details yet,_" said Durandal. "_I'll be in touch later._"

Talia straightened up, confused. What in the world was going on?

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Alright, I got them," he murmured, more to himself than his companion. "Okay, they're in a car. Huh, never could figure out much reason for the way this base was organized."

"Just get to work."

"Already done. Traffic lights are at my beck and call."

"Could you say that again, only _without_ sounding egotistical?"

"Sorry, too busy with _this_." As he spoke, another alarm was tripped—this time saying that Athrun Zala was aboard the _Minerva_.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Rey sat in the passenger seat of an armored truck, stopped at a red light. Although the security guard driving the vehicle was visibly irritated by the use of traffic lights within the city-like streets of the base, Rey was perfectly calm, despite hearing that Athrun had now reached the _Minerva_. He already knew the traitor would never be able to escape.

A car drove past, coming from the left and turning right, straight past the armored truck Rey was in. He idly glanced that way, and saw Meyrin driving it. Hmm… all that was back there were hangars, so why…?

Rey's sixth sense was tingling. He opened the door of the truck, intending to pursue.

"Uh, hey, what are you doing?" questioned the driver.

"Following up on a hunch," said Rey. "I'm sure you don't need my help."

**

* * *

**

Hangar C-4

Meyrin brought the car to a stop just outside the hangar, knowing that group C had looser security than groups A and B, but had still managed to get GOUF Igniteds stored there.

"Everyone chasing you is probably at the harbor," said Meyrin as she and Athrun rushed over to the GOUF. "Now's your chance—you've gotta go!"

"But what about you?" asked Athrun softly. Meyrin paused for a moment before answering.

She thought about how much she'd looked up on Athrun. How jealous she was of Luna at times for getting to spend time with him. The many near-encounters with the war hero on the _Minerva_. And then, she thought about Jessie and his last moments, images that would be burned into her mind and would scar her soul for the rest of her life, images she didn't want to see ever again. But not wanting to give him an answer he wouldn't like, she directed his attention back to his own situation.

"If they really are after you," she said. "You're better off running for it." Athrun was quiet for a moment… and then, the sound of footsteps echoed behind them, drawing their attention to the hangar entrance… just in time to see Rey come from around the corner, rifle leveled their way. Knowing what was to come, Athrun grabbed Meyrin, and threw the both of them behind a workstation for cover as Rey opened fire.

"I see you've chosen to run away… again!" shouted Rey.

"Why Rey?" cried Athrun from behind cover.

"This is unforgiveable! You have betrayed Gilbert's trust!" With that, Rey opened fire again, blowing out screens and other panels on the workstation.

"Stop firing Rey! Meyrin's here!" shouted Athrun. But if anything, Rey fired even more relentlessly. Finally, for a few seconds, the blond let up, probably to reload, and Athrun didn't let the chance go to waste, popping out from behind cover and returning fire. Rey rushed out from the hangar entrance for cover, and when Athrun stopped firing, he came back out and opened up again. Athrun threw himself to the side, rolling along the ground to make himself a more difficult target, and came to a stop in a crouch several inches ahead of Rey's aim. Before the other Redcoat could react, Athrun demonstrated his incredible marksmanship by blasting the rifle from Rey's hands. Immediately, the blond ran after his fallen weapon, leaving Athrun alone with Meyrin for a minute or two. He stood up, and turned to face the redhead, who looked more terrified than he'd ever seen her before. The young girl was trembling with terror beyond what the situation really warranted, but that didn't matter.

In fact, very little mattered at this moment—there was now no choice for either of them. Athrun held his hand out to her, and after a split second's hesitation, the Greencoat rushed forward, taking his hand, and pulled her onto the lift that would take them to the cockpit of the GOUF.

Meanwhile, Rey retrieved his fallen weapon and returned, opening fire, but it was already too late as the two ducked into the cockpit of the blue mobile suit. Rey scowled, throwing away his weapon and running out of the hangar. It was now a mobile suit battle, and Rey already knew exactly what he wanted to use to deal with Athrun.

"Sorry," said Athrun to Meyrin, starting up the GOUF after buckling himself in, the redhead squeezed into the small space available behind and on the right side of the seat. "But if I leave you behind, they'll blame you."

"Mhmm," squeaked Meyrin, nodding in agreement. The clamps holding the GOUF Ignited in place released it, and Athrun began to walk his commandeered machine out of the hangar.

Rey heard the giant war machine walking along the ground behind him, but paid it little mind—Athrun wouldn't fire on him, and he was focused on his phone. He'd made a call to Hangar A-2, only a few minutes away at a full sprint, knowing Shinn was still there.

"Shinn, get the Destiny and the Legend ready for takeoff," he said.

"_What? What's going on?_" questioned Shinn.

"The fugitive has stolen one of our mobile suits," explained Rey. "We're going after it."

"_What?_"

Rey came up short suddenly… why weren't the alarms ringing anymore?

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Well… that's it," said Saul, pushing himself away from the desk and leaning back, stretching out his arms. "Athrun's away, it looks like Meyrin's with him, and aside from shutting off the alarms to buy them maybe an extra minute or two, there's nothing more we can do."

"Unless you want to go and provide him with backup?" put in Shiho.

"Pointless," said Saul. "Needless risk. Also, I'm sure Athrun will be fine."

"No, you're just lazy," said Nicol, opening the door and walking in, Suiren on his heels, drawing their attention.

"Heh, maybe," agreed Saul, though he really was confident Athrun would be fine. "Thanks for the computer, Suiren, it made things a lot easier. Did you guys finish your errand without problems?"

"Everyone was too focused on Athrun," answered Suiren, shrugging. "So it wasn't difficult to get the job done unnoticed."

"I see," said Shiho, turning to face Nicol. "So, Reaper, how long have you been working under Makoto and when were you gonna tell us?"

**

* * *

**

Athrun's GOUF Ignited

"But… what are we going to do?" asked Meyrin uncertainly.

"This machine can last awhile outside of combat," said Athrun, looking over the scrolling data on the machine he was in. "We'll head into Eurasia and use the abandoned bases there to resupply or maybe ask the Eurasians for help. We'll make our way to Orb. The _Archangel_ is there, along with Kira, Chris and Makoto."

"Chris? Wait, you don't mean that guy that took me hostage, do you?"

"Don't worry," assured Athrun. "I won't let that happen again. And neither will the people he's with."

**

* * *

**

Hangar A-2 Upper Deck

Rey rushed into the hangar and towards the Legend as it ascended from the underground lower deck where it had been stored. The Destiny was ascending right alongside it.

Rey knew that Zane and Nabiki would be no help here. Zane was still uncomfortable with the Reckoning, and Nabiki couldn't be bothered with something so minor. Besides, adding the Reckoning and Avenger would be simple overkill for a single GOUF Ignited.

Rey stepped onto the lift, hitting the switch that began the ascent. Things weren't going quite as planned, but hadn't gotten anywhere near the worst-case scenario. At least Athrun hadn't gotten his hands on one of the Destiny Project machines. That would've been simply disastrous. Even the alarm failing to go off wasn't a concern, since they could scramble the new machines.

The lift finished its ascent, and the blond threw himself into the Legend's cockpit. Motion detectors recognized his entry, and lowered the control panel from the ceiling. It was a much better setup than any other machine, with all the controls brought into a single location rather than spread out. The only problem with it was that it felt cluttered at first, with a much smaller system display and smaller controls. But once one got used to it, the efficiency would be a thousand times greater than on any other cockpit out there, as far as Rey was concerned.

Reaching up, Rey switched on the main comm. line, Durandal appearing immediately on the screen.

"Mr. Chairman…" he started.

"_Yes I know what he did,_" said Durandal. "_After him Rey. Good luck._"

"_Rey…_" came Shinn's voice.

"You ready?" replied the blond, continuing the Legend's startup.

"_Yeah, but who is this spy we're after anyway?_" questioned Shinn.

"Don't let your guard down," said Rey. "We're going after Athrun Zala." He heard Shinn gasp over the radio.

"_It was Athrun?_" murmured Shinn, shocked. "_You're kidding… but… why?_"

Rey didn't answer, though, as the alarms suddenly started up again. The base controller's voice came over the PA and radio.

"_We have a code A-55. Four-Two and Triple Six standby._"

Hearing that, Rey sped up in his reboot slightly, barely sparing the actual status displays more than a second glance as he continued to push buttons and flip switches to bring the Legend up to full readiness.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
G**unnery**  
U**nited**  
N**uclear-  
**D**euterion**  
A**dvanced  
**M**aneuver**  
G.U.N.D.A.M System  
_Ver.1.62 Rev.29_  
****Z.A.F.T**

Rey gripped the controls as the startup finished and the Legend's eyes flashed to life before the clamps holding it opened up. The blond activated the VPS armor, giving the dull grey coloring a somewhat more silver tint, with a blue torso and some red mixed in, and began to walk out of the hangar.

"Athrun's… a spy?" whispered Shinn to himself. He couldn't figure it out—it didn't make any sense. Sure, he'd had some conflict with a few of the others, but that was all perfectly understandable, and he'd always been there for them when it counted. "Why would he do it? Rey!" The blond was pulling away, so Shinn took the Destiny's controls, releasing the clamps as its eyes flashed with sudden life, and he began walking forward, in pursuit of his friend, who'd remained oddly silent. "Rey!"

"_I don't know his reasons,_" said Rey finally. "_But security's after him. He overpowered the guards and now he's making a break for it._" Shinn gasped. "_Let's go! He's getting away from us!_"

With that, the Legend leaned forward slightly, thrusters coming to life, and took off. Shinn hesitated—he couldn't get his mind around this. It didn't make any sense. But…

He had to go. If nothing else, he needed to talk to Athrun. He needed to hear Athrun's reasons. Maybe it was the Freedom? But that wouldn't make Athrun turn into a spy, though certainly motivation for him to decide to leave. If that were really the case, and this was all just a misunderstanding… then Shinn would risk anything, court martial, death sentence even, but he'd make sure Athrun got away. If he wasn't truly a spy, then he didn't deserve to die here.

That thought in mind, Shinn took off, activating the VPS armor, turning the Destiny a brilliant blue, white and red. He'd checked over the systems, and activated the Wings of Light in a low-level setting to help overcome Rey's lead.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Yes," said Seth. "Yes, I understand." Seth's eyes narrowed as the Horizon agent continued to listen to the new orders. "But why?"

"_That is none of your concern, just carry them out,_" replied Seth's superior. "_And don't spend so much time on that task that you forget your other mission._"

"Very well, Lord Adam. Rest assured, as soon as the opportunity presents itself, the Rose will be sabotaged, and its pilot will die at Heaven's Base."

"_Good. Misuumi Kamakura could have a disastrous influence on the new world. We cannot allow her to live any longer. __**Don't**__ mess this up._"

"I won't sir."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"_Mr. Chairman, we've caught sight of the GOUF,_" said Rey over the radio. "_Permission to shoot them down?_"

"_Them?_"

"_Yes… just before the machine was stolen, I saw Meyrin Hawke aiding Athrun Zala._"

"What?" cried Shinn. "Rey, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"_We cannot afford hesitation at this time!_" said Rey firmly.

"_Rey, please, hold on…_" started Talia.

"_Very well,_" cut in Durandal. "_If necessary… you have my permission._"

"_Chairman…_"

"_We cannot allow them to escape,_" said Durandal. "_Shinn, do you understand?_"

The Redcoat hesitated.

"_Shinn?_"

"Yes… Mr. Chairman," said Shinn. "If Athrun really is a traitor… I'll shoot him down myself."

In the Legend, Rey scowled. Like Durandal, he saw a loophole within those words. Right now, they couldn't provide ready evidence of Athrun being a traitor, but they needed to make sure Shinn didn't stray, or this incident would repeat itself, with Athrun serving the role of the White Angel to Shinn instead. He glanced at Durandal in his display screen, and the Chairman gave a miniscule nod he only noticed because he was looking for it.

"Let's go, Shinn!" said Rey, charging forward and opening fire repeatedly with his beam rifle. To his surprise, the GOUF evaded the shots repeatedly by narrow margins. He wasn't certain about how to assess that, not when facing a war veteran like this. "Get in front of him!"

"_But Rey…!_"

"It's up to you," said Rey. "What if the dreams of the Chairman and all those that believe in him are ruined because of this?" Shinn gasped, and Rey had to conceal a smirk, knowing he'd found the right button to push. "We can't betray all those people Shinn. Not now. You must be resolute. We _can_ make a difference."

The Destiny came in from another angle, opening fire, but the GOUF likewise evaded the shots with even more ease, and Rey frowned—Shinn still wasn't shooting to kill.

"_Shinn!_" came Athrun's voice over the radio.

"How could you let it come to this Athrun?" cried Shinn, remembering all the times the veteran had been a mentor to him, and all the times he'd spent with Meyrin. "Why did you do it?" He fired again, but Athrun dodged easily, then spun about and fired his Draupnir on the Destiny. Shinn responded by unfolding the shield mounted on the right arm and raising it in defense.

"_Stop it Shinn!_" said Athrun. "_They're using you! Wake up!_"

"Huh?"

"_That's not gonna work on us!_" came Rey's voice suddenly. "_You should be ashamed, Athrun!_"

"_Rey!_"

The Legend's backpack-mounted small DRAGOON pods swiveled forward and fired on the GOUF. Athrun narrowly pulled to the side, and Shinn heard Meyrin cry out in fear over the radio as Athrun returned fire. Rey activated one of the Legend's beam shields to deflect the stream of attacks, an unseen smirk on his lips.

"Don't run away!" said Shinn desperately. "Surrender!" Shinn charged down close, intending to grab hold of the GOUF and drag it back to base, not wanting to hurt either of the occupants, but Athrun danced away from him. "Just come back! Don't betray us!" Shinn leveled his rifle and opened fire almost instinctively, but Athrun evaded yet again, then came around, swinging his Slayer Whip and coiling the heat rod around Shinn's rifle. The Redcoat gasped, amazed by just how much Athrun's skills seemed to have improved from the last time he'd seen the war veteran fight.

An electric shock from the heat rod caused the rifle to detonate, Shinn shielding himself from the explosion with his physical shield, but the force nevertheless blew him back.

"_Back off Shinn!_" said Athrun. "_I am __**not**__ going to just let you shoot us down!_" Shinn didn't reply. "_Listen Shinn, I know what Rey and the Chairman are saying sounds right, and I understand that you really want to believe that._"

"_Athrun!_" roared Rey, charging in, rifle blazing, driving the two apart.

"_Don't listen to what they're saying!_" said Athrun, blocking a shot with his shield and returning fire with the Draupnir. "_Their words are gonna end up destroying the whole world!_" Shinn gasped. "_Is that what you want?_"

"_Don't listen Shinn!_" shouted Rey, drawing one of his Defiant Kai beam javelins (though it was more an odd beam saber than anything else) and charging at the GOUF. Athrun responded by drawing his Tempest beam sword, using his shield to block the Legend's attack at the wrist, then swung his sword at the nuclear-powered machine in response, driving it back. "_Athrun has obviously gone insane!_"

"Huh?" No, that couldn't be right—there wasn't any reason for it, nothing to drive him to that point… was there?

"_Don't listen to the bastard Shinn,_" finished Rey.

"_Shinn, if you have to shoot me down, then at least give Meyrin a chance to get out!_" said Athrun. "_She's done nothing wrong!_"

"_She's already an accomplice to your crimes! There is no meaning to her existence!_" said Rey. Meyrin gasped loudly.

"_Rey!_"

"_She's the enemy,_" said Rey. "_They both are. They betrayed the Chairman. They betrayed us. They're trampling on our dream to end war! Are you going to forgive them? You said it yourself: you'd fight any enemy to fulfill that dream!_"

Shinn was trembling. These words… how could they be true? Yet that's how it looked, unless Athrun was right. But if he was right, then what had Shinn been fighting for all this time? Was everything a lie? Had he been acting no better than the people he wanted to destroy, to put an end to war?

No! That couldn't be true! If it was… then everything… everything would become meaningless in this world!

Shinn struggled to think. He struggled to breathe. He could practically feel his very sanity crumbling down around him.

If the Chairman really was what Athrun was saying, had there ever been any hope for Stella? Was there any hope for Mayu? What about for the end of war? Was that just some ploy, some illusion so that he could play people like pieces on a _game board?_

It couldn't be… if it was… if it was…

"_NOOO!_" roared Shinn, grabbing hold of the only hope he had for sanity and choosing to believe in the Chairman, for any other choice was nothing but despair and the loss of all meaning as a bloody-crimson jewel seed shattered in his mind.

Shinn drew the Destiny's Arondight, unfolding the massive anti-ship sword and activating the blade.

"_Shinn!_"

_I can't let this war go on… the Chairman has to be telling the truth… he has to be!_

Shinn activated the Wings of Light, tightening his grip on the controls.

"This is all your fault…" he hissed softly. "Because you… you betrayed us!" His last words were a roar as Shinn charged forward with all of the Destiny's incredible speed and swung his sword at the GOUF. His mind didn't even register Athrun calling out to him to calm down as the GOUF dodged aside and lashed out with its Slayer Whip. Shinn side slipped the attack, grabbing hold of the heat rod with the Destiny's left hand and fired the Palma Fiocina mounted in the palm, obliterating Athrun's weapon.

Shinn pulled back, Mirage Colloid afterimages trailing in the Destiny's wake due to the Wings of Light, then charged forward again, slicing up Athrun's shield and left arm with his Arondight. He pulled back, then charged again, this time cutting off the GOUF's right arm, far too quick for the veteran to react against a machine whose capabilities were unknown to him.

"I won't let you!" roared Shinn. "Never… I'll _never let it happen AGAIN!_"

"_Shinn!_" cried Athrun as the Destiny charged forward. The Arondight stabbed straight through the GOUF between the neck and left shoulder, but Shinn didn't stop, pulling the sword down, cutting through the body to the left of the cockpit, only pulling back after he'd slammed the GOUF into the water, releasing his Arondight. Some small part of him thought that the two who had been his companions, even his friends, deserved at least some sort of grave marker, one worthy of who they'd been, and the Arondight just seemed to be the right choice.

It was all a moot point, though, as the GOUF exploded under the water.

There were tears in his eyes now, though. Shinn's desperate rage had ended, and now, he was no longer blinded to what he'd done. He'd killed Athrun and Meyrin. How could he face Nicol, Saul, Shiho or Luna now? He barely registered as Rey congratulated him for completing the 'mission' and assuring him that they were just destroying enemies. None of that mattered now.

"_Let's go back,_" said Rey. Shinn didn't even reply, just followed the Legend as it pulled away.

Had anyone bothered to check, though, they'd have discovered Shinn's attack had partially freed the cockpit, and the water kept the explosion from being lethal. The occupants would've died anyways, had it not been for a small boat rushing towards their location through the waves, completely unnoticed by the ZAFT forces.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, what did everyone think? This was a fun chapter for me. The OCs got sidelined, which will probably appeal to quite a few people. As I said at the top, though, I tried to delve into the canon characters a fair bit, putting a lot of attention on their individual mindsets and what they're thinking about everything that's going on and what they're doing. Events proper aren't really altered from canon, but aside from a few things here or there, there isn't much that could be influenced by changes up to this point, since the ultimate question is "will Athrun defect?". So, the net result is that the events of this chapter follow canon, and I instead delved more into the minds of each character. There are only two major changes: one is that someone attacked Meer after Athrun left. The second is that Saul covered Meyrin's tracks along with his own, so they only have Rey's word to go on there. I delve a bit more into that next chapter.**

**Of more interest then those small changes, we get an appearance by the Horizon agent "Seth". Since we still know very little about Horizon outside of its ties to Divinity, let's move on, shall we? ^_^**

**Tristan finally manages to get out of the role of "named background character" that he's been filling pretty much since his GuAIZ R was totaled at Crete, which is actually kind of a relief for me. True, he doesn't get much here, but most characters don't, and he'll finally get his chance to shine, along with all the others, in the upcoming attack on Heaven's Base.**

**Other developments include Saul, Shiho _and _Suiren all learning that Nicol is a spy for Makoto. Originally, I was gonna write out all the stuff involving them and their behind-the-scenes actions to help Athrun, but this was more fun. You only know a little more about what they were doing than everyone else. ^_^**

**Finally, we have the three pages worth of fight between the GOUF, Destiny and Legend. A lot of it is dialogue, but for the most part, that scene is all about Shinn and what's happening to him. His desperation has created a fragile mental state, and for his own sake, he can't accept the idea that he's been fighting for a lie all along, though that doesn't necessarily mean he avoided insanity****—****just look at his expression during the final moments of that fight in the series proper. Regardless, rather than ego or just "Shinn is a bad guy" the way it is often shown, here I give Shinn's reasons as being a precious need to know that he hasn't simply embodied that which he hated, and wanting there to be some hope that Durandal can help his sister.**

**Anyways, I hope everyone had fun with that. Please review, it's always so fun to know what my readers are thinking!**

**Say****ō****nara, min'na!  
**


	37. Phase 37: The Breaking Storm

**Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I had some trouble with a few scenes, but it all came out well (at least, I'd like to think so). The more interesting parts of this chapter are the ones featuring ZAFT, while the parts focused on the Terminal-aligned group is more about resolving a number of issues.**

**Also, a lot of you will probably notice that, no, a lot of these events happen "out of order" with the canon****—****for instance, in canon, Kisaka launched to bring Athrun to Orb at the time Durandal sent his ultimatum, which is also when the _Archangel_ actually arrived in Orb. Inexplicably, Kisaka got Athrun to the _Archangel_ in time for the battle to begin, oh, and then Athrun managed to recover while that was going on. Please note that this is the same canon where Orb is apparently in the same timezone as Heaven's Base on the other side of the world (it was daytime in both places? When it was _midday_ at Heaven's Base? Hello? _WALLBANGER?_), and where the _Minerva_ can apparently sail to the other side of the world in the span of about an hour or two. It is because of this highly inconsistent canon that I've ended up with a few problems trying to pan out these events over a reasonable period of time. Please disregard canon.**

**On a more amusing note, it was fun taking what amounts to twelve minutes of almost nothing happening and spreading it out to 25 pages where everyone's getting ready for what's _about_ to happen.**

**Anyways, there's a lot of status quo changing going on here. I hope you all enjoy it. I'll talk more at the bottom to avoid spoilers.**

**Also, for those that didn't see it, I've changed _The End of Divinity_ into _Divinity Saga_, which is a collection of one-shot sidestories of this series. The second, _Naomi's Tears_, has been posted, and I hope you'll all drop by and take a look at it. Writing it was****… an emotional experience, for me at least. It provides the beginning of _SEED Dauntless_ from a different POV, some backstory, and fills in a bit of the timesklip gap between the middle and ending of _Phase 35: The Solstice of Angels_ a little. Again, please look into it if you haven't, and let me know what you think.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the four of the five Izanamian admirals that briefly appear. Please note that only two of those five are female, in case some of you couldn't tell.  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Seven: The Breaking Storm

January 7th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Terrestrial Base Gibraltar

Durandal let out a small sigh of relief. The situation with Athrun was resolved, and Shinn had chosen the best course for the world, as Durandal had always believed he ultimately would.

It was sad about Meyrin. Durandal didn't know if Rey had been telling the truth or not, because whoever had caused those alarms, whether Athrun or Meyrin, they'd also cut the security cameras. Rey might have simply been using an excuse so no one would question the necessity of it. Either way, it did not truly matter, for Athrun and Meyrin were both dead now. Talia's teeth were grit, but Durandal ignored her as he stood up.

"Cliberg," he said, addressing one of the military officials surrounding his desk. "Prepare a brief statement on what took place tonight. The Alliance is beginning to raise questions."

"Yes sir," replied Cliberg.

"Considering what happened… no one is to be allowed near the crash site," continued Durandal. "We'll deal with it ourselves and send our own recovery team."

"Understood sir," said Cliberg, saluting before turning and leaving. The Chairman turned his attention to the other officers.

"If I'm not mistaken, Meyrin had an older sister," he said. "Have her come here please. I must explain to her how this came about. And I have some important questions I need to ask her. Can I have yo–"

"With your permission, Chairman, I'd like to handle Lunamaria myself," cut in a voice suddenly, turning everyone's attention to Suiren Kyusai, standing at the entrance to the room. Durandal was not surprised—there were few people who would interrupt him mid-sentence, and she was perhaps foremost among them.

"Do you really know enough to explain the situation?" asked Durandal. Suiren nodded, and the Chairman let out a small sigh, certain that she wasn't lying. No doubt, it could be confirmed that she'd heard everything that happened in this room, and given the time she'd served on the _Minerva_, it would be suspicious if he were to deny her. "Very well then. Thank you. When you've finished explaining what happened, please bring her here."

Suiren nodded, throwing a quick salute before leaving. Durandal then turned his attention to Talia.

"We're going to have to conduct a thorough search of their rooms onboard the _Minerva_," he said. "Captain Gladys?"

"Yes, of course," she said. "But before that, I think you owe me an explanation."

"I would tell you everything, even if you weren't glaring at me like that, Talia," replied the Chairman. "In fact, I was hoping to get your opinion on this entire affair anyway. After all, I'm the one who brought Athrun back and made him a member of FAITH. And yet this is the sad result." The Chairman looked away, his feigned surprise and sorrow fooling everyone present—that is, except for the unnoticed eavesdroppers. "I'm as shocked by all of this as you are."

"Chairman," said a soldier, walking up to the desk and saluting. Durandal held up a hand to momentarily forestall him.

"I'm aware of how much trouble I've caused you," he said, addressing Talia. "I sincerely apologize. I promise I'll make time for you later on. Until then, please try to remain calm." With that, Durandal followed the soldier out of the office. None of them noticed as three shadowed figures slipped away from the office.

**

* * *

**

A short while later

"Suiren? What happened?" asked Luna in confusion as the blonde led her through the halls of Gibraltar.

"Please wait," replied Suiren. "I'll explain in a moment."

"This has to do with that alarm, right? And that stuff that started flying about a spy?"

"Yes, now please, hold on a minute," said Suiren, firmly enough that Luna fell silent. A moment later, the FAITH agent led the young Redcoat into her room, locking the doors. "This room is secure. I've made sure of that."

"Okay, so will you tell me what's going on _now_?"

"Athrun and Meyrin have been accused of treason."

"What?"

"Calm down, it's just an excuse and you and I both know it," said Suiren, turning to face the redhead and putting her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Listen, Gil decided Athrun was a liability, and Meyrin helped him escape. They fled on a GOUF Ignited, but Shinn and Rey caught up, and they were downed." Luna gasped, starting to tremble. "Please Luna, stay calm. I don't want to give you false hope, but there's a chance that they're still alive."

"A-alive? What do you mean? How could this happen?" Luna collapsed to her knees, tears forming in her eyes. Suiren knelt down next to the young girl.

"Luna!" she said sternly, drawing the Redcoat's eyes back to her. "Listen to me. The Chairman is playing everything on the idea that those two were traitors. That means you're going to be under suspicion to make the ruse believable. Now whether or not Meyrin is still alive, you have to remain calm and don't make accusations of your own. If she is alive, you're not helping her by getting yourself in trouble. And if she's dead, then you'll just be throwing away your life."

"Suiren…" Luna couldn't control it. She broke down crying, and once again, the FAITH agent thought about the cruelty of making this girl grow up on the frontlines.

**

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**

Durandal's Office

Half an hour later

"Excuse me Chairman," said Suiren, stepping into the office. Durandal stared at the blonde, knowing she would speak freely, for which reason he'd made sure to clear out the office and shut down all monitoring.

"So Suiren, where is Ms. Hawke?" he asked smoothly.

"Lunamaria needs to rest," answered the blonde. "The news of what has happened hit her hard."

"Is that so?" asked Durandal, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I take it, then, that you do not believe she had anything to do with this?"

"I doubt it," said Suiren, walking up to his desk. "At a guess, Meyrin's actions were merely a spur of the moment thing. I, personally, believe her only involvement was trying to help Athrun escape." She raised an eyebrow. "Unless some evidence has come to light that says otherwise, of course."

"No," said Durandal. "No new evidence just yet regarding Meyrin, but we found signs that Athrun managed to hack in and copy the Ragnarok data."

"Ragnarok?"

"It's the codename for our upcoming attack on Heaven's Base, where more than half of Logos has now gathered," explained Durandal. "The Destiny Project was a part of that, and information on those machines was in the data on Ragnarok."

"I see," replied Suiren slowly.

"In any case, this has proven an unfortunate mess," continued Durandal. "And even if Ms. Hawke is in no condition to speak, I'm glad you came regardless, as I wished to speak to you as well. I'm curious as to whether or not you have any objections to Rey being assigned to the Legend, with the Impulse assigned to Aleksi Shimizu instead."

"I don't believe that is my concern any longer, Gil," said the blonde softly. Durandal's expression turned to one of surprise.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I believe the time has come for me to return to the Kyusai Team," explained Suiren. "The _Minerva_ was supposed to be Zane's command, not mine, and I think its time he got it. I'd also like your approval on several other transfers. If you won't approve them, though…" Suiren leaned forward, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. "Then I'll go to Defense Committee Chairman Yuri Amalfi. That is, unless you really meant what you said when you claimed to be Commander-in-chief?" The eyebrow over Suiren's smoldering crimson orb rose fractionally, and Durandal had to fight off a wince and a cold sweat. Suiren's eyes could be a damned powerful intimidation tool in a way that one couldn't even call her on. "Did you, Gil? Did you really reassign the powers of the Defense Committee Chairman to yourself?"

Durandal raised his hands in a placating manner. "Now Suiren, you know that's not what I meant," he said. "I referred instead to my position as Chairman of the PLANTs. I apologize." Suiren straightened up.

"I don't think an apology was necessary, but I admit to being concerned," she said. "Gil, far too many mistakes have been made by people in power. The more power they have, the more mistakes they make and the bigger they are."

"I know, Suiren," said Durandal softly. "I know. But please, trust me when I say that my only goal is an end to war."

"Gil… father put it best when he said that war would never end," murmured Suiren. "Logos… weapons aren't the cause of war. The real cause lies in the human heart. You can't just put a stop to that."

"I'm going to try. If we don't, then there really is no hope, and Rau's vision will eventually become a reality." Durandal's eyes, for the first time since Suiren had been that little girl named Reine, radiated complete honestly. "I will not let that happen. No matter what. Even if I must become the villain to do so."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Broken bones, hypothermia, probably a concussion… still, at least they were alive. Kisaka was relieved by that, for several reasons, among them the knowledge that Kira and Cagalli would never forgive him if Athrun had died, regardless of whether or not he'd been able to do anything about it.

Kisaka had infiltrated one of the defecting fleets from the Republic of East Asia, easier than other deflecting fleets or those of nations that had sided with ZAFT against Logos, thanks to the influence Orb had within some small groups of East Asia. Originally, he was only here to act as a minor spy, getting relatively public information back to the Terminal a bit faster than official channels allowed.

It had been quite a shock for Kisaka when Nicol Amalfi approached him, revealed himself as a Terminal agent, and told him that Athrun was on the run from base security. Even more shocking was the identity of Nicol's companion, and the package they'd delivered to him, which they'd made him swear he would get back to Orb along with Athrun and the girl that had turned out to be with the Crimson Knight.

Kisaka drove his boat relentlessly towards the location at which he knew the new Izanamian submarine was hiding. From there, he'd be able to contact the Terminal for transport, or perhaps the sub would even have transport that would get him to Orb quickly, for Kisaka had no idea what had been put on that vessel.

Kisaka let out a sigh, glancing back at his three unconscious passengers, two of them swathed in bandages and tightly wrapped in blankets.

It was definitely a mess, but with any luck, things would turn out all right regardless.

**

* * *

**

The next morning

"Good morning sir!" said Shinn and Rey simultaneously, saluting Durandal.

"Good morning," he said, nodding at them in a signal to stand at ease. "I am sorry about last night. A difficult task and with little warning."

"Not at all sir," said Rey.

"But you two did an excellent job," complimented Durandal. "Thank you."

"Shinn shot them down sir," said Rey. The Redcoat in questioned gasped slightly.

"Is that so?" said Durandal. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright sir," said Shinn. "Thank you. But…"

"Hmm?"

"Why would Athrun and Meyrin… do something like this?" asked Shinn.

"We haven't found the cockpit yet, and we're still trying to sort out the details," said Durandal after a moment. "But we found signs that someone had hacked into the Ragnarok files."

"Ragnarok, sir?" Durandal couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Yes, that's the codename we chose for the assault on Heaven's Base," he said. "I admit, perhaps a little grandiose. I told Suiren about it last night, but I'll take she didn't mention it to you?"

"No sir," said Shinn as Rey subtly glanced between the two.

"Yes, well, I'm sure she's quite busy right now," said the Chairman. "Regardless, those files had data on the Destiny Project." Shinn gasped slightly. "The data would not have been easy to access. But perhaps for someone with an intelligence background…"

"Like Meyrin, sir?" suggested Rey.

"Hmm… it's possible, though stands in contradiction to Suiren's theories," commented Durandal. He turned his attention to Shinn. "There's something else of great concern. We believe that he also tried to take Lacus with him." Shinn gasped. "But she refused… or so we thought. You see, Lacus has disappeared."

"What?" cried Shinn. Rey's eyes went wide with the same shock.

"That's right," said Durandal. "The last time anyone saw her, she was in Athrun's quarters when a security team was sent to request his presence in my office. I wanted to keep things quiet until I knew whether or not Athrun had any involvement in the hacking, given his recent behavior. And she hasn't been seen since."

"Then that suggests that this incident isn't as isolated as we initially hoped," said Rey. "I can only think of one group that would want the Ragnarok data. Compounded with Lacus Clyne's disappearance, this would suggest…"

"Logos?" murmured Shinn.

"I was afraid of that possibility as well," said Durandal. "When this war began, Athrun came to me and said that he wanted to avert this conflict no matter what. I trusted him, and that's why I reinstated him. If he really meant that, why would he have a problem with me eliminating Logos and ending the war?"

"I understand your feelings completely sir," said Rey. "But there's no point in worrying about all of that now. We're behind you all the way Mr. Chairman."

"Rey…" murmured Shinn.

"Though difficult, you have chosen to take the alternate path," said Rey. "We all support that."

"Rey…" whispered Durandal softly. Shinn smiled slightly, and nodded his agreement.

"We await your next orders sir," said Rey, saluting along with Shinn.

"I am honored," said Durandal. "For your next orders… Suiren has the details. You are to meet her in Briefing Hall One in an hour's time. Please, don't be late."

"We won't sir."

**

* * *

**

Suiren's Quarters

The room was completely silent, a sharp contrast to the previous night when it was filled with the sobs of a nearly broken young woman. Suiren had stayed by Luna's side through the night after getting the Chairman off her protégé-to-be's back, and now smiled down at the young Redcoat, armed with plenty of good news for her as she shook her awake.

"Suiren?" murmured Luna groggily.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," said Suiren jokingly. "It's time to get up."

"Huh?" Luna suddenly registered where she was, and let a small cry of embarrassment. "What am I doing in your quarters again?"

"Hmm, was last night's news about the GOUF being shot down but Athrun and Meyrin surviving, if injured, that much of a shock?"

Instantly, Lunamaria was wide-awake, eyes wide as she stared at Suiren, who smiled serenely back at the girl.

"A contact of mine informed me that a Taiyonoha submarine in the area picked them up before ZAFT arrived," she explained. "They're in pretty bad condition, but I hear that they'll pull through. Athrun got it worse than Meyrin and will be out of commission for a while, but nothing reached the point of being life-threatening."

In the next instant, Luna had tackled Suiren to the ground, wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde, sobbing in a mixture of gratitude and joy.

"Thank you," she sobbed over and over and over again. Suiren wrapped her own arms comfortingly around the redhead, rubbing her back gently.

"That's not necessary," she said. "You're family Luna."

"Huh?" Luna lifted her head from Suiren's chest, looking into the blonde's mismatched eyes. Suiren smiled.

"We've got a meeting to attend," she said. "I'll explain everything there. But I really need to clean up the spot on my shirt. That'll just look awkward."

Luna let out a small, embarrassed cry, jumping off her commanding officer who did indeed have a distinct wet spot over her breasts from where Luna had been sobbing.

Suiren laughed slightly at Luna as she pulled herself to her feet.

"No one in ZAFT knows about what I told you, so just tell them you were crying over Meyrin's 'death', okay?" Luna nodded meekly, blushing in embarrassment at how she behaved in front of—on _top_ _of_—her commanding officer. Suiren just shook her head, smiling as she opened her bag up to find a clean shirt.

**

* * *

**

Briefing Hall One

An hour later

Gibraltar's major briefing halls were built to handle groups upwards of three hundred individuals. Since they were usually used only by commanders who would in turn relay the details to their teams, this was generally far in excess of what was needed, except when preparing for major operations.

Today, however, the briefing hall seemed almost empty. There were only two full (though very large) teams worth of pilots present, the Kyusai and Kessel Teams (the latter of whom had arrived earlier that morning), and the pilots of the _Minerva_. Shinn glanced over at the Kyusai Team, with whom Luna was sitting, avoiding eye contact with him, and he looked away, not blaming her at all. Zane and Heine had also joined the Kyusai Team for the briefing, while Nicol, Saul and Shiho were grouped with their old team as well. Nabiki had joined the _Minerva_ pilots, which made a few of them rather uncomfortable.

Suiren, certainly the most senior in the entire room, with more time in the military than many pilots of the Kessel Team and certainly more than any other member of FAITH, was heading this briefing.

"Good morning everyone," she said, standing on the dais at the center of the room. "As I'm sure you're all aware by now, last night, Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke, apparently in possession of data on the upcoming Operation Ragnarok, attempted to flee the base, and were shot down." The _Minerva_ pilots, several Kessel Team pilots, as well as Zane, all shifted slightly at that. "The full details are still unknown. The cockpit of the commandeered GOUF Ignited was located less than an hour ago, something I myself learned of just a few minutes ago, and was apparently unoccupied." That drew a number of stifled gasps, which Suiren ignored. "The fate of both Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke is currently unknown. However, both have been declared MIA." Suiren swept her eyes over them before letting out a small sigh.

"The Chairman has asked me to give you all an early briefing on the upcoming attack on Heaven's Base, scheduled to begin in seven days, on January 15th, at 1400 hours," she continued. "This will only be if they refuse our terms of surrender. Now, to make the situation clear, the military industrial complex known as 'Logos' has been bottled up by ZAFT." A large display screen behind her suddenly lit up, showing a complete map of the world. Sections of land were color-coded blue or red to show them as either friendly or unfriendly territory. Suddenly, yellow circles began to flash at various points all across the map.

"Those yellow circles represent locations where Logos hasn't been rooted out," explained Suiren. "As you can see, most locations are in the Atlantic Federation, but even there, the citizens have been in revolt against Logos. Since ZAFT has cut off all attempts to flee into space, Logos has instead gathered at Heaven's Base in Iceland. This base is even more heavily fortified than the old Earth Forces HQ of JOSH-A in the last war, and unlike back then, its being guarded relentlessly." The displayed map zoomed in on the region of Heaven's Base, displaying the massive defense fleet and, below that, a blue-colored attack force moving towards the enemy. "In order to take Heaven's Base, we'll be deploying a massive drop operation simultaneous to a naval attack, spearheaded by the _Minerva_, Kyusai and Kessel Teams. Even with that, for this attack to succeed, we'll need a massive attack force. Fortunately, anti-Logos elements within the now-broken Earth Alliance have gathered here to assist in our attack. Nevertheless, when we commence Operation Ragnarok, we will be forced to leave openings through which members of Logos might escape. That means it is imperative that we finish the battle quickly and capture them before any can do so."

One of the pilots raised his hand, drawing her attention.

"Yes, Mr. Raveshaw?"

"What if the enemy deploys those new mobile weapons of theirs?" he asked. "We can handle the Zamza-Zahs and Gells-Ghes, but what about the Destroy? As I understand it, even the Freedom barely succeeded in defeating that thing."

"A good question, but having had time to examine the data, we believe we've determined a weak point in these machines," said Suiren. The screen switched to footage of the Destroy battling the Freedom. "As you all know, these machines have a level of firepower that could be considered comparable to a small army. They're classified as strategic weapons rather than tactical ones the way our mobile suits are, and yes, we know that Logos has produced at least another half-dozen of these machines." There were many, _many_ gasps of surprise. "However, they are slow, and the cockpit is as exposed on this machine as it is on standard mobile suits. For their size, they are remarkably fast and agile, but it shouldn't be anything we can't handle. The best method of attack is likely to be a flanking maneuver to draw off the pilots' attention, focusing on evasion rather than attack. Meanwhile, someone can close in under the reflectors and attack the cockpit directly."

"Makes sense," commented Zane.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you should underestimate these things," said Suiren sternly. "Even if defeated within a minute of its appearance, a single Destroy could inflict severe casualties on us and our allies. If they show up, don't try to be a hero. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," said Suiren. "Further details will be put forth as the attack plan is refined, but for now, our objective is to capture all the gates and force Heaven's Base into surrender. For this operation, the Kessel Team is being assigned the new full production model of the ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited, and the same is true for all members of the Kyusai Team. Commander Diana Kessel, you are being assigned one of the GOUF Ignited High-Maneuver Type 2, since last night's incident has left us with a spare." Diana nodded in acknowledgement. "Saul Kessel, Nicol Amalfi, Shiho Hahnenfuss, Tristan Palleon and Lunamaria Hawke are being assigned to the remaining HM2s, while Aleksi Shimizu is being reassigned to the Impulse and Rey Za Burrel to the Legend."

"Commander?" gasped Aleksi.

"I'd also like to extend my official congratulations to my lieutenant," said Suiren, ignoring Aleksi and looking at Zane instead, who was visibly confused. "The _Minerva_ was supposed to be your command from the beginning, Zane. I'd like to congratulate you on finally getting it."

"Ma'am? You're not taking the command yourself?" questioned Zane. Suiren shook her head.

"No," she said. "I'll be returning to command of the Kyusai Team." There were suppressed cheers from her team over this. "Heine Westenfluss is also being pulled from the Kyusai Team roster and stuck aboard the _Minerva_ with you."

"I see," said Heine. "Understood ma'am."

"Furthermore, Saul Kessel, Nicol Amalfi and Shiho Hahnenfuss will be returning to the Kessel Team," said Suiren, glancing their way. The three in question all gave her miniscule nods, perhaps of appreciation. "And, finally, Lunamaria Hawke is being reassigned from the _Minerva_ to the Kyusai Team."

Now _that_ got a reaction from the audience. Many simply sat there, confused or numb with shock, while others let out loud, strangled gasps. Shinn was torn between sadness and relief, while Lunamaria herself was so surprised that it took her a moment to comprehend what Suiren had just said… that is, until Mai Sierra and Shiori Grace both cheerfully welcomed her to the team.

"That is all," said Suiren, throwing them a salute. "Dismissed!"

A few moments later, the briefing hall was empty, save for two individuals: Suiren and Luna.

"Commander… why the transfer now?" questioned Luna. Suiren shrugged slightly.

"It's time for me to return to my real team Luna," she said. "I just thought it would be best for you to join me. I talked to the Chairman last night about the transfers. He didn't necessarily seem happy with it, but he agreed that the _Minerva_ didn't need us anymore. That ship now has all the major machines of the Destiny Project. All it lost was five of the six GOUFs, but the Reckoning and Avenger more than make up for that." Suiren shrugged again. "Once this battle is done, we'll know what course the rest of the war will take. It might even end with this battle. I can't say for certain. But regardless of that… I wanted to welcome you to my family Luna." The blonde smiled. "Welcome to the Kyusai Team, Lunamaria Hawke."

"Suiren…" Luna straightened her shoulders and snapped off a salute. "Thank you Commander."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"I wonder what the Commander is thinking," commented Shinn as he walked through the halls of Gibraltar with Rey, Tristan and Aleksi. They were all that was left of the _Minerva_'s original roster of eight pilots. Being honest with themselves, they knew that they'd been lucky to only lose half of the original roster (though of course, one of them was still alive, just not with them anymore), and also acknowledged that their original commander would finally be coming onto the roster.

"I can't help but wonder about that as well," said Aleksi. "It isn't like her to just transfer people out of her team like that, or to just transfer people in. Besides, the Chairman himself said that the _Minerva_ would be serving as a flagship for the Kyusai Team." She glanced at the others. "This scenario doesn't make any sense to me."

"Well, consider that Zane Scirocco was supposed to be our commander to start with," said Rey. "And I heard Heine wasn't part of the Kyusai Team for long, nor was he someone she requested, though she did accept him into the team."

"So most of his time on the team was spent serving that Zane guy, right?" said Tristan. "She probably feels that Heine would work better with Zane than with her."

"Well, I guess I'm fine with it," said Shinn softly. "Honestly, after last night… I was afraid of facing them." Aleksi reached out, putting a comforting hand on Shinn's shoulder.

"That's understandable," she said. "This'll give all of you time to grieve and prepare for the time you'll have to face each other." She gave him a soft smile. "So just try to focus on that, alright?"

"Yeah… yeah okay," replied Shinn.

**

* * *

**

Unknown location

Groaning slightly, Meer's eyes began to lift open after what seemed like days of being closed. The sudden, bright light accompanying it caused her to shut her eyes again to avoid the pain brought with it. What in the world had happened?

"Hmm? Finally decided to join us in the land of the living, huh?" came a gentle voice. Meer's eyelids lifted slightly and her gaze slid lazily towards the source of the voice.

It took her a moment, but when she started to recognize the uniform worn by that gentle-eyed woman standing over her, Meer started to get scared.

"W-where am I?" she stuttered. That woman was wearing the uniform of an Orb officer. The uniform of an enemy soldier.

"You're aboard the _Suijin_," the woman explained, smiling gently. "It's a prototype Izanamian submarine attack carrier."

"Izanami?" gasped Meer. What was she doing aboard an Izanami vessel?

"Yes, that's right," replied the woman. "I'm Commander Saki Hirano, the commanding officer of this vessel, though as I understand it, that's only a temporary assignment."

"W-why am I here? And how did I get here?"

"Colonel Kisaka didn't offer many details, Ms. Campbell," said Saki with a slight frown. Meer gasped.

"W-what did you call me?" she stuttered.

"Meer Campbell," said Saki. "We're well aware that you're not the real Lacus Clyne, so don't even pretend otherwise. You'll find that our Intelligence sources are extraordinarily effective… not that they'd need to be, seeing as the real Lacus Clyne was giving a performance at Izanami while you were in the PLANTs."

Meer remained silent, eyes wide. Saki couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"In any event, it seems someone felt it best to get you away from Durandal," she said. "He no longer needs Lacus's influence to finish off Logos." Saki turned to look at the beds across from Meer's. "And if those two are any indication, your death wasn't very far off."

Frightened by the words, Meer turned her head meekly to follow Saki's gaze, realizing she was in an infirmary… and saw Athrun and Meyrin lying on unconscious on the other beds, covered in bandages and with IVs sticking out of their arms. Meer gasped in shock.

"The machine they were in was destroyed by two of those new ZAFT Gundams," explained Saki. "The Destiny and Legend, I believe. In any event, they were lucky to survive, but it'll be best to get them to proper medical facilities to speed their treatment along."

"Where are we going?" murmured Meer, eyes fixated on Athrun.

"We have some allies in Eurasia," said Saki. "They'll be providing a transport plane to Orb for Colonel Kisaka, yourself, and both of our patients. We'd take you all the way there ourselves, but it's probably best to get them to Orb quickly."

"But Orb is with the Alliance!" cried Meer fearfully. Saki shook her head.

"Officially, yes, but we'll be taking you to the Izanami Embassy," she said. "And those two will be going to a Taiyonoha-owned hospital. I assure you, you'll be quite safe."

Meer didn't say anything, looking away from Saki.

"You're free to roam about the unrestricted areas of the ship," continued Saki. "There's a guard outside who will act as your guide if you decide to leave. We've prepared some proper quarters for you as well. Please understand that, for security reasons, you won't be allowed out on your own, but otherwise, we'll try to grant you as much privacy as we can."

Meer didn't reply, and Saki left the infirmary to speak to Kisaka.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

At about halfway around the world from Gibraltar, as the ZAFT base approached noon, Orb approached one in the morning of the same day (being eleven hours behind). A lot of civilians tended to sleep at this time. About a tenth as many remained awake.

And about half the military personnel refused to sleep. This also applied to the Terminal and Izanami military personnel.

"So… that's the situation," said Makoto, finishing her explanation of what happened at Gibraltar yesterday. "Faith is already having the Kurama staff prepare for their arrival. We'll have to prepare ourselves to receive a guest as well."

Minako shook her head. "What is Misuumi thinking?" she questioned.

"Probably that Durandal won't need Meer much longer," said Kira. "This'll make things easier for us though. With any luck, it'll even allow us to shatter the Chairman's momentum without a single shot being fired."

"So now we have to try and convince her that she can't trust Durandal?" muttered Cagalli. Makoto nodded.

This meeting was being kept _very_ private. Aside from the Taiyonoha, the only ones who knew about it were Kira and Cagalli (everyone else was asleep). Given the large circle they had, that was a lot of people they were keeping in the dark.

But it was also necessary. Faith was recording everything for later relay to Lacus, but the fact of the matter was that Terminal had made by far its boldest move yet, rescuing two fugitives out from under Durandal's nose and kidnapping his faux Lacus at the same time.

"My agent still hasn't been able to obtain much data on the Destiny Project," said Makoto, changing the subject. "They seem to have their own version of our new BIO-Sensor technology, and the machines use a DRAGOON system developed from the Providence ZAKU and Chaos."

"So, a different type from the one we're developing," murmured Kira. Makoto nodded.

"It seems they've focused on a DRAGOON system that ordinary humans could operate," she said. "On the other hand, ours require even higher degrees of spatial awareness to operate than normal, but based on Intel reports, our version is much stronger than the one ZAFT has developed." She smirked slightly. "All in all… I'd say ZAFT's machines are ridiculously outmatched when compared to ours."

"With the new assault frame, that shouldn't be a surprise," said Cagalli, leaning forward. "But how will everyone handle it? You said it's completely different from normal mobile suits."

"It is," said Makoto. "The data Faith provided to Lacus when we sent her to the Terminal was actually to address that." There was a serene smile gracing the redhead's lips.

"What are you planning?" questioned Minako. Makoto just continued to smile.

**

* * *

**

_Vosgulov_-class Submarine _Haku_

Docked at Gibraltar

Several hours later

"Welcome aboard, Commander Kyusai," greeted Captain Allan Striker, snapping off a quick salute, which Suiren returned.

"Thank you Captain," she said, walking past him onto the submarine, Luna at her side. "I understand this vessel is new?"

"Yes ma'am," answered Striker. "The upcoming Operation will be the _Haku_'s maiden voyage."

"No, it won't," said Suiren.

"Ma'am?"

"We'll be launching today for a shakedown cruise," explained Suiren. "We'll be escorted by the two other submarines in the unit, the _Cousteau_ and the _Hekla_. Lunamaria here is new to the team, and needs to learn to work with the rest of them, and I don't trust equipment fresh out of the factory."

"Understood, Commander," said Striker, snapping off a salute before heading towards the bridge, while Suiren headed for the main briefing room.

"Have you ever been on a _Vosgulov_ sub before, Luna?" asked Suiren. The young Redcoat shook her head.

"No, this is the first time," she said, glancing around. "It feels a lot more cramped then the _Minerva_."

"It is," agreed Suiren. "The corridors on these subs are narrower than on other ZAFT warships, and the ceilings are noticeably lower as well." With that, Suiren opened a door to her side, and led Luna into the briefing room.

"Commander Kyusai, ma'am!" came a dozen voices in almost perfect sync as every one of the Kyusai Team pilots snapped to their feet and saluted Suiren, who sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"At ease, and that's an _order_ this time," she said. The pilots did as she requested, and Suiren let out another sigh.

"I believe it's time for a formal introduction," she said. "All of you, of course, are familiar with Lunamaria Hawke." Suiren smiled at the nervous redhead. "Now, Luna, how many of my pilots have you met?"

"Um… the Trinitys," she said, earning a slight giggle from Yuki, only to have Yuna gently berate her twin.

"Well, let's get on with things, it'll take awhile for them to load up the new machines," said Suiren.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar Hangar A-2

Zane sat in the cockpit of the Reckoning, typing away at the keyboard, familiarizing himself with its systems. At its core, the machine was very much so one that he'd wanted to leave in the past. Now, it seemed there was no choice.

Zane sighed, shaking his head. He was allowing himself to get caught up in the past too much since this war had begun. At times, he found himself struggling between three different versions of himself: the one that had existed before the first war, the one that had existed during it, and the one that existed now. It was the first one that had cropped up a lot since learning that Chris was still alive, causing the tables to be reversed compared to the last war, where it was Chris who hesitated and Zane who was looking to put him down.

Perhaps this machine really was what he needed.

Zane shook away those thoughts and instead focused on the new system: the Neuro-comm. Interface. The device was a prototype, designed to receive so-called 'Newtype brainwaves' and translate it into data, theoretically increasing not only the reaction speed of the mobile suit itself, but also maximizing the pilot's ability to control the DRAGOON system.

The DRAGOON system itself, on this machine at least, was a rather poor model based on Zane's knowledge, but that suited him just fine. The entire machine was oriented for close combat, with the exception of its Coma double beam cannon, a weapon that could put the Conviction's beam bazooka to shame. Of course, Zane didn't doubt that the Avenger's weapons could put its predecessor to shame several times over.

Zane sighed, storing the keyboard and control panels, climbing out of the cockpit. For a brief second, he thought he saw the ghost of Le Creuset standing outside, but knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

He was no longer a part of the Kyusai Team. Zane knew, deep down, that Suiren had chosen to abandon him, and he wondered why that was. There was a myriad of possible reasons, but Zane didn't pretend to understand Suiren at all.

Shaking his head, Zane left the hangar, heading for his quarters to get some rest.

**

* * *

**

The _Haku_

After Luna was formally introduced to everybody (and discovered Shizuru's past connection to Heine), Suiren glanced at Shiori, who gave a slight nod of the head, and let out a sigh of relief.

"All right everyone, settle down," she said, motioning towards the seats. The entire team listened without hesitation, except for Luna, who hadn't expected any sort of briefing, but it was only for a second before she took the empty seat between Mai and Yuki. "We're launching this fancy new sub today for a shakedown cruise. We'll _also_ be putting your new machines to the test, and getting Luna here comfortable working with the rest of our family." The blonde smiled slightly. "I don't think any of this should prove difficult for you."

"Ma'am, if these GOUFs prove a challenge, I'll _resign_ from this unit," said Murase, smirking. "Wouldn't want to make our Commander look bad, right?" Suiren just shook her head in amusement as the others chuckled. Luna shifted, feeling somewhat nervous. The atmosphere was completely different from any of her previous experiences in these sorts of situations.

"Moving on to a more serious issue," said Suiren. "Last night, the Chairman's faux Lacus disappeared." Luna gasped, while all the rest straightened up slightly in their seats. Luna's surprise was two-fold: not only had that impersonator vanished, but the Kyusai Team knew she'd been a fake?

"What happened?" questioned Max.

"_I_ happened," said Suiren simply, drawing stares from the entire group. "Chairman Durandal decided to dispose of Athrun Zala, because the Crimson Knight wasn't nearly as supportive as he'd hoped. When 'Lacus' refused to go with Athrun because she didn't want to give up her role, I knocked her out after Athrun left, and with some help from a friend of mine, smuggled her out of Gibraltar. She should be on her way to the Taiyonoha now. And if any of you want to turn me in for this… now's the time."

"That depends…" commented Matthew, leaning back casually. "Can you pay us enough money to buy all the PLANTs three times over… _each_? It'll take at least that before we'll even consider it, Commander." Luna glanced around for a moment before taking a breath.

"I'm with you all the way… Suiren," she said softly. The blonde smiled fondly, looking her team over, knowing it had been the right choice to bring Luna in… and she felt tears forming in her eyes, shutting them in a futile effort to conceal from her team just how much their loyalty really meant to her.

"Thank you."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Thank you for your help, Commander," said Kisaka, saluting Saki. The Izanamian officer returned the salute, a small smile on her features.

"It was no trouble at all, Colonel," she said. "Just make sure they get to Orb."

"Of course." With that, Kisaka turned and headed for the airplane. It was small, non-descript, and would be able to make the trip easily.

Aboard the plane, Meer glanced out the window nervously. There were two Taiyonoha soldiers aboard, probably to make sure she didn't try to run. She couldn't believe her situation, but also couldn't fault her captors entirely—she'd been treated with a great deal of respect from them. It was hard to admit, but this was just what she should've expected from soldiers of a force so desperate to avoid engaging in conflict unless absolutely necessary that they'd abandoned their own country when it was ready to take up arms.

Kisaka boarded the plane, heading for the cockpit to let the pilot know that everyone was ready. Meer glanced at the beds on which Athrun and Meyrin lay, and let out a small sigh.

She didn't know what was going to happen… but she was scared. She was falling right into the clutches of people who knew who she really was and who were radically opposed to the Chairman, whose noble character she had never questioned before.

What was she going to do?

* * *

The _Haku_

Several hours later

"Captain Striker, are we ready?" asked Suiren from the cockpit of her mobile suit.

"_Yes ma'am,_" replied Striker.

"Good," said Suiren as the catapults deployed. "Suiren Kyusai, Rose Gundam, taking off."

"_Lunamaria Hawke, Force GOUF Ignited, launching!_"

"_Shizuru Vashti, GOUF, sortieing!_"

The three mobile suits launched from the _Haku_'s vertical catapults. At the same time, the _Cousteau_ and the _Hekla_ launched the eleven remaining GOUFs.

"Alright everyone, break up and get a feel for the new machines first," said Suiren. Most of the pilots did so, save for Murase and Auron, both of whom had previous experience piloting the machine. Instead, those two took up flanking positions on the Rose as the others practiced routine aerial maneuvers. Luna was easily the most clumsy of them, but that seemed more a case of her not being used to this sort of thing than any lack of skill on her part.

"_They seem to be adapting well,_" commented Auron.

"_That's no surprise,_" said Murase. "_The control scheme is pretty much identical to the ZAKU. All one needs to worry about is the handling of the machine itself._"

"_I'm surprised, though,_" said Auron, his GOUF turning to the Rose. "_I didn't expect you to take in Hawke._"

"Lunamaria has a lot of potential," said Suiren softly. "I won't see it squandered." The others were silent in response.

A few minutes later, the rest of the team had finished maneuvers. Suiren looked them over.

"Alright, I'm splitting everyone into wing pairs," she said. "Luna, you're with me. Auron, you'll fly on Murase's wing. Yuki, you'll be on Yuna's. Max with Ishimura, Chihiro with Matthew, Mai with Shiori, and Christina with Shizuru. Understood?"

"_Yes ma'am!_" came the voices of all her pilots as Luna settled onto her flank.

"Good," said Suiren. "Let's see how everyone handles the new machines. Luna, try to keep up." With that, Suiren shot forward, blindingly quick, Luna struggling to maintain position on her Commander's wing.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"Welcome to Orb, Ms. Campbell," greeted Serenity with a slight smile.

"I'm Lacus," insisted Meer. Serenity just shook her head and headed into the mansion, the guards making sure Meer followed her.

"You can claim what you like," said Serenity. "But having spent the last three years meeting the real Lacus Clyne regularly, I would like to think I can tell the difference between the real Lacus and a fake." She paused, turning to face Meer, and pointing idly to the teenager's prominent bust and immodest outfit. "Case in point: Lacus does not have a bust to rival my daughter's, nor would she ever wear such a scandalous outfit in public."

Meer scowled slightly, opening her mouth to retort before Serenity continued.

"For someone who claims to be a big fan, you don't know very much about Lacus, do you?" said Serenity, turning around and heading back into the mansion. "Has Lacus ever worn anything so skimpy in any of her performances?"

"W-well, no…" murmured Meer, following the Taiyonoha matriarch nervously.

"And can you tell me what Divinity is?"

"Divinity?" questioned Meer, completely confused.

"Lacus knows what Divinity is," said Serenity, motioning for Meer to take a seat in the living room. The guards had left them at the entrance. "After all, her boyfriend is one of Divinity's children."

"Athrun is…?" started Meer, but Serenity cut her off.

"No, Meer," she said softly. "Her engagement to Athrun was broken off years ago. They never cared for each other as anything more than good friends." As Meer gasped, a small, fond smile graced Serenity's lips. "Lacus's boyfriend… and likely, fiancé soon enough… is Kira Yamato. The White Angel of Freedom."

"What?" cried Meer, jumping to her feet in surprise. Serenity chuckled slightly.

"Faith," she called gently. Meer nearly had a heart attack when a cerulean-eyed albino-woman closely resembling Serenity materialized from thin air at the matriarch's side. "Please show Ms. Campbell to her room and secure the perimeter. It must be kept an absolute secret that she is here."

"Yes, Lady Serenity," said Faith, turning to face the dumbstruck Meer. "Ms. Campbell, if you would follow me…? You'll have the chance to meet with some of the real Lacus's associates in a little while, once they're finished checking up on Athrun and Ms. Hawke."

Not even really registering what was being said to her, Meer just nodded, following after the projection as if in a trance.

**

* * *

**

Kurama Hospital

"Well Doctor?" asked Cagalli anxiously as Doctor Keita Asano stepped into the hall.

"They'll be fine," he said with a slight smile, not at all surprised by how anxious Orb's sovereign-in-make-shift-exile was about Athrun Zala's condition. "At this point, all that really can be done is to wait for them to recover on their own. Mr. Zala was a lot worse off than Ms. Hawke, and will probably have difficulty moving for the next week, and won't fully recover for about three weeks or so. Ms. Hawke, on the other hand, will probably be up and about in a few days, fully recovered in two weeks or so."

"I see," said Cagalli. "Any idea when Athrun might wake up?"

"Probably in a few hours," said Asano. "You're all free to visit them, of course."

"Thank you Doctor," said Cagalli, standing up to head into Athrun and Meyrin's room, Kira following after his sister. Makoto turned to the doctor.

"No one else knows about this, right?" she asked.

"Of course not," said Asano. "We understand how important this matter is." He glanced back at the room over his shoulder. "Mr. Zala is very dear to Lady Cagalli. We won't allow any harm to come to him. Myself, a few nurses and the directors are the only ones who know we're treating them. And we fully intend to keep it that way."

"Thank you," said Makoto with a slight nod before following after Kira and Cagalli.

**

* * *

**

Morgenroete Inc.

The mobile suit's right hand snapped forward in a punching motion, then pulled back just as quickly before it lashed out with a kick… only to overdo it and slip momentarily off-balance before the internal systems compensated.

"Damn," cursed Tolle softly. "This thing handles like no machine I've ever seen."

"_Its handling is the same as the Sincerity,_" said Shizuka. "_It would be more accurate to say it handles like no machine you've ever __**piloted**__._"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Tolle, manipulating the controls to move his new, still incomplete, machine throughout the hangar. "Its amazing, though. I can see everything without having to resort to subscreens or needed to input major control changes. And the reaction speed is simply unreal."

"_Well, it does have a modestly improved version of Sincerity's frame,_" said Shizuka. "_When we're done, it'll surpass the Sincerity, at least, until we finish the upgrades to it._"

"Upgrades?"

"_Not that it's any of your concern, but we're refining the Sincerity's systems and increasing its efficiency,_" said Shizuka. "_We want its performance to equal the Sentinels. It's the successor to the Dauntless, after all._"

"I see," said Tolle. "Hey, when are we gonna try out some of the Striker Packs on this thing?"

"_When we do tests outside this facility,_" said Shizuka. "_There's not enough room in there to test them properly._"

"That figures," grumbled Tolle. "With our luck, I'll be testing them under live fire!"

"_That's worked out fine for all of us before._"

"I don't want to push my luck."

**

* * *

**

Kurama Hospital

An hour later

Meyrin let out a small groan, darkness finally starting to lift from her mind. The last thing she remembered was the GOUF being slammed into the water by the Destiny, the sound of rushing water, the feel of the freezing ocean and being hit by what felt like a ton of bricks, then… nothing.

Meyrin's eyes lifted slightly, the dim lighting stinging them only a little. Then, a shadow fell across her face, relieving the sting from the light.

"You're awake," said a soft, familiar voice. "Is there anywhere in particular that hurts, Meyrin?"

Meyrin tried to say "no"—she was just very, _very_ sore—but all that came out was a groan.

"Easy now," said the person standing over her. "You took a pretty severe beating out there."

"W-where am I?" groaned Meyrin, voice cracking and drawing a slight gasp of pain from her dry throat.

"You're in a hospital," said the voice. "Now, don't speak. Let's see if we can get some water in you." At that point, Meyrin felt light pressure around her neck and back before she was gently lifted a little, and a cup of water put to her lips. The injured redhead gulped it down gratefully, relieving the dry burning in her throat almost instantly. When she was done, she was lain back down just as gently, and considerably more coherent, opening her eyes fully, though she was still somewhat out of it.

"There we go," said the woman who'd just given her the water. "Feeling better?"

"Y-yeah," gasped Meyrin, taking a few deep breaths. "W-where's Athrun?"

"On the other bed," said the emerald-eyed redhead standing over her. Meyrin turned her head slightly and saw Athrun lying unconscious exactly where the other woman had said, with two figures sitting at his bedside. "He'll be fine, though it'll take him longer to recover than you."

"I see," murmured Meyrin. "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me? Why Meyrin, I'm hurt."

It took her a moment, but the young ZAFT soldier finally _did_ recognize the person standing over her.

"Setsuna Taiyonoha?" she gasped, before a coughing fit overtook her. Setsuna put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down," she said, smiling slightly. "You're half-right. My real name is Makoto."

"Makoto?" questioned Meyrin quietly. The other redhead nodded.

"That's right," she said. "Setsuna was just an alias, a rather thin disguise really, but it worked well enough." Makoto smiled. "The time for the mask to come off is here, though. All that's left is to tell the world… but that's for later. For now, you should rest." Meyrin nodded slightly, feeling weary even from just these few minutes of being awake, and let her eyes drift back shut.

Once she was certain the younger redhead was asleep, Makoto turned to face Kira and Cagalli.

"You two want to stay here in case he wakes up?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Cagalli. Kira glanced back at her.

"You're going to see Campbell?" he asked. Makoto nodded, and Kira stood up. "Cagalli, look after Athrun for me. This is something I have to do as well."

"I understand Kira," said Cagalli.

"Thanks," said the brunet, smiling at his sister before leaving with Makoto.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

A little while later

Makoto kicked down the stand of her bike before getting off, then glanced at Kira to see him doing the same. The redhead pulled off her helmet, setting it on the bike and shaking out her long red hair.

"You sure you're ready for this?" she asked Kira as he set his helmet on his own bike. He glanced at her and nodded.

"This has to be settled at some point," he said. "Now seems the best time. Can you ask Faith to make sure she doesn't talk to Lacus though? I think it would be best if she were to meet Lacus for the first time in person."

"Faith?"

"I'll keep an eye on it," said Faith. "And let Lacus know as well."

"Thanks," said Kira as he and Makoto walked up to the garage door.

"Ms. Campbell is in the fourteenth guest room," said Faith. "She seems half-catatonic. Serenity told her about your relationship with Lacus, Kira."

"I see," said Kira softly as they stepped through the door and into the manor.

"Where is mom anyway?" asked Makoto.

"In her office. I've already told her you two are here to see Ms. Campbell."

"Okay, thanks," said Makoto. The two proceeded up the stairs to the first floor, where the guest rooms were. By now, Kira was familiar enough with the mansion to be able to navigate it easily, and the two soon arrived at Meer's room. Taking a deep breath to help mentally prepare himself so as to avoid getting angry, Kira raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Meer, who'd been just as catatonic as Faith had said, was jolted back to reality. She fidgeted nervously, wondering who could be outside that door, what they could want with her and…

The door gently opened up to reveal a handsome, violet-eyed brunet standing in front of Setsuna Taiyonoha. He seemed somewhat familiar, but Meer couldn't quite place where from.

"Hi," said the brunet, stepping into the room with the Taiyonoha Princess.

"I'd like to apologize for your current situation, Ms. Campbell," added the redhead. "Please, understand that you're here for your own protection."

"My protection? You people keep saying that but you kidnapped me!" said Meer, not even trying to deny that she wasn't Lacus anymore.

The brunet let out a sigh. "How the hell did you impersonate Lacus?" he questioned. Meer was starting to fume with indignation when he continued. "The only thing you seem to really have in common with her is the voice, unless we count the cosmetic surgery that gave you her face."

"Hey! Who are you to be saying stuff like that?" demanded Meer.

"I'm Kira Yamato," said the brunet. Meer's eyes widened. "Lacus is my girlfriend. I'd like to think I know enough to recognize the difference between you and Lacus and have the right to point them out."

"You… you're…" Now Meer realized why he was vaguely familiar: _he_ was the one talking to Athrun with Cagalli in that picture the Chairman had.

"Yes, he is the White Angel," said Makoto, stepping forward. "And I'm Makoto Taiyonoha. I'm also friends with Lacus. But I wouldn't need that to see the difference." Makoto shook her head. "People are easily deceived because, in truth, it's what they want. You're the same… right?"

"That's not true!" objected Meer.

"Well, according to what we've been able to learn, that's the case," said Kira. "You haven't gone anywhere with your music career because of your voice, right?"

Meer winced slightly, but remained silent. Kira had hit a bull's-eye.

"In any case, we thought we'd check up on how you were doing," said Makoto.

"How am I doing? Why you–"

Makoto sighed. "Durandal sent assassins after Lacus and myself," she said. Shock caused Meer's mouth to snap shut. "If he can't use someone, he kills them. That would've been your fate as well."

"If you don't believe us, then just look at what happened to Athrun," said Kira. "He'll be fine, but that's only because we had friends nearby who could help him. And it wasn't even that he was turning against ZAFT—he just wasn't supportive enough of Durandal." Kira's eyes narrowed dangerously, though he seemed to be looking into the past. "That man… he's one of the saboteurs of Divinity. Those people cost so many lives pointlessly… and…" Kira shook his head. "Just… Durandal is a manipulator. He's been using you to exploit Lacus. What we did was largely for your own protection… but if you really don't believe that or don't want to think of it this way… then think of it as us acting to protect Lacus from being exploited."

"Uh… um…" Meer couldn't find any words to reply with. Makoto glanced from Kira to Meer, then back again, before letting out a small sigh.

"A lot of people are gonna be uncomfortable with you here," she said. "Lacus is very important to all of us… well, most of us anyways. They really don't appreciate you impersonating her." Makoto walked up to Meer, kneeling down and placing a comforting hand on the younger girl's knee, looking the faux diva in the eyes. "So please… try to make it easier on everyone, including yourself, and don't pretend to be her."

Meer was silent for a moment before she glanced at Kira. He nodded his head slightly, confirming his agreement with Makoto's words.

They hadn't hurt her. They seemed to know so much. And… if they really were the Angels, then it was hardly unreasonable that they really did know Lacus and where she was.

"Okay."

**

* * *

**

The next day

Athrun's eyes slowly lifted open, his vision swimming for a moment before a familiar face finally came into focus.

"You're awake," said Kira, smiling slightly.

"Kira…" murmured Athrun. A weak smile formed on his lips. "Long time… no see…" His voice cracked, and Kira reached out, lifting him slightly and holding a glass of water to his lips. Athrun sipped the glass gratefully, and when he was done, Kira set him gently back down on the bed.

"Cagalli will be relieved to hear that you've woken up," said Kira. "Ami and Makoto had to drag her out to get something to eat just a little while ago. She'll be back soon." Athrun nodded slightly.

"How's Meyrin?" he asked as his memories started to come back into focus.

"A lot better than you are," said Kira. "She woke up yesterday. We moved her to the manor earlier to help keep all this under wraps."

"I see," said Athrun weakly. "Kira… I'm sorry. You were right."

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Kira. "Durandal has a natural gift for deception. It's made all the more difficult to see through when you consider that there is often a grain of truth in what he says."

"How did you know so much?" questioned Athrun.

"Makoto's spies are very effective, and they're all over the place," said Kira simply.

"How did I get here?"

"Colonel Kisaka recovered you and Meyrin before ZAFT could even mount a search," explained Kira. "After that, he got transport from the _Suijin_, a Taiyonoha submarine in the area, then used a plane to bring the three of you here."

"Three of us…?"

"Yeah," confirmed Kira. "Meer Campbell was brought along as well." Athrun gasped, jumping slightly in the bed, but Kira held him down.

"Meer's here?" he asked. Kira nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "We're hiding her at the manor as well. I talked to her yesterday." Kira shook his head. "I'm honestly disappointed. I would've expected you to at least _try_ and teach her a few things about Lacus."

"Well… honestly I just wanted to get meetings with her over with as quickly as possible, so I only ever mentioned it," admitted Athrun. At that moment, the door of Athrun's room opened, and a soft gasp drew their attention to Cagalli, staring at Athrun, tears in her eyes. The blonde rushed forward, Kira vacating his seat as Cagalli fell to her knees at Athrun's bedside.

"Athrun…" she whispered softly. The Crimson Knight smiled weakly.

"Hey… Cagalli," he said. The Orb Sovereign let out a sob, reaching out to gently stroke Athrun's cheek, prominently displaying the ring Athrun had given her before returning to ZAFT.

"You idiot… you could've gotten yourself killed," said Cagalli. A bit more strength found its way into Athrun's smile.

"I said I'd see you again," he replied. "I couldn't let myself die before then." His eyes slid over to the blonde standing at Makoto's side. Stella… or could she be…? "Do I need to congratulate you?" he asked, drawing confused looks before he glanced at the younger blonde again.

Kira, understanding, smiled.

"Athrun, I think you've met Ami before," he said as Ami stepped forward.

"I'm… glad you're okay, Athrun," she said. "Nē-chan's been crying her eyes out."

"Heh… this is crazy," said Athrun. "All this time, it was you?"

"Hmm?"

"You were Kira and Cagalli's sister," said Athrun. "I should've realized that after you kicked my ass twice in a row." Ami blushed, while Kira and Makoto chuckled slightly. Cagalli scowled.

"We shouldn't worry about that," she said. "You're here Athrun… you're home."

"Yeah…" Athrun smiled. "I'm back."

**

* * *

**

Two days later

Meer sat in the lounge of the Taiyonoha Manor, shifting slightly when Miyuki wandered past her, sniffing around for something.

She'd had a few encounters with the other residents of the estate, and each had been distinctly uncomfortable for her. Treize Zabiarov had all but ignored her existence; Flay Allster was much the same. Cagalli Yula Athha had avoided her mostly, but had thrown the occasional glare her way, with no explanation given by the much kinder and more welcoming Taiyonoha (fortunately, she hadn't been around the manor for two days now). Kira had been gentler with her after that first day, when she stopped even trying to pretend to be Lacus, Elizabeth Dante had been courteous, but distant, and those last three, Shani Andras, Clotho Beur and Louisa Kohls, seemed to have taken something of a passing interest in her, but they were also quite distant.

"Ms. Campbell?" Meer looked up as Faith materialized in front of her. She'd had two days to get used to the AI, but still couldn't help but shudder slightly at the thought of such a powerful entity living within the systems of the manor she was now living in.

"Yes?" questioned Meer, trying to conceal her nervousness. The AI wasn't fooled, but let it go.

"I thought you might be interested to know that Athrun will be here momentarily," said Faith. Meer's eyes widened. "He's still not in the best shape, but well enough that staying in the hospital is completely unnecessary. Still, don't jump on him or anything, okay?"

"Yeah, got it," said Meer, jumping to her feet and running out of the room. Faith monitored Meer's position, idly noting that this would be the first time the faux diva met Meyrin Hawke since the redheaded ZAFT soldier came to the mansion.

"Athrun!" cried Meer excitedly as the Crimson Knight entered from the garage with Kira, Cagalli and Meyrin.

"Meer…" murmured Athrun. The seventeen year old came to a stop in front of Athrun, staring at him intently.

"Athrun… uh…" Now that he was here, she suddenly found herself unable to find the right words to say.

"Are you alright?" asked Athrun.

"I'm… I'm fine," said Meer. "Um… why… why did you never tell me… about…" She glanced at Kira, which told Athrun what it was she was asking. He let out a sigh.

"Meer… honestly, you made me uncomfortable," said Athrun. Meer gasped in shock. "I couldn't stand the way you portrayed Lacus, but never said anything because I was uncomfortable and because I didn't think the Chairman would appreciate it much. But also…" Athrun glanced at Cagalli, whose eyes were cold enough to freeze hell. "Also… because I was a fool."

"A fool?" questioned Meer, stepping closer, only to step back slightly in fear as a soft growl came from Cagalli's throat. Meyrin glanced nervously between the three when she suddenly felt Kira's hand fall on her shoulder. He gave her a warm smile and led her away from the three, allowing them some private time to resolve things.

"Meer… there's a lot I need to tell you," said Athrun.

**

* * *

**

Morgenroete Inc.

Ami glanced at the mobile suits lining the hangar walls in one of the rooms visible from the control center she stood in. There was a certain measure of admiration visible in her eyes.

"Like them?" questioned Makoto, walking up next to the blonde and tossing her an affectionate smile. "There's actually a war museum being built at Izanami. We're going to transfer some of them there."

"Some of them?" questioned Ami.

"Yeah," said Makoto. "The Surge, Guardian and Hellfire Blitz, for instance, are all going. Actually, they're still functional, once you put back some of those components we took out to disable them, but that would take awhile. The Forbidden, Twilight and Raider, on the other hand, will be kept in military storage as backup units. They… don't exactly have a bright reputation attached to them."

"I see…" murmured Ami, turning her attention to two others. "What about those two?"

"The MBF-04 Strike Aegis and MBF-05 Strike Renaissance," supplied Makoto. "They really don't have a place in history." She waved her hand towards the last couple of machines in the hangar. "The Strike Raven and Tolle's Athena, on the other hand, will probably get thrown in the museum right alongside the Surge, Guardian and Hellfire Blitz, along with replicas of the Strike, Raven, Dauntless, Aegis, Duel, Buster, Resolute and the original Blitz. If we can get our hands on it, we'll throw Shiho's CGUE in there as well."

"Shiho?"

"Ah, she's a friend of mine in ZAFT," said Makoto. "She pilots the ZAKU Duel Arms aboard the _Minerva_. Well, she used to anyways. Now she's piloting one of those new GOUF HM2s with the Kessel Team again."

"Will I get the chance to meet her?" questioned Ami.

"I'm sure you will, at some point," said Makoto, turning to the blonde. "Probably when she gets her new Gundam."

"New Gundam?"

"Oh, right." Makoto looked slightly abashed. "We've got a mobile suit development project going, the Sentinels. We made the lead suit in the series for her."

"Um…" Ami looked down. "Do you have a machine for me? I… I can fight again, so… I want to help." Makoto smiled, warmly and fondly.

"Actually, we do," she said softly. "I think you'll enjoy it."

"What…?"

Ami's question was cutoff, though, as the control center suddenly shook, drawing their attention to the source.

There was the incomplete Shadow Strike, along with Asagi's M4 and Liz's M3, lying on the ground before the Astarte, which towered over them with its mega sword held in hand.

Makoto sighed slightly.

"She waited so that she could knock all three down at once?"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

"I… I see," said Meer, looking at her hands, folded in her lap, as Athrun finished telling her… well, everything he should've told her from the beginning. "I'm… sorry."

"No, it's not your fault Meer," said Athrun, but Meer shook her head, turning to Cagalli.

"And… I'm really sorry about everything with Athrun," she said, bowing her head, which took Cagalli completely off-guard.

"Um… no, it's all this idiot's fault, not yours," said Cagalli, shifting the blame to Athrun as a way of covering her uncertainty in regards to how to react. She… didn't like Meer much, but that was one part her portrayal of Lacus, four parts the way she'd clung to Athrun. Cagalli could admit, at least to herself, that she'd been jealous, and more than a little hurt by the fact that Athrun let it happen.

"Um… thank you," said Meer. "For not being angry, I mean." And she meant it—Meer now understand why Cagalli had been openly showing her dislike of the faux diva, and she couldn't blame her.

"Like I said, its all this guy's fault," said Cagalli, poking Athrun. "Sorry if I've been short with you over the last few days. Things have been kind of hard for me."

Meer let her pink hair fall into her eyes as she looked away. She could understand that, in a way. She'd had days to start trying to accept things, but some things were still hard. She didn't want to give up being Lacus, but reality was being forced on her by the presence of all these people who refused to call her by anything but her real name. She didn't want to give up Athrun, but his heart already belonged to someone else, and not even pretending to be Lacus could possibly take him away from that, because in the end, Lacus's heart belonged to another, whose heart she had taken in turn.

Idly, she lifted her soft pink tresses before her eyes. Maybe… maybe she should ask about restoring her appearance to her old self. Perhaps then, it would be easier to accept that she could no longer even pretend to be Lacus.

**

* * *

**

Ascendant Justice, First Gate of Heaven

January 14th, C.E. 74

"So, our orders are clear," said Admiral Darryl Mustang, the commander of Ascendant Justice, addressing the other four Izanamian Admirals, one for Timeless Garden, one for Endless Tranquility, and then the commanders of the First and Second Fleets. "We are to prepare for war with ZAFT and the Alliance."

"_Understood,_" replied Admirals Mizuki Ishida and Kurumi Okumura, the commanders of the First and Second Fleets, respectively.

"_I'll order factory production accelerated,_" said Admiral Natsume Igarashi, the commander of Endless Tranquility. "_Production of the finalized M4 is well underway._"

"_I'll see to the training of the volunteers,_" added Admiral Lindy Harlaown, commander of the Timeless Garden. "_My son's been quite eager to get started._"

"That's good to hear," said Mustang, leaning back in his seat slightly. "Lady Serenity and Admiral Taiyonoha want us ready to sortie within a week." He focused on the images of Ishida and Okumura. "Think you two can have your fleets ready on time?"

"_Of course,_" said Okumura, smiling confidently. "_The Second Fleet has been ready for sortie longer than your fancy Gate has._"

"_The First Fleet could be scrambled within twenty-four hours of now,_" said Ishida.

"Good," said Mustang. "There are only five bastions of resistance to ZAFT remaining. Heaven's Base, Arzachel, Daedalus, Orb and us. Even if all others fall, we will stop this deceiver if he should so much as lift a finger against our motherland. For the Dauntless Angel."

"_For the Dauntless Angel,_" echoed the other four admirals. They shared a brief nod between them, and then the line was cut. Mustang sighed slightly, leaning back in the chair of his office, turning to stare out the window.

There they were: three massive colony cylinders, each cylinder an enormous three hundred and sixty kilometers in length, and a third that in diameter.

Izanami. His homeland. As long as he drew breath, Durandal would never be given the chance to taint this land of peace and serenity.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The next day

The Allied Fleets had launched for Heaven's Base now, and the attack would begin in less than two hours. The pilots of the _Minerva_, which was serving as the flagship, were gathered in the lounge. Tristan was re-reading the manual for the GOUF Ignited HM2, while Aleksi studied footage from previous battles. Shinn was passing the time by reading a magazine, Rey seemed to be sleeping, and Nabiki, who the others were pointedly avoiding (which seemed to suit her just fine) was standing by the window overlooking the hangar, occasionally muttering to herself about something none of the others quite caught.

Zane stood in one corner of the room with Heine, studying the rest of the pilots and how they behaved in this time leading up to what would be one of the most significant battles of the entire war.

Zane hadn't had much chance to really get to know these pilots, nor did he care to. Shinn had an ego problem and an EX-C for a sister. Tristan's parents ran IDB and he similarly had an EX-C for a would-be girlfriend. He'd talked to Aleksi quite a bit with Heine, discussing Suiren and her odd behavior. Rey was just another part of Rau's legacy. And Nabiki…

Well, that was a realm Zane didn't care enough to look into. She wanted to avenge her brother, that was all, and when it was over, she didn't care what happened to her.

"What do you think, sir?" questioned Heine softly.

"Djibril will escape," murmured Zane, too quietly for the others to hear. "The Chairman _wants_ him to escape and flee to Orb so that he'll have an excuse to attack them."

"Orb doesn't seem like much of a threat to… well, to whatever it is the Chairman's planning," whispered Heine. "I'd think that if any threat existed, it would be Izanami."

"He probably figures that if Orb is destroyed, Izanami will be made vulnerable," said Zane. "It seems unlikely they can sustain themselves fully without at least _some_ support from Earth. Besides, the Chairman doesn't really believe the withdrawal was whole-hearted."

"I see," said Heine. "Up until recently, I'd have been disgusted, but Orb isn't the peaceful nation it once was."

"Seirans be damned, hmm?"

"Yeah," said Heine. "Don't you agree?"

"If Suiren hadn't asked me to join her team, I'd have gone to Orb to protect those who were important to Chris," said Zane. "But the Orb of today is different."

"Hmm."

**

* * *

**

The _Haku_

The three subs of the Kyusai Team cruised along on the _Minerva_'s left flank, opposite the Kessel Team on the right flank, acting as a particularly effective escort for the Allied flagship. Suiren stood on the bridge of the _Haku_, staring at the screens displaying the surrounding fleet.

"Commander Kyusai," said the comm. officer, turning to her. "The _Minerva_ is sending Chairman Durandal's demands to Heaven's Base." Suiren nodded, glancing at Luna and Shizuru, the only other pilots she'd kept on her temporary flag with her.

"Put it on the screen," she said.

"Yes ma'am," said the officer, turning back to his station and hitting a few keys before putting one hand against his ear, pressing the speaker he was wearing against his head so that he could hear whatever came through it more clearly.

"We, the combined ZAFT and Alliance forces, demand the following from Heaven's Base," read the comm. officer as the ultimatum came up on the main display screen. "One: all members of Logos previously identified as such are to be turned over immediately. Two: all forces are to immediately disarm and abandon the base." Suiren snorted slightly.

"Is something the matter, Commander?" asked Striker.

"That second demand… it's ridiculous," she said. "Actually, this is pretty much the same demand the Alliance made of us after Break the World, only applying solely to Heaven's Base. He can't honestly expect them to agree to this. The personnel might've agreed to the first set, but never to the second."

"Yeah… you're right," commented Striker, turning back to stare at the demands. "I wonder what the Chairman could be thinking."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

Midnight

"Neo Titanium?"

"That's right," said Shizuka, sipping idly at her tea as Makoto studied the latest report. "The resource asteroids we used for Izanami came with a surprising amount of materials that could be easily refined into this alloy. It came up with some interesting properties, including resistance to beam weapons, increased efficiency with Mirage Colloid technology and, on the same principle, efficiency with regards to 'holding' beam energy."

"And they're using it to develop these composite swords?" questioned the redhead, glancing at her aunt.

"So it would seem," said the brunette. "It would probably make for a good armor as well, but development's too far along for that. I'd like to toy around with it."

"I see," murmured Makoto. "Hmm?" Makoto lifted the top page of the report so that she could see the illustration behind it that had caught her eye more clearly. "Exia…?"

"Makoto, Shizuka, please come down to the living room," said Faith suddenly, causing their eyes to instinctively snapped towards the speakers. "Durandal has sent his demands to Heaven's Base… and there's no doubt he expects them to reject his demands. Operation Ragnarok is about to begin."

"Got it," said Makoto. "Thanks Faith. Are Kira and the others…?"

"I've already told them, and they're on their way to the living room. I'll provide a real-time display of what's going on."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Like I said: "status quo changing". The _Minerva_ might be getting two pilots and four fancy nuclear-powered Gundams, but they're losing no less than five pilots transferring back to their old teams (or, in Luna's case, her new team). I also took a major departure from canon with Meer getting taken from Gibraltar and shipped off to Orb. I hope I managed to get all her scenes right, since those were the ones I really struggled with.**

**We also see a demonstration of just how loyal to Suiren the Kyusai Team really is when she admits to her crimes and flat-out states that now would be the time to turn her in. For the record, that brief exchange with Shiori was about surveillance****—****Shiori had checked, and there wasn't any, meaning Suiren could talk freely.**

**We learn a few more things all around, Meer considers letting go of being Lacus, Kira maintains his cool when he finally meets Meer, Athrun escapes death only because Cagalli was worried sick (otherwise, she probably would've killed him over the whole Meer debacle), a bit more with Zane and Heine, see Nabiki acting all aloof (you know, she almost reminds me of Sasuke in the early days of Naruto), and for the most part, everyone else seems to get rather cutoff. Or am I just forgetting everything because I've been all over the place? *scratches head* Oh well.**

**In any case, next chapter gives us the Battle of Heaven's Base. Possibly only the beginning****—I'd certainly hope I end up with two chapters for a battle that is going to be, well****… full of a lot of stuff, let's leave it at that.**

**I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review! I promise to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, and then you'll all finally get to see the Reckoning and Avenger in action. insert evil laugh here**

**See you all soon, hopefully. Say****ō****nara.**


	38. Phase 38: The Dark Knight of Destiny

**Well, here we are. The Battle of Heaven's Base. First off, this ended up being only one chapter. While I had enough material that it _could've_ been two, they wouldn't have been very long, and I'd have felt cheap. No reason to do so.**

**So, I don't want to keep you too long, nor spoil very much, but there are a few things I feel need to be said: first and most importantly, ZAFT does suffer heavy losses (though mostly in the form of the defected Alliance forces), but those aren't really shown, as I put the focus on important characters instead of the grunts.**

**Second, the beam shield: in canon, the Destiny's beam shield pretty much effortlessly blocked a blast from all three of Sting's Super Scylla cannons. Let's be clear: a shield no more than fifteen meters in diameter blocked a triple blast that we know is big enough to complete consume a Destroy, a _sixty meter giant_! In regards to positron reflectors versus beam shields: beam shields are an improvement, for the most part, but are intended for smaller scale use, so they can't block gigantic blasts as effectively, nor take something like a positron cannon. Just so that we're clear.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story, as well as his contributions to Leon's early scene in this chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the ZGMF-X65S Avenger, ZGMF-X777S Reckoning, and after a fashion, the ZGMF-2000M2 GOUF High-Maneuver Type II.  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Eight: The Dark Knight of Destiny

January 15th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate, Orb Union

"These demands are ridiculous," commented Samuel.

"How so?" questioned Meer.

"No military officer would agree to give up such an important base without a fight," explained Samuel, glancing at the girl who was the only one present without a degree of true familiarity with the military and warfare. "Doubly so when it's their headquarters."

"And besides, Logos has control and would never agree to such demands," said Treize, leaning back in the couch slightly, arms crossed. "They've still got five EX-Cs and a huge defense force."

"My agents have also collected rumors regarding some kind of defensive superweapon at Heaven's Base," added Makoto. Sitting in one of the recliners, Kira shook his head.

"Durandal's looking for a fight," he said. "Probably in order to show off his new Destiny Project."

"That and the fact that he made a demand, no matter how ridiculous, makes his actions seem more justified and paints Logos even more villainously," said Liz.

"I see," said Meer, glancing at her hands folded in her lap, feeling ashamed that she'd never seen any of these things that were clear as day to the people around her.

"There are two hours to the deadline," said Serenity, turning away from the giant flat screen to face the gathering. "Kira, Makoto, what do you want to do?"

"Everything that can be done is already being done," said Kira with a slight shrug. Makoto brushed some hair out of her face and shrugged slightly.

"The future isn't set in stone," she said. "For Heaven's Base, all we can do is sit and wait. But… the time when we must take the future into our own hands is coming."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Our ultimatum has been sent," said Zane, straightening up. "I want everyone on standby in their machines."

"Huh? Uh, why sir?" questioned Tristan.

"Just in case," said Nabiki, turning to face them. "Heaven's Base probably won't wait until the deadline." Zane nodded.

"So again, everyone is to be on standby in their machines," said Zane, shouldering his helmet and heading towards the elevator. Everyone else stood up and began walking that way, except Aleksi.

"Shinn," she called. "Can I talk to you first… alone?"

"Huh?" Shinn's expression was confused, while Zane gave Aleksi a quick glance, then continued on.

"Go ahead Asuka," he said, stepping into the elevator and turning to face the locker room. "Just don't take too long."

As soon as the others were in, Zane hit the button for the hangar floor, and the elevator began its descent.

"What do you think is up, Commander?" asked Tristan. Heine chuckled slightly.

"Don't think about it," he said. Zane, voice perfectly cool, spoke up.

"She's probably worried about Shinn," he said. "And likely not without reason."

"Hmm." Rey wondered about this sudden development.

In the locker room, Shinn turned to face Aleksi.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Aleksi walked up to him.

"How are you feeling, Shinn?" she asked.

"Fine… why do you ask?" questioned Shinn, thoroughly confused.

"Are you saying you've gotten over the debacle with Athrun and Meyrin that quickly?"

Shinn gasped slightly, looking away from the blonde. Her question caught him off-guard, like something pressing against his mind.

"Shinn, look at me," said Aleksi. Reluctantly, he did so. "Please, just listen. What happened wasn't your fault, and there's no use regretting the past. We're all counting on you—the Chairman, the Captain, me… you're ZAFT's ace now."

"ZAFT's… ace?" questioned Shinn softly. Aleksi nodded.

"The Chairman has always had high hopes for you," she said. "That's why he assigned you to the Impulse. It's why he's assigned you to the Destiny. It's why he believed you could do what no one else could… and so what if didn't beat the Freedom? Just think of it as motivation to improve yourself. And as for Athrun and Meyrin… you just did your duty, Shinn."

"Aleksi…"

"And I'm here for you," added the blonde, placing her hand over her heart. "If you need help, just come to me and I'll do whatever I can." Shinn looked away, tears in his eyes. Seeing this, Aleksi suddenly closed the distance between them and wrapped Shinn in a comforting hug, drawing a gasp of shock from the younger Redcoat. "Don't be afraid to admit that you might need help."

"Aleksi… thanks," said Shinn, returning the hug before gently breaking free. Aleksi smiled, grabbed his face, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, causing Shinn to instantly freeze.

"For luck," she said, smiling sweetly before walking past the thoroughly confused Redcoat and into the elevator.

**

* * *

**

The _Haku_

Half an hour later

"Send orders to the _Cousteau_ and the _Hekla_," said Suiren, staring at the monitors displaying Heaven's Base in the distance. "Prep all mobile suits for launch. Pilots are to standby in their machines."

"Ma'am?" questioned Striker. "The deadline is still over an hour away." Suiren's eyes narrowed as Luna and Shizuru looked at her uncertainly.

"Logos will launch a pre-emptive strike, with no warning," she said softly. "Prep all mobile suits for launch, and all pilots are to be on standby in their machines." With that, Suiren turned and left the bridge, her pilots on her heels.

"Commander, are you certain of this?" questioned Shizuru.

"Yes," said Suiren. "And my gut feeling says the attack will be in less than ten minutes."

"Yeah…" said Luna, hand idly reaching towards her stomach. "I've got a similar feeling."

"We're going to be flying the same wing pairs as a few days ago," said Suiren. "Lunamaria, don't forget the formations."

"I won't," assured Luna.

"We may not be coming back from this," commented Shizuru. "Any regrets?"

"Only if I die," said Luna.

**

* * *

**

Heaven's Base

"Sir, our forces are in place," said Admiral Allan Novack, the commander of Heaven's Base, turning in his seat to face Djibril.

"Then let us begin," said Djibril coolly.

"Are you… sure about this?" questioned Novack.

"Fortune favors the bold, does it not?" said Djibril simply. "We'll fight sooner or later. The fools believe they have us trapped in a corner. We'll show them how wrong they are."

Novack sighed. This went against all military traditions in this sort of situation, but orders were orders, and the President had put this man in charge.

"All forces, open fire."

Immediately, every cruiser and frigate, every tank, every turret, every missile bunker, let loose with an angry fury.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Detecting enemy missile launches!" cried Bart suddenly, drawing gasps of shock from Arthur in the command chair and all of the gathered ZAFT officers.

"They're attacking?" exclaimed Durandal in shock. The former Alliance forces that were fronting the fleet opened up with everything they had, desperately seeking to shoot down as many of the incoming missiles as possible.

But in spite of the heavy defensive fire, the rain of missiles was far too massive, and the defected Alliance forces only shot down about half the missiles, the remainder plowing into the fleet, demolishing dozens upon dozens of ships.

In the distance, countless scores of mobile suits and mobile armors could be seen deploying from Heaven's Base.

"Enemy mobile suit and mobile armor forces approaching," announced Bart. "It's a full-scale attack!"

"An attack? They haven't even replied yet!" cried Talia.

"_Heaven's Base has made its choice clear, now it's time to finish this!_" came a voice over the radio suddenly. "_Suiren Kyusai, Rose Gundam, let's go!_"

"_Lunamaria Hawke, Force GOUF Ignited, I'm taking off!_"

"_Murase Aker, GOUF intercepting!_"

"_Auron Trinity, GOUF sortieing._"

"Suiren…" murmured Durandal as the calls of more Kyusai Team pilots launching continued to echo over the radio. Then, his face set into a grim expression. "You heard her. All forces are to launch and commence counterattack immediately!" He turned to face Abi Windsor, Meyrin's replacement at the CIC. "Tell Zane I want him to hold our units back a little longer. Send the _Gondwana_ the command to begin drop operation. We'll launch our machines at the same time for a blitz attack."

"Yes sir," said Abi.

In the Rose, Suiren led her team towards the frontline.

"Remember to check your IFF," she said. "Some of the Windams ahead belong to our allies."

"_Don't worry, we know,_" said Murase.

"Good," said Suiren, leveling her rifle and snapping off two quick shots in rapid succession. Unfortunately, at this great distance, the shots didn't do anything to the enemy mobile suits. Then, further back, she caught sight of something that made her gut go cold.

There they were. The hulking forms of five of the Alliance's ultimate mobile weapon, the Destroy, each accompanied by a single, familiar suit: the Blu Duel, the Verde Buster, the Rosso Aegis, the Divina Guardian and the last accompanied by both the Strike Noir and the Valiant.

"Five of those things?" gasped Arthur fearfully. In the Rose, Suiren's danger sense triggered.

"Everyone ascend now!" she cried, pulling the Rose straight up. Her team didn't hesitate, following her into the sky. A few of the other pilots who'd launched also followed after a second of hesitation, and the rest hesitated a little longer.

That would be their final mistake as the Aufprall Dreizehn cannons of the massive mobile weapons opened fire, vaporizing dozens upon dozens of former Alliance warships and mobile suits.

"Damn," cursed Suiren, firing at one of the Destroys, only to see its positron reflector block her attack.

"_We need to take those things out!_" cried Luna.

"I know, but don't go charging in recklessly!" said Suiren. "I told you before: don't try to be a hero."

"_Then what are we supposed to do?_"

"We hold the line," said Suiren. "The drop operation will force them to divide their forces." As she spoke, a Windam opened fire on her. She evaded easily and returned the favor with her Orca cannons, obliterating the enemy mobile suit. "When that happens, the Destroys will be wide open!"

Windams began to open fire on the mobile suits and warships at the front, while the Destroys hung back, firing their cannons repeatedly. Suiren grit her teeth as she charged forward with her team and the Kessel Team, beginning to slice apart enemy mobile suits in close-quarters using their Tempest beam swords.

Back by the Destroys, Leon watched the destruction sown with disgust. It reminded him all too clearly of the rampage through Eurasia by Stella's Destroy, despite these targets being able to fight back. It wasn't nearly as bad, for the most part, but the reminder still sickened him.

"This is… the worst kind of evil…" he murmured to himself, his comm. unit deactivated. "I'm simply condoning these massacres when I could do something to stop it…" He slammed a fist into the Valiant's console, shame and disgust radiating from his being.

"How much longer…?" he asked no one in particular, pain flowing through his soul and tearing his heart open. "How much longer must I continue to sacrifice everything… for the sake of the one person I refuse to lose…? How much longer… must I betray the one thing I have left…?"

**

* * *

**

Near Heaven's Base

Focused on the battle as they were (and in the _Minerva_'s case, with launch preparations), no one noticed as what appeared to be a mountain split open like a missile silo to reveal a gigantic array.

This was the Nibelung, a penultimate anti-air defensive weapon. Alongside the Destroys, it was Logos' trump card in this battle.

ZAFT mobile suits descended from orbit by the hundreds, filling the sky like metallic rain.

Cutting down a mobile suit pursuing her wingman as Luna did the same for her, Suiren felt something flash across her danger sense. Something unknown… something terrifying. She hadn't felt like this since…

"Oh no," she gasped in shock. She spun to the source of that ice-cold feeling…

Just in time to see Nibelung open fire.

Suiren had seen many horrific things since she'd first joined ZAFT, and her sixth sense had warned her whenever something particularly horrific was about to happen.

Like the Bloody Valentine. Like Break the World. Like the destruction of Boaz and the firing of GENESIS.

But what she remembered on this occasion was the Battle of Endymion, when the Earth Forces activated the Cyclops System for the first time.

What she saw reminded her all too clearly of the Cyclops as what she could only assume was a giant, focused microwave cannon obliterated the descent force. Her teeth grit as she staved off the feeling of all those lives being snuffed out.

"_W-what the hell was that?_" cried Shinn aboard the _Minerva_. His words and thoughts were echoed everywhere.

"No plan survives contact with the enemy…" muttered Suiren through grit teeth.

"_Commander, what do we do?_" questioned Luna.

"We continue the mission," said Suiren. "We take Heaven's Base, right here, right now!" Mismatched eyes shining with determination, Suiren dodged a blast from a Destroy, and snapped all her weapons into position. "No matter what!"

And then, the Golden Rose of War opened up with everything she had, pounding on the Destroy's reflector enough that the pilot actually stumbled back slightly. However, Leon charged forward, intent on intercepting this attack.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"No more waiting," said Zane. "We're heading out! Zane Scirocco, taking off in Reckoning!"

"_Shinn Asuka, Destiny, launching!_" cried Shinn, shooting from the port catapult as Zane shot from the starboard one.

"_Aleksi Shimizu, Core Splendor, here I go!_" called Aleksi, shooting forth from the center catapult.

"_Suiren!_" cried Luna as the blonde easily intercepted the Valiant's sword before swinging the Rose's leg around to deliver a kick to her enemy's midsection.

"Makoto and Minako might be willing to take it easy with you," said Suiren. "But I won't!" With that, the Rose's cannons all snapped into place and blasted at the Valiant, Leon narrowly pulling to the side, only to have another barrage slam into the Valiant, obliterating his shield and knocking him into the water.

"Damn… those cannons give her a serious edge in comparison to everyone else I've fought," muttered Leon, pulling the Valiant out of the water, drawing and firing his beam rifle with his left hand, but the Rose easily danced through the attack and charged at him, the Force GOUF on its tail.

"_Rey Za Burrel, in Legend, taking off!_"

"_Nabiki Ombre, Avenger launching!_"

As the Legend and Avenger launched, Aleksi finished forming up the Force Impulse Gundam, and the Destiny and Reckoning charged forward, straight at the five Destroys.

"_Heine Westenfluss, Saviour launching!_"

"_Tristan Palleon, GOUF, I'm taking off!_"

As the last two machines cleared the catapult, a second Force Silhouette Flyer launched from the central catapult, and Tristan swiftly docked with the unit, maximizing the GOUF's mobility as the _Minerva_'s machines all charged forward.

"So, there are ZAFT's new mobile suits huh?" said Rache, raising the Verde Buster's rifles and opening fire alongside the Destroy he was guarding. To his surprise, the Reckoning activated a beam shield and blocked the blasts easily. "What the hell?"

_Dearka… Yzak… hmm…_

Zane raised his Coma double beam cannon, aiming it at the Destroy guarded by the Verde Buster, and opened fire.

A massive blast of beam energy, easily surpassing the main cannons of almost any warship, split the sky and slammed into the Destroy's positron reflector with enough force nearly send it to the ground.

"What?" cried Silber. "That's impossible!"

However, at that moment, the Avenger rushed forward, casting light from its backpack as it moved with surprising speed, much faster than many lighter, less heavily armored mobile suits, and hefted all of its cannons.

Six enormous blasts lit up the sky as Nabiki opened fire with the Praemium 2 and Occultus Armos, two blasts slamming into the knees of a Destroy as the rest slammed into its reflector. Although the armor held against the blast to the knees, it was still damaged by the powerful blasts, and the Destroy fell to the ground.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Miguel shot forward in the Viola Surge, punching his thrust up to maximum as several Windams closed in on the Avenger. He opened fire on the Avenger along with the other Earth Forces mobile suits… but perhaps as a show of sheer power, Nabiki let every blow land and be effortlessly deflected by the Avenger's almighty armor.

"N-no way!" gasped Miguel. The Avenger's shoulder cannons suddenly flipped to face backwards and fired repeatedly, destroy five of the Windams attacking her. The last managed to evade, drawing a beam saber and charging in… only for the blade to cut air as the Avenger accelerated, spinning about to fire its chest-mounted Terminus Kai straight through the Windams body.

"Damn you!" roared Miguel, charging forward with both beam sabers drawn. He swung them at the Avenger's back, only for the Occultus Armo to sprout hands armed with beam sabers that blocked his strikes. "What?"

Then, the Avenger's leg swung back to deliver a kick to the Viola Surge's torso, knocking it away. Miguel righted himself, but by then, Nabiki had fired the now combined Praemium 2 beam bazooka, the most powerful single mobile suit weapon in existence.

To Miguel's credit, he managed to evade a direct hit. However, everything below the Viola Surge's cockpit was vaporized, and the EX-C fell into the ocean.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

While Zane and Nabiki assaulted the Destroy with their long-range cannons, Shinn, Rey, Heine, Aleksi and Tristan began destroying Windams left and right.

"There's no end to this!" shouted Shinn in frustration, slicing apart his twelfth—_at least_—Windam, only for three more to open fire on him. He blocked with his beam shield, then pulled away, drawing his rifle in his left hand and firing on the Windams.

Laminated armor dispersed the energy somewhat, but the Destiny's rifle was powerful enough to overcome that with relative ease, and two of the Windams fell immediately. The third survived by using its shield, but then Shinn descended and slashed with his Arondight, the anti-ship sword cutting through the Windam and its shield in one attack.

Rey was actually being assault by more enemies than Shinn was, but although its overall performance was inferior (theoretically, at least) to the Destiny, the Legend could bring several more weapons to bear at a time than Destiny could, which assisted Rey in utilizing Legend to its greatest purpose, that of 'grunt massacre', as the Dauntless Angel had once put it.

Then, a Windam that had somehow slipped past was in Rey's face, beam saber descending. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, the blonde deflected using his beam shield, then sprung a beam javelin and used it to slice the Windam in half.

"They have to run out of machines sometime!" said Rey, though frustration was evident in his tone… especially when another Destroy fired its cannons and obliterated several more mobile suit formations and warships.

They weren't the only ones being kept from the Destroys now—Zane and Nabiki were getting swarmed just as badly, though it seemed the latter was swatting everything from the sky almost mockingly. Her only challenge was the Zamza-Zah with which she now exchanged fire.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Aleksi, Tristan, we need to clear a path for the others to get at those things," said Heine, glancing at the Impulse and GOUF. "Aleksi, you lead. You're better at this then I am."

"_Understood,_" said Aleksi, the Impulse moving forward to point. "_**Minerva**__, launch a Blast Silhouette for Tristan._"

"_Understood,_" said Abi and Tristan.

"How do you wanna do this?" asked Heine as he and Aleksi covered Tristan's switch to the Blast Silhouette.

"_Simple,_" said Aleksi. "_Let's go, formation Iota 11!_"

"_Roger!_"

The Saviour shot forward, shifting to mobile armor mode. Heine took aim and fired his machine's cannons repeatedly, blasting enemies left and right. The Windams mostly survived, either due to laminated armor, managing to dodge, or getting their shields in place.

Right behind the Saviour came the Impulse, Aleksi's rifle snapping left, right, up and down as Aleksi targeted those bringing their weapons to bear on the formation, taking out the mobile suit, the weapon proper, or sometimes just a limb or head, whatever worked to throw the enemy off.

Finally came Tristan, the centerpiece of this formation due to the tremendous firepower offered by the Blast Silhouette. He let loose with barrage after barrage of Firefly missiles that caught a large number of enemies off-guard. He slowed down slightly, snapping into proper firing position and opened up with the Kerberos beam cannons and Deluge railguns, hitting every enemy in sight.

The sudden blitz had done its job, cutting a swath through the enemy force. _Tactics_ were the ultimate force multiplier, and Aleksi knew how to use them well.

But they weren't the only ones to push forward. Following the previous war, the infamous Speartip of the Alaric Team had disappeared as the team reformed into the Kessel Team. Unlike John Alaric, who had gone to Orb, no one knew where those three deadly pilots had disappeared too.

But no one would deny that the trio of mobile suits charging forward now in a speartip formation made the old speartip team look like chump change in comparison.

"_Who the hell are these guys?_" cried one Windam pilot fearfully as the three mobile suits seemed to effortlessly evade the storm of fire coming their way—of course, it was easier when there were so many _other_ concerns for the Earth Forces pilots.

The Windam fired its rifle at the black mobile suit almost point blank, but it pulled under the shot in the blink of an eye, spinning over and bisecting the Earth Forces mobile suit's arm with its sword before reorienting itself right in front of the terrified pilot, mono-eye flashing almost menacingly.

"_I'm Nicol Amalfi,_" answered the pilot of the black Sword GOUF Ignited, an instant before he quartered the Windam with his anti-ship swords.

Directly to Nicol's left, Saul was similarly striking fear into the Earth Forces pilots with his dark green Force GOUF Ignited, letting loose with suppressing fire from his Draupnir beam guns as he quickly closed to melee range using his powerful vernier thrusters, at which point he cut them down with either his Vajra beam saber or Slayer Whip heat rod.

Meanwhile, Shiho let loose with a barrage of Firefly missile from her Blast Silhouette pack, then immediately snapped into position to fire her Deluge and Kerberos through the smoke clouds created when the missiles were shot down by the CIWS of the enemy mobile suits.

"Come on you two, we have to break through!" said Shiho, putting aside her situation with Yzak for the moment.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Briefly, the fight seemed to be going in ZAFT's favor, especially as the machines from the _Minerva_, Kyusai and Kessel Teams tore apart the Earth Forces Windams… and then the bulk of the Alliance mobile armors slammed into the frontlines and the Destroys let loose with another barrage, while the remaining EX-Cs opened fire from long-range.

Hot lead filled the sky as the Euclids opened up with their gatling guns, shredding ZAFT and former Alliance machines by the dozens. Beam cannons let loose, vaporizing mobile suits and battleships.

"_Jennifer!_" cried a Kessel Team pilot as one GOUF was torn apart by a Zamza-Zah.

"_Damn it!_" shouted Lisa DaCosta, drawing her beam sword and charging at the Alliance mobile armor, dodging a shot from its beam cannons as she did so.

"_Chihiro's been hit!_" cried Yuki.

"What?" gasped Luna, dodging a swing by a Windam's beam saber and retaliating with her own.

Chihiro Aeon had survived an encounter with Neo Roanoke by sheer luck when everyone had thought she was dead. This time, she wasn't so lucky, as the Euclid that had hit her finished the job with its beam cannons.

Suiren, despite being aware of the battle around her and of Luna fending attackers off of her flank, remained focused. She'd been a warrior since she was barely into her teens, and had long ago grown used to the loss of her comrades.

Leon attempted to attack with his anti-ship sword, but Suiren blocked with one of her Tempest beam swords, and before Leon had the chance to blink, shifted and sliced his sword up from the back, where the beam blade couldn't block her attack.

The Horizon mercenary pulled back, narrowly avoiding another lightning fast strike by Suiren, gasping slightly.

"Damn," he muttered. "Somehow, this manages to be worse than my last two fights. Shit!" Leon swore as he dodged mortars from the Orca cannons. He reached down and drew both his beam sabers, simultaneously grabbing the Stilettos in the Valiant's hip armor with his manipulator claws, and tossed them the Rose's way. Suiren responded by firing her CIWS, setting off the explosives in both knives before Leon's beam sabers crashed against her beam swords.

**

* * *

**

Seiran Estate

"Well, it's as I expected," said Yuna smugly as he and his father watched a live video feed of the battle halfway around the world. "No matter what some people say, no one's going to take down the Alliance, given its size and the resources it possesses."

"Yes…" said Unato, though he sounded a bit more concerned than his son.

"Sure, I know it lost JOSH-A in the last war," said Yuna. "But it still has Heaven's Base." As Yuna spoke, Unato started cycling through the various broadcasts of the battle. "And if by some fluke it should lose this base too, well, the Alliance still has the moon."

"Hmmm…"

Unato wasn't as certain as his son. Unlike Yuna, he'd paid close attention to the situation all around. Even if the Alliance defeated ZAFT, the next likely course of action—an attack on the PLANTs—would bring the fury of Izanami down on them.

The Taiyonoha controlled so much. Morgenroete. Those fortresses. Those gigantic colonies that had been readily displayed to the world recently. They were even establishing their own lunar base.

And while the Taiyonoha had created the founding principle of Orb, Unato had heard rumors that Izanami had adopted a new principle: to do what is right. Unato feared that a move against the PLANTs instead of ZAFT would be met with an iron fury that would make ZAFT _and_ the Alliance look like kittens before a lion.

And if that happened, he had no idea what Orb's fate might become.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

Ami trembled slightly at Kira's side, all too clearly reminded of what she'd done as the Destroys rampaged through the enemy lines. Mir's eyes were focused on the Verde Buster in one of the subscreens as it exchanged long-range fire with ZAFT from its position near one Destroy.

"She's taunting me," said Makoto suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to her before they followed her gaze: a screen displaying the Avenger. "She's not even bothering to hide what that thing's capable of."

"Are you sure it isn't just a show of power to intimidate the Alliance?" questioned Treize. Makoto nodded.

"I'm sure," she said. "Avenger… a hidden hand in at least one cannon, probably all four of them, the armor's ability to absorb beam weapon fire… she's trying to goad me."

"But why?" questioned Murrue. "What is there between you and this Nabiki Ombre woman?"

"She's Erik's sister," said the redhead simply, drawing gasps of shock from everyone present. "And it seems she blames me for her brother's death."

Minako's expression was one of worry as she looked back to the Avenger, before her eyes were drawn to the only lasting clash on the battlefield.

"Misuumi… Leon…" she murmured.

**

* * *

**

Heaven's Base Airspace

Leon struck, hard and fast, with both beam sabers, but Suiren's swords were there every time, deflecting his assaults and striking back. The Horizon agent grit his teeth in frustration as his beam armor absorbed yet another strike.

He couldn't keep this up. His opponent's reaction time rivaled that of Haruka and the Dauntless Angel, far superior to his own at his peak, and it showed. The Rose moved onto the offensive, knocking aside both of Leon's beam sabers, then came in with its beam swords.

Leon punched his thrust full back, cutting it at the same time in desperation, and the Tempest beam swords sliced through the air above him. Suiren aimed and fired her Signum railguns at the Valiant, impacting with the chest and badly rattling Leon. She fired again a moment later, and Leon instinctively crossed his arms in front of him to defend.

The slugs slammed into the Valiant's arms, sending it closer to the ocean despite Leon's opposing thrust, and then the Orca plasma cannons fired, vaporizing the Valiant's arms—the only reason the rest of the suit survived was because of the beam armor, and it slammed into the ocean a moment later.

"Damn…" muttered Leon, panting heavily. Well… at the least he wasn't protecting those monstrous machines anymore. In spite of the failure, he could at least take some satisfaction in that.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The Reckoning led the Destiny, Legend and Avenger towards the Destroys under cover from the rest of the _Minerva_'s machines and the Kessel Team.

"Asuka, Za Burrel, take one of those monsters, I don't care which," said Zane. "Nabiki, you're with me."

The four ZAFT mobile suits broke into pairs, each heading for its own Destroy, Shinn drawing his Arondight while Rey combined his two beam javelins.

Zane hefted the massive Coma and opened fire at the same time Nabiki let loose on the Destroy guarded by the Verde Buster, knocking it to the ground, but not breaking past the positron reflector.

"How irritating," muttered Nabiki as the Verde Buster fired with everything it had on the two. They easily evaded, Nabiki barely seeming to take note, while Zane tossed away the Coma and instead took hold of the Reckoning's Scindo beam sword, activating the weapon and charging forward with Nabiki.

Shinn and Rey dodged fire from the detached hands of the Destroy they targeted (the unguarded one) as the pilot shifted his machine to mobile suit mode. Now capable of far more precise fire, he targeted the Destiny and let loose with his Super Scylla and Zorn Mk2.

"_Shinn, look out!_" cried Rey. Shinn's eyes widened as he saw the massive beams coming his way, unable to dodge as the circumference cannons filled the area around the blasts. With no other choice, he shifted the Destiny's body to give it a smaller profile and activated a beam shield.

The massive red beams from the Destroy consumed the Destiny. Aleksi and Yuki both cried out for Shinn in horror as others stared wide-eyed.

The blast faded as the Destroy pilot cackled with an insane glint in his eyes…

And there, spewing heat from its vents, armor smoking and thoroughly scorched with it's left beam shield completely overloaded, was the Destiny, battered… but most definitely intact.

"You… bastard!" roared Shinn angrily, spreading the Destiny's wings and activating the Wings of Light. He charged forward, the surprised Destroy pilot caught off-guard, and swung the Arondight at the unmoving strategic weapon, aiming to bisect the thing.

However, the pilot regained his wits and attempted to dodge to the side, and so the Destiny's sword only sliced off a section of the large backpack.

The battle continued, just as fiercely as before. Nabiki continued to pound on her target, pouring out so much firepower that the pilot didn't even have the chance to fire back, and Zane clashed with the Verde Buster.

"Dearka!" shouted Zane. "I'm not gonna let you interfere!"

"_Shut up!_" snapped the Verde Buster pilot, firing his missiles into the Reckoning's face as he held the beam sword at bay with his bayonets.

Zane accepted this, and raised the Foro beam pistol attached to the Reckoning's left forearm, firing it at the Verde Buster's head and blasting it back.

Then, he slashed with the Scindo, taking off the Verde Buster's legs before firing the Foro twice more, blasting off each of its arms.

After that, he turned his attention back to the Destroy.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The Kessel Team rushed towards another Destroy, this one guarded by the Blu Duel.

"I'll deal with him," said Shiho, breaking from Nicol and Saul to intercept a shot from the Blu Duel's railgun before rushing forward, beam javelin drawn. Silber, seeing her approach, drew one of his beam sabers, and deflected the javelin with it.

"Yzak… I'm not gonna let you keep doing this!" said Shiho furiously, pushing the javelin forcefully forward.

"_You again, Patchworker bitch?_" spat Silber, twisting to fire his beam guns. But Shiho wasn't having any of that, instead bringing her left arm around and firing her Draupnir beam guns on both of the Blu Duel's forearms, destroying them. "_WHAT?_"

Shiho swung the beam javelin, cutting off the Blu Duel's right arm at the shoulder. Then, she coiled her Slayer Whip around the Blu Duel's midsection and activated the electric shock function.

She'd have made good on her plans to capture the Blu Duel too, if a Windam hadn't rushed in from the side and opened fire on her, distracting her as she dodged and blasted it with missiles… during which time, Silber managed to bring his machine closer, ignoring the shock, and delivered a kick to the GOUF's midsection.

Shiho cried out as she was knocked back, the heat rod coming loose, and the Blu Duel dived into the ocean.

"Damn it!" cried Shiho in frustration. She'd been so _close!_

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

As the Kessel Team began to harass their target Destroy, Suiren decided it was time for her own team to stop playing with the grunts and close in on one of the remaining Destroys.

"All right everyone," said Suiren. "We're going to close in and finish this."

"_Commander? How do you plan to do that?_" questioned Ishimura.

"First, _Minerva_, launch a Blast Silhouette for Lunamaria," ordered Suiren.

"_Roger._"

"Luna, you remember all those formations we practiced?" questioned Suiren, dodging a blast from a Euclid and closed in, breaking through the positron reflector using her beam sword and stabbing into the mobile armor's body, dragging her sword around to make sure the job was finished.

"_Yes, of course,_" said Luna, detaching her Force Silhouette and instead mounting the Blast Silhouette under cover of Max and Ishimura.

"Good," said Suiren, pulling back slightly as Luna readied herself to continue the fight. "Everyone, form up on me."

"_Commander…?_"

"Just do it!" said Suiren, dodging a shot from a Windam and returning the favor three times over, obliterating it.

"_Yes ma'am!_" said her pilots as they formed up around her.

"Good," said Suiren. "Formation Alpha Zero!"

"_Alpha Zero? Commander are you–_" started Matthew, but Suiren cut him off.

"Formation Alpha Zero, _now_!" she snapped. The rest of the Kyusai Team immediately followed orders. This was an extraordinarily difficult formation, and although they wouldn't hesitate to follow Suiren to hell, they all did want to be certain of her order. Luna had only learned this formation a few days ago, but nevertheless was able to take up her place slightly above and to the right of the Rose, the team falling into positions with Shizuru opposite Luna, Mai directly below Luna and Shiori directly above Shizuru. Murase and the Trinitys filled in the gaps, slightly further out from the Rose then the first four, almost directly above, below and to either side. Ishimura, Max, Matthew and Christina took up positions on the opposite side of Murase and the Trinitys from the Rose.

Then, the tight formation, which had caught both allies and enemies off-guard, charged away from its original position, where the Alliance had relatively few machines, right into the thicket towards the Destroys.

"What the hell is that?" questioned an Alliance pilot, aiming and firing along with his comrades. However, the mass fire was suddenly all but worthless, the shields of each mobile suit raised in front of them. "A phalanx?"

Spreads of missiles were shot towards the Kyusai Team formation in response to their anti-beam defense.

"Now!" cried Suiren. Shields lifted away, and the Rose and GOUFs all opened up, detonating missiles and casting a short-lived smokescreen into which they dived.

Then, thirteen mobile suits shot from the smoke cloud in different directions. Luna fired a barrage of missiles that all hit their off-guard targets dead-on, obliterating eight Windams before she snapped into firing position and let loose with her Deluge railguns, one of which managed to skewer two Windams, while her Kerberos vaporized a Euclid in the water below before it managed to activate its reflector.

Murase and Auron knocked aside shields and sabers before slicing apart one off-guard opponent after another. Max snapped off shots left and right, pinpoint accuracy shattering the cameras of each target, allowing Ishimura on his wing to easily cut them apart with his sword. Shizuru and Christina mixed suppression fire with their beam swords, gutting at least half a dozen machines before their opponents even realized what was happening. Mai and Shiori flew for a heavy concentration of enemies, their only control over their wildly flailing heat rods being to avoid hitting each other, the superheated whip-like weapons slicing apart one enemy after another. Yuna and Yuki had a grand time smashing enemy mobile suits with their shields or coiling their Slayer Whips around two targets and smashing them into each other. Matthew, without a wingman, simply went wild with his Slayer Whips and Draupnirs.

Suiren, meanwhile, paid tribute to the Freedom's legendary full burst by opening up with all of the Rose's weapons at once, consuming over a half-dozen machines with overwhelming firepower.

And in the blink of an eye, the Kyusai Team had punched a massive hole straight through the Alliance's frontline.

"Wow…" breathed Arthur. He wasn't the only one. Everyone who had witnessed that maneuver was stunned. "That was incredible!"

Durandal smirked. "It's as to be expected of the Golden Rose of War and the people who met her approval," he said calmly, though even he was absolutely stunned—he'd never seen anything quite like that.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

As the Kyusai Team crushed the Alliance forces in their way and left the onlookers breathless, Aleksi, Heine and Tristan moved to intercept the forces that could interfere with the assault on the Destroys; specifically a trio of Euclids, the Strike Noir and the Divina Guardian.

"Ayaka!" cried Tristan, exchanging fire with the Divina Guardian.

"_My name is Nanai Bidan, you patchworker son of a bitch!_" roared the Divina Guardian pilot, letting loose furious barrage after furious barrage. But Tristan's new machine was far too agile for Nanai to hit, and in frustration, she switched to mobile suit mode, drawing one of her beam sabers and charging straight at Tristan, who blocked with his beam javelin.

"Ayaka, this isn't you!"

"_SHUT UP!_"

Meanwhile, Heine dived down towards the water and the trio of Euclids down there.

"Heh… you're nothing more than glorified Moebiuses!" he said, shifting to mobile suit mode and firing his rifle. The Euclid blocked with its positron reflector, and all three mobile armors opened fire on Heine, only for the Saviour to shift to mobile armor mode and shoot forward in the blink of an eye, soaring straight over the Euclids.

Heine nosed his machine into a dive, then shifted to mobile suit mode. The Euclids couldn't turn on a dime like his machine could, and the FAITH agent took full advantage of that weakness, firing his rifle into the vulnerable thrusters of his opponents before swapping it out for his saber as he charged forward.

"That's one!" he said, slicing up one Euclid. He spun about, pulling out of line of fire for the gatlings of the next Euclid, and stabbed his Vajra into it. "That's two!" Heine shot up, dodging fire from the final Euclid as the second exploded. Then, he tossed his beam saber at the last machine like a javelin, prompting it to activate the reflector as it couldn't dodge with the damage to its thrusters, and the beam saber bounced off without enough force to pierce the defense.

Dropping it a second later proved a mistake, as the Saviour's cannons blasted straight through it.

"That's three," said Heine. "Hmm?" The Saviour barrel-rolled left, dodging a shot from a Windam, then shifted to mobile suit mode, firing its beam rifle. The Windam dodged, then sent a Stiletto flying at him. Heine fired his CIWS, destroying the knife, but then the Windam shot forward, beam saber crashing against Heine's. "Lone Windam, competent piloting… great, a hotshot punk."

Aleksi's beam saber crashed with Mariemeia's beam blade, the two pushing against each other forcefully, but the Impulse was quick to take the advantage in power away from the Strike Noir with its greater thrust, pushing the EX-C back.

"_No!_" screamed the unstable EX-C. "_**NO!**_"

The Strike Noir lashed out at the Impulse with a vicious kick. However, Aleksi sensed it coming, and broke away before it connected, then charged back in, swinging her beam saber, aiming to disable rather than destroy in the hopes of capturing the girl in the cockpit.

However, perhaps as a result of her instability, Maia's reflexes proved far faster than normal, and her beam blade intercepted Aleksi's beam saber as the Strike Noir snatched up one of its Shorty beam rifles. Aleksi gasped as the barrel began to charge…

And then a heat rod coiled around the Strike Noir's arm and yanked it to the side as it fired, sending the shot wide.

"Ahh!" cried Yuki, charging forward with her beam sword and slicing off the black mobile suit's unbound arm. Aleksi took advantage of the opportunity, discarding her shield and drawing her second beam saber, slashing with both and taking out the Strike Noir's remaining arm and left leg, while Yuki's beam guns destroyed the Noir Striker as the mobile suit fell into the ocean.

"_Yuki, let's go!_" called Yuna as she flew past. Yuki turned and immediately followed her twin.

"Thanks," said Aleksi as the girl who'd saved her life departed, before turning back to face the Windams coming her way.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Now this is just getting annoying," said Zane through grit teeth as he was forced to pull back by the heavy fire from the circumference cannons.

"_I expected more from you,_" said Nabiki.

"Reckoning wasn't built to fight these things! I'm not sure if anything can be!" retorted Zane, trying once again to close to melee range where the positron reflector wouldn't be able to stop him, only to be forced away by those pesky arms—which _also_ equipped reflectors, which absorbed the shots from his Foro beam pistol with ease.

"_Hmph._"

To Zane's surprise, Nabiki let up on her fire for a moment, combining her Praemium 2 into its true form.

The Destroy pilot didn't let the opportunity go to waste, shifting to mobile suit mode and firing his Super Scylla at the Avenger.

But if Destiny got through the blast, Nabiki had an easier time, tossing her bazooka into the air and bringing both Solidus Fulgor beam shields to bear in defense.

The blast wave swept over the Avenger and caught dozens of mobile suits behind Nabiki.

And when it faded, the Avenger's beam shields had shorted out (though a bit of toying on Nabiki's part kept them from overloading completely, the way Destiny's had), the armor scorched and smoking, but the damage visibly less than what the Destiny had suffered.

The Destroy pilot stared in horror as the Avenger caught its falling bazooka and leveled it, all four of its cannons snapping into position around the bazooka, their lines of fire intersecting the area directly in front…

And then, to Zane's surprise, as the large Gundam-like face on the Avenger's backpack opened and released the energy charged there, a sphere began to form.

"You're a fool if you think Avenger will fall that easily!" said Nabiki "Now let's see how that shield holds up to the Hyper Burst!"

With that, she fired, a massive sphere of beam energy launching at the Destroy. It's reflector raised in defense, and the sphere collided with the positron shield…

A massive explosion roared through the battlefield as the Destroy fell to its back, reflector emitter reduced to a twisted husk of melted titanium. Zane smirked dangerously, routing power to his Scindo beam sword and charging down.

The sword struck the vulnerable weapon of mass destruction, and Zane dragged it through the Destroy's body, cutting into the reactor and cockpit before pulling away as explosions from the massive mobile weapon's body rocked the ground and send plumes of fire into the sky.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Tristan wasn't faring nearly as well as everyone else. He was good, but there was a reason he'd been a Greencoat instead of a Red. The Divina Guardian's beam saber struck, taking off his machine's right arm.

"Damn!" he cursed. "Ayaka, stop this! PLEASE!"

"_DIE, PATCHWORKER SCUM!_"

Shinn heard the roar over the radio as he dodged a shot from the Destroy he was fighting with Rey, which had been much more cautious after the damage dealt to its right side, and he spun about.

His eyes widened as he saw Tristan's situation.

"No!" he cried out fearfully, activating the Wings of Light and shooting off in that direction.

"_Shinn!_" cried Rey, but the Destiny pilot didn't listen, desperate to save his friend at all costs.

Tristan attempted to fight back using his missiles and railguns, but Nanai evaded them and let loose with a barrage of missiles. The Greencoat shot these down with his Draupnir beam guns… but through the smoke, the Divina Guardian appeared and struck, taking off the GOUF's left arm this time.

"No…" muttered Tristan, pulling back as Nanai pursued. She attacked with her beam saber, on the verge of bisecting the GOUF… "Ayaka…"

A beam lit up the sky and pierced the Divina Guardian's powerplant.

Tristan and Nanai's eyes widened simultaneously as the Destiny shot past trailing afterimages, and the Divina Guardian exploded.

"_**AYAKA!**_"

Shinn's body had locked down in shock and horror at what he'd done.

He knew what Tristan had been going through. He'd sworn to himself that he would save Ayaka as well as Mayu.

And now, to save Tristan, he'd just killed her instead.

"No…" murmured Shinn as Tristan's continued to cry out for the dead girl. "No… it wasn't… IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!"

Shinn let out a roar of despair as a blood red jewel seed shattered in the back of his mind in a nova of pure rage and power.

The Destiny came about, casting away its rifle and gripping its Arondight in both hands as it shot at the Destroy.

"LOGOS!" roared Shinn. "THIS ENDS NOW!"

The Destroy managed to pull its lumbering bulk out of the way of Shinn's first attack, but Shinn's reflexes had hit their current peak, and he'd already spun the Destiny on its heel and slammed the machine's open palm on the Destroy's head, firing the Palma Fiocina, the powerful beam cannon obliterating the strategic mobile weapon's head.

"Shinn…" murmured Rey.

The Destiny's next attack with the Arondight sliced straight through the cockpit, and as the Destroy fell to the ground, Rey, unaware of the pilot's fate, soared in and struck with his combined javelins, causing the machine to explode.

"I'll destroy Logos…" swore Shinn. "I won't let them get away with all of this!"

Because Logos was responsible for what Ayaka had become. Shinn knew he would always be guilty of her death, as the one who had pulled the trigger, but it would always be Logos that had forced his hand.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Suiren heard Tristan's cries of despair, Shinn's cries of fury, the cheering as a second Destroy fell, and felt all the contrast of joy, hope, despair, fear, sorrow and rage surrounding her.

"This…" she said softly. "This is what war is. Never forget that…" She spoke to her team, though too softly for anyone to realize she was even talking.

Eyes shining with an ice-cold flame, Suiren locked her gaze on one of the three remaining Destroys.

"Luna, take charge," she said suddenly, catching everyone off-guard. "The Kessel and Kyusai Teams will each take out one of those remaining machines. I'll get the last one."

"_Wait, Suiren–_" started Luna, but she was cutoff as the Rose shot forward.

A beautiful jewel seed of spiraling ruby and emerald raced through Suiren's mind and shattered in a nova of light and darkness.

The Rose's thrusters punched up to maximum, and Suiren readied herself for a task that would mark her as someone to rival the Angels by taking down a Destroy effectively single-handed.

Luna watched Suiren's suicidal charge with horror, and was about to shoot off to assist when her machine was pulled up short and she glanced back to see that Max had stopped her.

"_Trust the Commander,_" he said. "_Now, Lunamaria, what do you want us to do?_"

"Me?" Luna glanced away. Why her? Why had Suiren put her in charge? Wouldn't Murase or Auron have made more sense?

"_She trusts you, Luna,_" said Shizuru.

"Trust…" Luna's eyes focused in determination. "Okay… I won't disappoint her." She turned to the final Destroy as it continued its assault, swatting incoming mobile suits with its circumference cannons. "Alright everyone, let's go!"

And with that, Lunamaria led others for the first time, her Blast GOUF Ignited leading the Kyusai Team's charge.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Lisa, Lucius, take your teams and draw its attention from above!" ordered Diana, dodging a swing by a Windam and skewering it on her beam saber. "Nicol, close in from below and finish this thing off! Shiho, cover him! Saul and the rest of you are with me!"

"_Yes ma'am!_"

A dozen or so GOUFs shot up into the air and started raining fire with their Draupnir beam guns. Meanwhile, Diana, with Saul on her wing, opened fire from directly in front of it using her rifle, the rest of the pilots with her doing the same with… well, with whatever was handy.

Obviously, the Destroy pilot was irritated. It was like he was being swarmed by pesky flies that refused to hold still for the two seconds it would take him to swat them down! To counter the Kessel Team, he deployed the Destroy's arms as remote weapons, the fingertip-mounted beam cannons opening fire and skewering one of those fighting above. One of those fighting in front of him fired on one arm, but the positron reflector of the other deployed in response and shielded the first, which shifted about and skewered this pest with cannon fire as well.

Several GOUFs moved behind him and fired their beam guns. He let out a cry of frustration as the fire bounced off the armor. It couldn't hurt him, but it was still annoying.

He fired the Nefertem 503 circumference cannons from the backpack, but those pesky Kessel Team pilots dodged it. He brought the remote arms around to finish them off…

Down below, Nicol and Shiho soared close to the ground, determined to do their part in bringing down this monstrosity. Nicol ignored enemy emplacements, tanks and mobile weapons, just focusing on dodging as he closed in on his target while his teammates distracted it. Shiho cleaned up the area for him, making sure nothing came even close to Nicol, oftentimes shooting down missiles with her own weapons.

Then, as the remote arms began to come around to attack those on its flank, Nicol found his opportunity.

The Sword GOUF Ignited's Flash Edge boomerangs spun through the air, catching the Destroy pilot by surprise as they sliced through his machine's remote arms. The Grim Reaper didn't waste any time, shooting up and stabbing his first Excalibur sword into the Destroy.

"Argh!" he cried, dragging it up and through the weapon's body. He pulled it out as he reached the cockpit, out of the line of fire for any of the monstrous mobile weapon's cannons, and stabbed his second Excalibur straight through the pilot.

The Kessel Team immediately swarmed in, cutting every inch of the now vulnerable Destroy's body with their beam swords, sabers and javelins, while Nicol continued his work, slashing repeatedly as the Destroy, ascending up its body to cut its cannons and tearing up more and more of the dangerous war machine.

The Kessel Team pulled back as the defeated machine fell to the ground and exploded. Even without a nuclear blast, it left a considerable crater behind, filled with enough wreckage for dozens of ordinary mobile suits.

"Just like Suiren said… as powerful as they are, these machines have their weaknesses too," said Nicol as he stared down at the remains.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Murase, you know this team better than me," said Luna. "Who do I want on my wing here?"

"_Ishimura,_" answered Auron easily. Luna nodded slightly.

"Is that okay?" she questioned.

"_Yes._"

"All right then, Ishimura, I need you to cover me," said Luna. "Matthew, please take his place on Max's wing." She closed her eyes, thoughts casting back to the briefing and everything she knew about these monstrous machines. "Okay… I want everyone to draw its fire upward. Ishimura and I will go low."

"_Roger!_"

"Thanks."

Luna shot down, evading fire from enemy mobile weapons and defensive emplacements, several of which she obliterated with her Firefly missiles. A Windam tried to close in, but in the blink of an eye, Ishimura had bisected the offender. Luna really did blink, too, wondering how he had moved so quickly, but brushed it off for later.

"Be as pesky as you can," said Mai lightly above. "The Commander's favorite wants us to draw this thing's attention, so let's have fun with it!"

With that, the red-tinted brunette spun about, Tempest beam sword slicing through the arm and head of a Windam that had tried to sneak up on her. She grabbed hold of its chest, and tossed it at the Destroy, firing her beam guns and causing it to detonate at about the same time it hit the reflector.

"_Have fun, huh? Why not?_" said Shiori, lashing out with her heat rod, coiling it around a Jet Dagger L and tossing that at the Destroy as well.

"Why you…!" shouted the Destroy pilot, annoyed with these machines that were throwing Alliance mobile suits at him constantly. He opened up on them with literally _everything_ he had: Zorn Mk2, Super Scylla, Nefertem 503 and hand beam cannons.

But the Kyusai Team was composed entirely of extraordinarily talented Newtypes personally trained by one of the strongest pilots and Newtypes alive. Their danger senses warned them ahead of time of the coming attack, and they evaded.

But all of this didn't make them invincible.

Max didn't quite make it out of the line of fire on his own. Matthew, however, perhaps driven by guilt over Chihiro's death—after all, he'd been her wingman, and he was responsible for looking after her—knocked Max aside, and got hit by one of the Nefertem 503 as a result.

"_Matthew!_" cried Max in worry. Amazingly, the GOUF didn't explode… but the cockpit was another story.

"Damn…" muttered Matthew, bleeding from where his right eye had been before getting impaled by a shard of… something, from his helmet or cockpit. Pure luck had kept his GOUF from exploding. He tried popping the cockpit hatch… but got no response. "Hell… alright then, fine!" The compromised GOUF turned and charged at the Destroy.

"_Matthew!_" cried Mai as Matthew dodged the incoming enemy fire.

"_Matthew Dodge, get your ass back here!_" shouted Murase furiously. But the last of the Kyusai Team's Greencoats didn't listen.

"Hey punk!" he yelled at the Destroy. "Ignore this!"

The GOUF's beam sword slammed straight through the reflector generator, causing it to fail, and fired his thrusters so that his GOUF slammed into the machine's head with its backpack.

Then, the GOUF exploded.

"_MATTHEW!_"

Luna grit her teeth, feeling tears in her eyes. Not just Chihiro, but Matthew as well. She hadn't been with the team long, but just as Suiren had said, it was like a family already. Losing those two was like losing both a brother and a sister.

Driven by duty to ZAFT, perhaps a touch of familial love for her two fallen comrades, and anger at this machine that had caused the death of one, Luna snapped into firing position. Even if the reflector had still been functional, it wouldn't have blocked her shot from the angle Luna would be firing at.

"Take this, you son of a bitch!" she cried, firing the Kerberos cannons straight into the Destroy's cockpit.

Then, the Kyusai Team descended with a demonic fury, and within moments, the Destroy was no more.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Suiren charged at the last Destroy, a lone warrior against the titanic mobile weapon.

The pilot wasn't paying any attention to her, and so, Suiren deployed her Orca and Signum cannons, and let loose three times in quick succession.

The positron reflector absorbed it all, of course. But it sure as hell turned the Destroy's attention away from the ZAFT forces and their allies.

"Bitch!" spat the pilot, shifting to mobile suit mode and deploying the Sturm Faust.

The arms charged straight forward, firing their hand beam cannons. Suiren skillfully evaded the attack as she charged forward herself.

One of the Sturm Faust was in her face, and opened fire.

The Rose ducked under the attack, spinning over and slicing the arm in half with its Tempest beam sword. Then, she fired her CIWS on the other arm, which interposed its positron reflector, not that it was necessary. Suiren responded by stabbing her sword through the arm.

"Why you…!" said the Destroy pilot through grit teeth as the second arm exploded and the Rose continued its charge. "Argh!"

The Destroy fired its Super Scylla and Zorn Mk2. Suiren continued her charge, detaching both of the Rose's shields and slamming them together in front of her.

The massive beam swept over the shields, consuming them.

"Heheheheheheh… stupid bitch," chuckled the pilot.

His eyes widened an instant later when the Rose appeared in front of the cockpit and stabbed its remaining Tempest sword straight through him.

"W-what?" he choked, looking down at the blade that had just cut him in half at the waist. It was the last thing he ever saw.

The overconfident pilot never noticed Suiren draw her remaining beam sword, nor did he see the shadow of a mobile suit as the Rose shot out of the line of fire at the last instant, letting its shields be consumed as a decoy.

Suiren ascended to the chest, then stabbed her Tempest beam sword into the center cannon. She drew both of her beam sabers from the Rose's knees, and stabbed them into the side cannons before withdrawing them and pulling back. She grabbed her rifle, aimed it at the Tempest sword, and fired.

The Destroy's chest cannon exploded.

She didn't stop there, though: snapping her cannons into place, Suiren opened up with everything the Rose had, pounding on the Destroy repeatedly until, finally, the Alliance's last hope for victory went up in flames.

**

* * *

**

Earth Forces Submarine _Aegean_

Djibril cursed in his head. How the hell could this have happened? The White Angel of Freedom had barely taken down _one_ Destroy (it never occurred to him that the Freedom would've defeated that particular unit in about two minutes if the pilot had been just about anyone else), so how had ZAFT defeated _five_ of them? It didn't make any sense!

It never occurred to Djibril that he was egotistical, that there was a reason he'd always stood in Azrael's shadow despite his far greater ambition, that he was, and would always be, inferior to the man who had nearly led Blue Cosmos to its ultimate goal, and likely would've reached that point even without the aid of Rau Le Creuset, though the ultimate failure was likely inevitable.

Djibril thought himself the most intelligent of all, the greatest strategist in existence, and therefore, unable to do any wrong. In truth, he acted on his emotions and on his ego, and was only capable when someone else was pulling his strings from the shadows, and even then only barely competent.

"Do we have those useless weapons?" he questioned, trying to take his mind off of it.

"We retrieved all of those that survived," confirmed the captain, hiding a glare, knowing full well that the mercenary and the EX-Cs were the only reason they'd lasted as long as they had.

"Hmph, they've failed every mission I've given them," snorted Djibril. "Even Eurasia… yes… this all started coming apart with that coup…"

And suddenly, Djibril knew beyond any shadow of a doubt what Requiem's second target would be.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

"It's over," murmured Makoto, leaning back in her seat. "Without the Destroys, the Alliance doesn't stand a chance."

"Then there's no doubt where ZAFT will come next," said Kira.

"Orb," murmured Cagalli fearfully. Meer shifted.

"Are you… are you sure?" she questioned, still not truly wanting to believe that the Chairman had been lying to her on every level.

"Absolutely," said Samuel with a nod. "Orb is now the only foothold of any real worth to the Alliance on Earth. After Orb, they'll no doubt target Daedalus and Arzachel."

"And after that, Izanami will be the only power in space that isn't controlled by ZAFT… and more particularly, Durandal," said Serenity. "Also, did anyone else notice the curious formation at the beginning of the battle?"

"The Alliance defectors were all up front," said Treize. "And ZAFT's ships stood almost exclusively at the rear."

"You don't mean…?" gasped Meer. Makoto nodded.

"ZAFT knew the Alliance had more Destroys, and that at least a few would be fielded at Heaven's Base," she said.

"In other words, Durandal put the defectors out front as sacrificial lambs," said Kira.

"I wonder if he expected Heaven's Base to launch their attack without responding to his ultimatum," commented Cagalli. "It certainly has a significant impact."

"No one doubts that Logos needs to be destroyed," said Makoto. "The problem is that Durandal's built up a fairly strong image for himself and ZAFT here on Earth. It's not perfect, thanks to that Ryker woman, whoever she is and wherever she's gone, but Durandal's got a lot of terrestrial support."

"What could he be hoping to achieve with that, though?" wondered Kira.

"I'll monitor everything," said Faith. "Why don't you all get some sleep?"

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

With the loss of the Destroys, the defense lines of Heaven's Base had begun to collapse. The combined ZAFT-Alliance force had outnumbered Heaven's Base by an order of magnitude to begin with, and while the Destroys had evened things up for awhile, with them out of the way, the _Minerva_'s mobile suits, the Kessel Team and the Kyusai Team had an easy time punching through what was left.

"Message from Commander Kyusai," said Abi. "Heaven's Base Headquarters is flying a white flag. The enemy has lost the will to fight."

"Please confirm that," said Durandal.

"Yes sir," said Abi. "Commander Kyusai, please confirm white flag. Repeat, Commander Kyusai, please confirm white flag." There was a moment's pause.

"Confirmed Chairman!" said Abi excitedly. "I'm bringing up the image now."

The display screen of the _Minerva_ suddenly switched to the white flag flare.

"Commander Kyusai is requesting permission to accept the enemy surrender" continued Abi.

"Yes, of course," said Durandal.

"Commander Kyusai, permission granted."

A moment later and another white flag flare was launched, this one far larger and much higher, visible to everyone, confirming Heaven's Base's surrender.

Durandal leaned back in his seat, smiling slightly.

It was almost over. Soon, the bishop would be out of the way, and he would move to check the king and bring an eternal end to all war.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, the Destroys were taken out fairly easily. As I pointed out repeatedly, this is possible, and no, it wasn't as easy as it looked. The Kessel and Kyusai Teams had their opponent outsmarted and outnumbered, while Suiren was _vastly_ underestimated by her opponent. Regardless, the Destroys did far better here than they did in canon.**

**Moving on, you've now seen the Avenger, Reckoning and GOUF HM2 in action. Congratulations, now let's move on again.**

**After being a royal pain in the ass in all previous encounters, the EX-Cs are almost all summarily curbstomped, as is Leon. In the case of the EX-Cs, all but Maia had fallen behind technologically (and Rache and Miguel were especially outmatched), and suddenly improving their abilities so they could keep up with opponents who'd previously beaten them back would've been stupid. In reality, curbstomp battles really do happen. Nanai is the victim on this occasion, getting shot down by Shinn in order to save Tristan. Shinn recognizes his own guilt, but also realizes that the true blame lies with Logos. Yes, Tristan _will_ have a confrontation with Shinn next chapter, don't ask about it.**

**Moving on, the highlights of this chapter for me were Luna's scenes. Those were a lot of fun, especially when she got to take down the Destroy. The Kyusai Team also delivers a mass improvement over any previous formation in order to curbstomp their way to the Destroys, demonstrating once again that, yes, tactics _are_ the ultimate force multiplier. And the Kyusai Team _knows_ this.**

**Both Shinn and Nabiki take some nasty hits, but ultimately make it out okay. The Destroys are great at massacring the average enemy, but against elites who know what they're doing, the slow-moving machines can become extraordinarily vulnerable.**

**Anyways, I'm tired, so I'm gonna end this here. Well, after the mech page, anyways.**

**Please, _please_ leave a review! The next chapter will present a moment we've all been waiting a long time for, and it shall be _fun_. ^_^**

**Say****ō****nara, desu.**

* * *

_**The Dark Knight of Destiny**_** mecha stat page**

_"You're a fool if you think the Avenger will fall that easily!"_ ~ Nabiki Ombre.  
**Avenger Gundam:**  
Description:  
A spiritual successor to the legendary Conviction Gundam, the Avenger boasts even greater firepower than its ancestor, along with greater mobility, close-quarters combat functions and greatly enhanced speed. Arguably the strongest mobile suit of the Destiny Project that surpasses even the Destiny Gundam, the Avenger boasts four beam cannons that conceal extra beam saber-armed hands that allow it to wield six beam sabers at once, and its Praemium 2 beam bazooka can be split into a pair of beam cannons for a higher rate of fire. Most powerful of all, though, is the Avenger's DRAGOON system, the strongest to date, which boasts a massive sixty-four beam guns spread across sixteen remote weapons. This machine was developed to be piloted specifically by Nabiki Ombre, sister to the pilot of the Conviction, Erik Saharin.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X65S  
**Code Name:** Avenger  
**Unit Type:** Prototype Heavy Assault Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**First Deployment:** 15 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.66 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 103.42 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; N-Jammer Canceller; DRAGOON System; Vengeance Backpack Unit; Beam Cannon Charge Weapon System ("Hyper Burst Mode"); "Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship;  
**Fixed Armament:** MGX-1562B "Terminus Kai" Multi-Phase Beam Cannon, mounted in chest; 4x MA-M0120 "Occultus Armo" Beam Cannon, mounted on backpack and knees, spread out in use, each conceals hidden hand armed with MA-01G "Lacerta 4" Beam Saber; 2x MA-01G "Lacerta 4" Beam Saber, stored in forearms, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 2x MMI-GAU26 17.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on wrists;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-M666C "Praemium 2" Beam Bazooka, can be separated into two oversized beam cannon-rifles  
**Remote Weapons:** 16x DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Pod: each mounts 4x GDU-X7 Assault Beam Machine Gun, four mounted on each leg, eight mounted around backpack;  
**Pilot:** Nabiki Ombre  
**Appearance:** The Avenger looks like a somewhat more heavily armored version of the Seravee from Gundam 00, with the armored head of the Virtue. The backpack has the DRAGOON pods pointed downward, four on each side of it, and four more pods are on each lower leg, one on the front, left, right and back side of each.  
**Color:** Same as the Conviction: primarily black, with blue-green trimming, and the body beneath the armor is white (essentially, envision it as though it had a Nadleeh-like Gundam beneath the armor. The Nadleeh would be white, while the rest of the armor is completely black).**  
Notes:** Though not readily apparent, this machine actually isn't any stronger than the Destiny in the overall sense… but in its chosen field of overwhelming firepower, the Avenger is _king_. Well, excepting the Destroy, but I don't count that. In terms of weapons variety, it's almost as limited as Legend is in comparison to Destiny, but again, it's purpose is overwhelming firepower, as emphasized by its _sixteen_ DRAGOONs packing a massive _64_ beam guns all total. Since the DRAGOONs can't be used in an atmosphere, this means the Avenger is at its best in space, doubly true since its weight won't be interfering with it. However, it's use of "Voiture Lumiere" _does_ make it remarkably fast despite its bulk. Overall, the Avenger is a very powerful machine… but it's not as powerful as many of you probably thought at first glance.

_"My name is Zane Scirocco… I apologize sir. This… isn't a joyous reunion."_ ~ Zane Scirocco to Gilbert Durandal after the unveiling of the Reckoning.  
**Reckoning Gundam:**  
Description:  
A spiritual successor to the Retribution Gundam, the Reckoning is a radical improvement over its predecessor. Whereas the Retribution could be classified as a general-purpose assault unit, the Reckoning is specialized specifically to close-quarters combat, though still boasting modest firepower. To better support its close-combat abilities, the Reckoning features four hidden arms, each armed with a powerful beam saber, and for ranged combat, it features a forearm-mounted beam pistol, hand-held double beam cannon, and the DRAGOON system. However, the Reckoning's most important feature is the experimental Neuro-Comm. Interface that, in theory, allows a pilot with superhuman degrees of spatial awareness to operate the machine by thought alone. Upon completion, this powerful mobile suit is assigned to former Retribution Gundam pilot Zane Scirocco.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X777S  
**Code Name:** Reckoning  
**Unit Type:** Prototype Close-Quarters Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**First Deployment:** 15 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.77 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 80.1 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; N-Jammer Canceller; DRAGOON System; Neuro-Comm. Interface;  
**Fixed Armament: **MA-M04D "Scindo" Beam Sword, mounted in right forearm, hand-operated in use; MMI-X099 "Foro" Beam Pistol, mounted on left forearm, hand-operated in use; 2x MA-01G "Lacerta 4" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 4x Hidden Hand, two mounted in skirt armor, two mounted in backpack, each is armed with MA-01G "Lacerta 4" Beam Saber; 2x MMI-GAU26 17.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on wrists;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-M200 "Coma" Double Beam Cannon, can be separated into two separate single-barrel beam cannon-rifles  
**Remote Weapons:** 8x Small DRAGOON Pod: each mounts 2x Beam Spike and 2x GDU-X5 Assault Beam Machine Gun;  
**Pilot:** Zane Scirocco  
**Appearance:** Basically the same as the Providence without the DRAGOON backpack or DRAGOONs on the hips. Instead, the backpack is replaced with an oversized version of the Blaze Wizard, which mounts all of the DRAGOONs spiking outwards. The skirt of the mobile suit is longer, similar the PMX-003 The O. It has the beam pistol of the Gundam Throne Zwei, and the 'Coma' looks like the Wing Zero's twin buster rifle.  
**Color:** Black torso and backpack with red trim. Dark grey arms, legs and head with red trim. Grey-green eyes.  
**Notes:** Now this… this was actually pretty fun. Akatsuki Leader13 struggled with Zane's successor, and at some point, I got inspired and did the design for the thing myself. It's a close-quarters combat machine with a very limited weapons load. However, it does possess the "Coma" for long-range firepower, which is pretty nasty right there. It's DRAGOON system is very limited, in order to focus more on its role as a melee unit—you all had to have noticed that they feature beam spikes for ramming, which would've been useful if he could've used them on the Destroys in the above battle. Alas, he could not. Well, another reason is balance purposes, but we won't go into that.

_"They are the most agile production model mobile suits yet developed, and were designed to be compatible with the Silhouette packs of the Impulse."_ ~ Nabiki Ombre.  
**GOUF Ignited High-Maneuver Type 2:**  
Description:  
An update to the GOUF Ignited developed as part of ZAFT's Destiny Project, the GOUF Ignited High-Maneuver Type 2 is essentially an enhanced, limited production variant of the Impulse Gundam, featuring all the technologies of the Impulse except the Core Splendor System, making this arguably the most advanced production model mobile suit yet. Originally assigned to pilots of the _Minerva_, most of the pilots in question transferred to the Kyusai and Kessel Teams, while another was assigned to the Impulse instead, resulting in the final unit being assigned to Commander Diana Kessel, with the _Minerva_ retaining only one of these powerful machines.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-2000M2  
**Code Name:** GOUF Ignited High-Maneuver Type 2  
**Unit Type:** High-Mobility Multi-Mode Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**First Deployment:** 15 January C.E. 74**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.2 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 72.99 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship; Hardpoints for mounting Silhouette Packs; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M757 "Slayer Whip" Heat Rod, mounted in forearms, produces electrical shock; 2x M181SE "Draupnir" 4-barrel Beam Gun, mounted on forearms; MMI-RG59V Mobile Shield, mounted on left arm;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** α Force Silhouette; β Sword Silhouette; γ Blast Silhouette;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR72 High-Energy Beam Rifle; M68 "Cattus" Recoilless Rifle  
**Pilots:** Saul Kessel, Shiho Hahnenfuss, Nicol Amalfi, Lunamaria Hawke, Tristan Palleon, Diana Kessel  
**Appearance:** The GOUF Ignited HM2 is almost identical in appearance to the standard GOUF Ignited, but has a Gundam-style headcrest like the Impulse and Astray-like V-spikes. It replaces the standard GOUF shield with that of the Impulse, and lacks the default backpack.  
**Color:** Default color is dark gold, the same as the GOUF Ignited of Rudolf Wittgenstein. The colors on the outer section of the shield are also reversed, so the white edges are black, the inner portion when it "unfolds" is white, the cross in the middle is red, and the red portion is gold, in order to match the standard color scheme. This is an image of the color scheme: h t t p :/ images4 wikia nocookie net/_cb20100106205320/gundam/images/7/78/Zgmf-2000-rudolf jpg  
**Notes:** And finally, we have the the GOUF Ignited HM2. It's only loss from the original GOUF is the shield and accompanying beam sword. Well, and the original backpack, but it's much more agile, capable of atmospheric flight regardless of the chosen silhouette, and, of course, the Silhouettes themselves lend the machines a great deal of versatility, which is exploited by both Aleksi (through Tristan) and Suiren (through Luna), with Luna herself later exploiting the earlier switch to take out a Destroy. How fun. Anyways, I hope you like this admittedly simple design. It was fun.


	39. Phase 39: Angelic Awakening

**Hmm****… I _could_ do a lengthy A/N here. But I won't. Let's skip the usual stuff and get right to what you all really want, nyah?**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own the MBF-05 Strike Renaissance and ZGMF-X26A Dauntless Faith.  
**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Nine: Angelic Awakening

January 15th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"You bastard!" cried Tristan, punching Shinn in the face. The Redcoat pilot accepted the blow—a part of him _wanted_ to be hit for what he'd done. "Why did you… why did you do that?"

"Tristan!" started Aleksi, but Heine put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

"They both need this," he said quietly.

It seemed Zane, Nabiki and Rey all agreed as well: each of them was simply standing back and watching things play out.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this…" said Shinn softly as Tristan was getting ready to punch him again. Shinn's eyes turned to Tristan. "What would you have done if our positions had been reversed? What if it had been Mayu about to kill me and your choices were between killing her or letting me die?"

Tristan's fist lowered slightly in defeat. He understood Shinn's position—he realized the Destiny pilot had reacted purely on instinct. But that didn't make it any less painful.

"I know…" he said. "I know that, but…"

"I know that I'll always be the one that killed her," said Shinn. "But…" His hand clenched into a fist. "Tristan, I promise this much: I won't rest until Logos has been destroyed! They're the ones who did this to her, and I'm going to make them pay for it, I swear!"

Tristan trembled slightly before turning and leaving, needing to just get away from Shinn.

"Shinn, are you okay?" asked Aleksi, walking over the Redcoat and inspecting the bruise on his cheek, drawing a slight wince from him.

"I'll be fine," he said. Aleksi expression said that she didn't buy it, but she let it go.

"You should go cleanup," she said. Shinn nodded slightly before leaving, Aleksi looking after him uncertainly.

"So what brought this on?" asked Rey, walking up to her.

"What?"

"Your behavior," said Rey simply. "This is completely out of the blue." Aleksi shifted uncertainly, eyes flickering briefly to Zane.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Za Burrel," said Zane coolly. Rey's eyes flickered to the FAITH agent when Nabiki spoke up.

"He's right," she said. "What others do with their time is their own business. They have a right to enjoy all of it while they still can." With that, she turned and left. Aleksi's expression was one of confusion.

"Hmm, I suppose she's right," said Rey. "Sorry about that. I'll go check up on Shinn." And with that, he left. Aleksi turned to Zane and Heine.

"This isn't a problem, is it?" she questioned.

"No," said Zane. "It's fine. Asuka could probably use it."

"Hmm…" Aleksi walked over the observation window overlooking the hangar. Her eyes focused on the Destiny. "I really am worried about him, though. Shinn really does seem to need someone."

**

* * *

**

GARM R&D, Mendel Colony, Lagrange Point 4

Martin DaCosta let out a frustrated sigh. This place was a mess… was it from that firefight he'd heard about a few years ago? Though how it was that Rau Le Creuset had gotten into a firefight with Kira, Makoto, Chris _and _Mu all at once and made it out in one piece was something DaCosta wasn't certain he'd _ever_ figure out.

"_You found anything?_" came Canard's voice.

"No," said DaCosta, stepping up to a computer console and continuing the search. "Every computer I checked has been wiped. There's absolutely nothing here."

"_Damn,_" muttered Canard. DaCosta couldn't help but agree.

After awhile, he found something that shocked him.

"This is Le Creuset's mask," he muttered, kneeling down and picking up the object that Kira had knocked off the madman's face two and a half years ago. "Hmm…" He straightened up, shining the flashlight around the room. He saw a notebook floating across the room and headed over to investigate. Opening it up, he glanced it over and saw that it was at least something. He'd study it later.

"I found something," he said. "Looks like a journal. And Le Creuset's mask. But other than that, nothing; even the test tubes that were supposed to be here are gone."

"_I see,_" said Canard. "_Alright then, I don't think we'll find anything else. I'll head back to the __**Ortygia**__ and get going then. You want an escort back to the Terminal?_"

"No, the _Ortygia_ would just draw unwanted attention," said DaCosta.

"_Alright then,_" said Canard. "_Guess we'll be heading to Izanami then. It's been awhile since any of us had a decent vacation._"

"Got it, I'll pass that along," said DaCosta with a slight smile as he started to make his way out of the facility.

**

* * *

**

Heaven's Base

An hour later

Suiren stood on the pier next to where the _Haku_ had docked to offload foot soldiers that would help with securing Heaven's Base. The blonde stared out at the ocean, thoughts on the matter of the escaped targets.

It was as they'd feared, and Djibril had escaped. Suiren considered where he could be going: Panama or Kaohsiung were the obvious choices. The blonde, however, suspected the land that should've been her home was where he would head. After all, ZAFT was too strong in the regions of all the other mass drivers. Alternatively, Djibril might even forgo a mass driver entirely. After all, he'd sold out his associates—why wouldn't he spend a little extra to get into space more easily?

"Suiren…"

The blonde looked back over her shoulder to see Luna standing behind her, looking at her with worry in her blue eyes. Suiren turned to face the Redcoat directly, smiling slightly.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"What happened back there?" asked Luna, walking up to her. "Why did you put me in charge? And why'd you attack that Destroy alone?"

"Hmm…" Suiren turned back to the ocean, motioning for Luna to come a little closer, and the redhead walked up to her, stopping at the blonde's side. "Because I wasn't certain of myself."

"What?"

"I once shot down a very dear friend," said Suiren softly, causing Luna to gasp in shock. "A… _very_ dear friend. During my trial, it came to light that he was actually a traitor." Suiren looked up at the sky. "I've always been a little afraid of myself because of it, though. And I used to be… well, I used to be a very _bad_ person Luna. A part of me still is that young woman known as the Golden Rose of War. Reine… didn't believe in people."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant that, at one time, I worshipped the very ground my father walked on and saw almost all others as scum," said Suiren. "It wasn't until I found out what he really was that I realized what I had become. Even then, it was a long time before I managed to escape being Reine and became Suiren instead." The blonde looked at Luna. "But all I did was lock away those darker parts of myself. And I think the only way to be free is to die."

"You don't mean…!" gasped Luna.

"No, I wasn't trying to get myself killed," said Suiren. "Sorry, I got off-track. The truth is, I didn't want any of you near me when I… well, I guess you could say I embraced some of my old self there. You know me as a bold pilot Luna… but I needed to be more than that. As Reine, I could be seen as a suicidal pilot… but I'm able to make it _work_. And against the Destroys, that's what I needed."

"Why didn't you let some of us help you instead of going alone without… that?" asked Luna, apparently struggling to find the right word.

"Because I didn't want to force you to face more than one of those things," said Suiren. "And because there wasn't any time to lose. Even with all of this, Djibril has still made it out of all of this alive. Logos itself is beaten… but Blue Cosmos is not. And Djibril has the resources to do some serious damage."

"Hmm." Luna looked away from Suiren uncertainly. She was surprised when she felt a gentle hand stroking her hair, and looked back to see Suiren smiling at her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," she said. "And I'm sorry you had to lose Matthew and Chihiro so soon after meeting them. Just don't forget: that's what war is."

"I won't," said Lunamaria softly. "I'll never forget how horrible all of this is."

"Yeah… and don't forget what we get in exchange for this terrible price."

With that, Suiren turned and left her protégée to her thoughts.

"What we get in exchange…?" questioned Luna, wondering what Suiren could possibly mean.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate, Orb Union

It was now early morning, the sun peaking over the horizon. Makoto had woken up early, and now stood at one of the balconies, staring out at the sun.

"You're up early," came Kira's voice suddenly.

"So are you," said the redhead, turning to face the brunet as he stepped out onto the balcony next to her. "Is something wrong?"

"No," said Kira, leaning against the railing and staring out at the ocean. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Hmm…" The redhead turned her attention to the ocean as well. "We should take your sister down there sometime. Minako tells me that Ami loves the ocean."

"It's an amazing thing," said Kira. "I don't blame her."

The two were silent before letting out sighs.

"Kira…" "Makoto…"

The two locked eyes, surprised that they'd spoken at the same time, then quickly looked away, blushing.

"What are we going to do?" questioned Makoto in frustration. "This is just…"

"I don't know… I just…" said Kira.

"I don't love Lacus… not that way," said Makoto. "And no matter what she says, I don't think Lacus would be entirely alright with such a thing. But she'd hide it, and that would just hurt all of us."

"We've spent years hiding from it," said Kira softly, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the wind as it picked up for a moment. "And that's not working either. Why is it that nothing we do seems to help?"

"Because you're like a drug to me Kira…" said Makoto, shocking the brunet. "When I'm with you, when I felt your lips on mine that day on the _Archangel_ and that night we danced…" There were tears in her eyes as she turned to face Kira. "I thought I loved Liz and Louisa, but they've never done to me what you did with a simple touch. And I can't figure out why that is. I've never been as much a slave to my emotions and desires as I am with you Kira. And that just makes it worse!"

The redhead looked on the verge of a breakdown, and Kira didn't know what to say—because the truth of the matter was that he understood what she was saying, to an extent.

He loved Lacus. Desperately, madly, he loved that girl who was _his_ angel. She could set his soul on fire with a simple touch, or numb pain with the sound of her voice. Makoto was another angel for Kira, but she wasn't Lacus. She could do what Lacus could, but not as easily, not as effectively, not as intensely…

But he didn't doubt for a moment that he loved Makoto as well.

But it seemed Makoto was facing the possibility that she didn't love the women with whom she'd shared her life for the last two years. And for Makoto, kind, idealistic and hopelessly loving, such a thing tore her heart open and left it bleeding before Kira's eyes.

And there wasn't anything he could do. No words could comfort the child before him who was faced with the possibility that was on the verge of breaking the heart of the two people she'd thought she would spend her life with.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

The next day

They were gathered in the office of the base commander: the Kyusai Team, the Kessel Team and all of the _Minerva_'s pilots, the major commanding ZAFT officers from Operation Ragnarok, Chairman Durandal and the commander of Gibraltar, Cody Linwood.

Standing in front of the base commander were Shinn, Rey, Zane, Nabiki, Luna, Nicol and Suiren as everyone listened to Linwood speak.

"For distinguished services in the Battle of Heaven's Base, we award Shinn Asuka, Rey Za Burrel, Zane Scirocco, Nabiki Ombre, Lunamaria Hawke, Nicol Amalfi and Suiren Kyusai the Order of the Nebula," he said, walking up to each and pinning the medal on their uniforms (or in Suiren's case, on the breast of her trenchcoat), as the rest of the crowd started clapping, and all of the awarded pilots snapped off salutes.

"Congratulations to all of you," said Linwood before focusing on Suiren. "Though as I understand it, you've won this medal before, Commander Kyusai? Would this be your second, or your third?"

"Fifth," said Suiren, drawing gasps of shock from everyone except Durandal, Talia and Rey. "The Battle of Yggdrasil, the Battle of Endymion, the Battle of Nova, the Second Battle of Jachin Due and now the Battle of Heaven's Base." The blonde gave a weak smile. "I'd thought the council got tired of giving me these medals."

"The National Defense Committee disagrees," said Durandal, stepping forward. "I also have these," he continued, holding out two FAITH badges. "For Rey Za Burrel and Shinn Asuka." Eyes widened all around.

"Mr. Chairman…" gasped Shinn.

"Is there a problem?" questioned Durandal as Rey stepped forward.

"Well, no, but…"

"These are merely an acknowledgement of how much we rely on your strength," said Durandal. "They're a vote of confidence. My hope is that the two of you will wear them with pride. That you will continue to use your strength, and that you will not betray my faith in you." Shinn glanced down at his new medal, then looked back to the Chairman.

"I'm honored sir," said Rey. "I will do my best."

"As will I," said Shinn.

"Congratulations, Shinn," said Aleksi with a smile as everyone clapped. Tristan didn't smile with her—he was still dealing with the fact that Shinn had killed Ayaka. He'd forgiven the Destiny pilot, but it wasn't that easy to discard his anger, even knowing it was meaningless.

As the applause came to an end, Diana stepped forward.

"Chairman Durandal, with your permission, I would like to return to space with my team," she said. Durandal eyed her curiously.

"If I might ask, why?"

"Aside from a few small pockets of resistance, the Earth is now secured," said Diana. "Therefore, I would like to return with my team to our first duty, that is, the protection of the PLANTs."

"Yes, I see," said Durandal, frowning in thought. The Kessel Team was a dangerous piece, and it included several very dangerous pieces. "Actually, I would prefer that your team remain here until such time as we have tracked Djibril down and taken him into custody."

"Chairman Durandal, is that really necessary?" questioned Nabiki, catching everyone off-guard as the normally quiet young woman spoke up for the first time since the meeting had been called. "It would seem to me that with the machines now aboard the _Minerva_, there is no reason to keep the Kessel Team here when they could better serve defending the PLANTs, especially at this critical juncture."

"I agree with Miss Ombre," said Suiren. "Djibril is by far the most dangerous member of Logos. It would be best to have every unit available for defense of the PLANTs should he order an attack."

"Yes… you're right," said Durandal. "Very well, Commander Kessel, you have my permission."

"I would also like permission to return to space with my own team," said Suiren. "Our ranks have thinned considerably. And on a more personal note, I would like the opportunity to pay tribute to the fallen."

"I understand," said Durandal, frowning as he looked over the Kyusai Team. He could see it plainly: they all backed her up completely. He sighed. "Very well. I'll arrange for transportation shortly."

**

* * *

**

Several hours later

Just as Durandal had said he would, transport was arranged quickly. There were five shuttles being loaded with the mobile suits of the Kessel Team, while another four were being loaded with the machines of the Kyusai Team. Their ships were already waiting in orbit.

"Commander Kyusai," said Diana, holding out her hand to the younger officer, who accepted the shake. "It was a pleasure working with you. I believe you're team may become the true successors to the Alaric Team."

"Hmm, I guess we'll find out," said Suiren, smiling slightly at the complement as she released Diana's hand. Nicol, Saul and Shiho approached her.

"You know, in spite of everything, I'm glad I met you," said Saul.

"Just one thing," added Shiho. "Go see Makoto soon."

"Hmm, I've been thinking about that," said Suiren. "I guess we'll see how things go."

"She misses you," said Nicol. "Those times I visited her in Orb, she told me about how much she wished she could've had her cousins."

"She has one," said Suiren, catching the trio off-guard. "I don't want to impose until I know trouble there is off her plate."

"I see," said Saul. He saluted. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you around, Suiren." Nicol and Shiho added their own salutes, which Suiren returned. The Kessel Team pilots then proceeded towards the transports, while Suiren turned and headed towards her own.

Outside, she found Heine, Zane, Aleksi and Rey waiting for her. She paused, glancing at the transport and seeing Luna through one window, waiting for her, before refocusing her attention to her former teammates and childhood friend.

"Suiren…" started Zane.

"Zane…" There was something icy in Suiren's tone. "Heine. Aleksi. Rey. Do you think I'm blind?"

"What?" questioned Aleksi, confused.

"You three… have no place in my family anymore," said Suiren, shocking them completely.

"Why are you saying something so cruel?" questioned Heine softly.

"I think you know." Suiren gave the three a look that told them to scram, and they wisely did so, Aleksi throwing her former CO a confused look as she followed Heine and Zane. Suiren turned to Rey.

"So… you know?"

"I don't know what it is exactly," said Suiren. "But I don't like it. You and Gil both know that, and you've known it since the beginning." Her mismatched eyes were cold as steel. "You tried to suborn my team."

"That's not it at all, Suiren," said Rey. "Please, trust Gil. Once Logos is dealt with, he'll explain everything."

"Hmph." Suiren obviously didn't believe Rey, who sighed.

"Suiren… no… Reine…" Amazingly, Rey didn't flinch at the glare Suiren leveled his way. "Please, try to understand. Gil doesn't want a world in which people suffer anymore. He wants a world where everyone can be happy. That's all he's fighting for."

"Utopia doesn't justify the means," said Suiren. Rey didn't respond to that, and the blonde sighed.

"I'm going to protect the PLANTs," she said. "That's never going to change."

"I know," said Rey. "Gil wants to protect the PLANTs too. And everyone else." Suiren's features softened slightly, and she reached out, pulling Rey into a hug, catching him off-guard.

"I know he does," said Suiren. "I'm just worried… I'm worried he might go too far. I love Gil as well. You, him, Talia… all of you were just as much my family as Rau was. And that's why I'm scared."

"Suiren…" murmured Rey, returning the hug. "Please, believe in us."

"I'll try," she said. "But you have to believe in yourself as well. You're not my father Rey. And you never will be. You're far too kind for that. You're too good of a person."

Rey didn't respond.

Aboard the transport, Luna watched the exchange between Suiren and Rey with uncertainty in her eyes. Wondering at the mysterious past they shared, and wishing more than anything that she could know the truth as to what it was.

**

* * *

**

The _Winter Eagle_

A short while later

"Where is Sakura?" questioned Suiren, walking onto the bridge of the _Winter Eagle_.

"Sorry ma'am," said Toshio Kaneko, the new captain of the _Winter Eagle_, giving his commanding officer an apologetic shrug. "She wanted to take the _Diana_ out for a full test run at the moon before allowing it to be fully integrated into the team."

"Hmm, probably something personal too," commented the blonde.

"Ma'am, we're receiving a communiqué from the _Baldur_," said the comm. officer. Suiren nodded.

"Good, I wanted to talk to Commander Kessel anyways," she said, turning to the screen as Diana's face appeared there.

"_Commander Kyusai,_" she said. "_You're heading back to the PLANTs?_"

"Yeah, so I guess this is where we go our separate ways," said the blonde, surprising her entire bridge crew, as well as Luna, Shizuru, Mai and Shiori, who were on this ship with her. Surprise was written on Diana's face as well.

"_How did you…?_"

"Don't worry about it too much," said Suiren. "I know where you're going, and I have a request." She turned to look at Luna. "Take Lunamaria with you."

"What?" gasped Luna, completely caught off-guard.

"_Commander Kyusai, if I might ask, why?_" questioned Diana, a guarded tone in her voice now. Suiren turned back to face the Kessel Team commander.

"Because you're going to meet someone that Luna's been desperate to meet for a long time now," she said. "Is it a problem?"

Diana was quiet for a moment, apparently conferring with someone off-screen, before turning back to Suiren.

"_No, we'll take her._"

"Thank you," said Suiren, turning back to Luna. "Well Lunamaria, guess this would mean goodbye."

"Uh, Suiren, why…?"

"You want to meet him, don't you?" replied Suiren softly. Luna's eyes widened, snapping to Diana's face on the display screen, then back to her Commander… and slowly, she nodded in understanding.

"Thank you Suiren," she said, bowing slightly before leaving the bridge. Suiren turned back to the display screen.

"Farewell, Diana," she said. Diana nodded.

"_Farewell… Suiren._"

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Luna contemplated what Suiren had told her. The blonde had been her confidante, her mentor and her caretaker for over a month now, ever since she'd first questioned Suiren about Divinity, and she'd been a leader for Luna for months before that.

Suiren had given Luna everything. The redhead was extremely grateful, but also wondered at what the blonde was thinking. What drove her to all of this? What was Suiren planning?

And was a chance to see Kira Yamato really the only reason Suiren was sending Luna to the Kessel Team? Did this really mean she expected the Kessel Team to defect to the third party—most likely Izanami—to which the White Angel belonged?

As the elevator arrived at the hangar deck, Luna's hand clenched over her heart.

"Suiren… thank you."

**

* * *

**

The _Baldur_

"That woman knows where we're headed," commented Captain Lee, turning in his seat to face Diana, Lucius, Nicol, Saul and Shiho. "Are you sure this girl we're taking can be trusted?"

"I think so," said Saul. "Suiren has ties to Makoto…"

"…And Lunamaria… 'admires' Kira," said Nicol.

"You're certain your opinions haven't been colored?" questioned Diana.

"Completely," said Shiho. "If she wanted to, she could've stopped us down in Gibraltar. She didn't, and instead helped us get back up here." Diana nodded in agreement.

"Miss Hawke's GOUF has landed in the hangar," said the CIC officer, glancing over his shoulder.

"Thank you," said Diana. "Alright, we're heading for the moon. We'll swing over the Catharina Crater, then set course for the PLANTs. Or at least, that's what we'll be doing while we wait for the new orders from the Terminal."

"Amalfi, please take care of Miss Hawke," said Lucius, glancing at Nicol. Diana gave a slight nod of agreement.

"I'll take care of her," said Nicol, turning and heading for the elevator.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

The next day

What Kira, Makoto and all the others didn't realize was that the Djibril had just arrived in Orb. Leon stared out a window of the Seiran Manor, gut clenching.

To be here, in Orb, at a time like this…

He didn't like it. Doubly so with the increasing instability of the EX-Cs, especially Maia. Their numbers seemed to be falling quickly ever since the Destroy Incident that had ruined everything for them when Treize defected and Gyunei, Sting and Stella all died. Leon would've been pleased, if it weren't for the price paid.

A part of Leon really wished the Alliance hadn't lost its momentum. If the Alliance had kept the upper hand, ZAFT would've been forced into surrender, and with Izanami watching like hawks, the Alliance leadership could probably have kept others like Djibril from overstepping their bounds, and the war would've ended quickly. His only concern with that scenario was the fate of the PLANTs, but so long as the Angels continued to breathe, he was certain those colonies would be safe.

Leon sighed, staring out at his homeland. The land of peace… or at least, that's what it used to be, before the Seirans seized control.

Leon wanted to go out, take the Valiant, and destroy this place right now, when he could take out Djibril, the Seirans responsible for the sorry state of Orb's sovereignty, and put the EX-Cs out of their misery. But he didn't, because the price he would pay to Horizon if he disobeyed orders was far too great. He'd become evil itself before he gave up on…

Leon's phone rang, drawing him from his reverie. Pulling it from his pocket, he answered.

"Hello?"

"_Leon,_" came a familiar voice that caused him to gasp slightly.

"Raphael?" he murmured, shock that his superior would contact him like this.

"_I've arranged for a transport to take you and the Valiant into space,_" said Raphael. "_Djibril intends to leave all the machines behind, and Gabriel won't let me supply you with a new machine, not even one of our Djinn prototypes, so we can't afford to lose the Valiant if you're to continue your mission._"

"I… I see," said Leon. "I suppose I should be grateful?"

Raphael snorted. "_Lucky would be more accurate,_" he said. "_Your driver will be around to pick you up at about noon local time. I managed to pull the necessary strings with regards to Djibril._"

"Understood," said Leon.

"_I'll see you soon. I'll be with the ship on which the upgrades are to be applied. Hanako will be with me._"

"… thanks," said Leon as Raphael hung up.

It pained Leon. This would be the first time he'd seen Hanako in nearly a year. She hadn't recognized him then, and if what Raphael said about her condition was true, she wouldn't recognize him now.

But he didn't care, either.

**

* * *

**

The Enclave

"I've sent orders to the Sanctuary," said Kira. "They're sending two ships to rendezvous with the Kessel Team to deliver the Tengu, Triad and remaining Sentinels."

"That's good," said Makoto, looking over the latest reports from her agents, among other things. "It seems the Knight and Angels are complete, as are the DOMs. The _Eternal_ is almost one hundred percent complete. Some final touches, weapons initialization, and then they'll launch to deliver our new machines."

"What about Lunamaria Hawke?" questioned Kira. "No one's said anything about the reason Misuumi sent her to the Kessel Team."

"I'm still not sure," admitted Makoto. "Athrun might know, but I don't want to disturb him with what's going on right now. Some other good news is that the Akatsuki's ready as soon as Cagalli is."

"What about Yzak and Dearka?" asked Kira as the two entered the upper levels of the Enclave hangar, giving them a breathtaking view of the _Archangel_, _Dominion_, two of the Sentinels, the Templars and two of the Tengu down below.

"No sign of them, nor any of the other EX-Cs," said Makoto, frowning slightly as she continued to study the reports and came to a stop. "But if Djibril plays into Durandal's paws, then they're already in Orb. Yuri says that an unusually high amount of attention is being paid to Orb."

"Then why hasn't he launched yet?" questioned Kira, also frowning, wondering at what could be going on.

"I'm not sure," muttered the redhead. "Hmm… if I had to guess… maybe they're worried about the Taiyonoha Fleet…? No, that's just egotistical. So it has to have something to do with Orb…"

"Orb is strong," muttered Kira. "Strong, with powerful ideals…" The eyes of the two Angels suddenly snapped to each other as realization struck.

"He wants ZAFT to destroy Orb!" hissed Makoto.

"Son of a bitch," growled Kira, spinning on his heel. "Come on, let's get back."

"Do we tell Cagalli?"

"She's getting her fire back," said Kira, shaking his head. "We can't let her run off ahead of time. We have to time this just right."

"Yeah… I just hope we don't miscalculate," said Makoto. "We'll need to hope Durandal sends an ultimatum ahead. That should give her sufficient warning. If Cagalli runs off ahead of time and a fight breaks out before everyone's ready to deliver the Seirans on a silver platter, Orb could be left vulnerable to ZAFT."

"And if that happens, this country could be destroyed."

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Several hours later

The _Eternal_ was arguably the second most legendary vessel of all time, likewise elevated to near mythological levels in the time since the last war. However, it was designed solely as a support vessel for the nuclear-powered mobile suits of ZAFT, half of which had been taken by the immediate precursor to the Three Ships Alliance before the Clyne Faction stole the _Eternal_ and rendezvoused with them. Although the ship had dozens of missile launchers, these missiles were small and weak, intended to intercept incoming enemy missiles, while the METEORs were intended to dock with the Freedom and Justice, and could only manage about half-power while docked with the mothership.

Terminal's Eternal Project was a massive upgrade to the support ship, redefining what it was and making it truly worthy of its legendary status in and of itself, rather than being carried on the reputation of the Knights, the Angels and most especially Lacus.

After the war, the _Eternal_ was camouflaged and attached to the Factory, which was in turn coupled to the Terminal itself. The bases (and ship) were located out of direct line of sight with the PLANTs, between L4 and the Earth.

So it only took DaCosta a day to make the trip from Mendel Colony to the Terminal, and he now stood on the bridge of the _Eternal_ with Lacus and Andy, setting the suitcase he carried on the tactical table to show them what he'd found, having studied it on his way over.

"Man, that was a tedious little trip," he said, opening the suitcase. "There was no air in the colony and it was so rundown. For some reason though, the genetic research lab was cleaned out, including all the data _and_ everything else." Lacus and Andy both gasped slightly in surprise. In the suitcase was the journal DaCosta had found, along with a few other papers, and Rau's mask.

"Except for these," said DaCosta, picking up the items. Lacus looked at them uncertainly, especially Rau's iconic mask. DaCosta opened the journal and flipped through it, looking for one of the pages he'd marked. "But you should probably take a look at this." He set the book down in front of them. "It looks like it was written by one of his fellow researchers at the time." He pointed to a line of capitalized text written and underlined in red, reading DESTINY PLAN and surrounded by formulas Lacus couldn't really fathom.

"At first glance, Durandal's Destiny Plan seems like it could truly alter the age we live in for the better," read Andy. "However, we mustn't forget good common sense. People do not live their lives to serve the world around them. The world is a place for people to live their lives as they see fit."

"Is this it?" questioned Lacus softly, picking up the journal and curiously flipping through it.

"The Destiny Plan…" muttered Andy. Lacus gasped suddenly, but before anyone could question why, an alarm suddenly sounded. "What the…?"

The display screens suddenly started shifting as the computers sought out anomalies on the camera drones before finally locating the target: a ZAFT mobile suit shooting out the drone in question.

"A reconnaissance GINN!" exclaimed DaCosta.

"Argh… it was tailing you!" said Andy, directing his words at his adjutant. "I'll deal with it. Get my Gaia ready." With that, Andy pushed himself towards the back of the bridge.

"Mr. Waltfeld, wait a minute!" said Lacus, catching him by surprise.

"What?"

"The damage is already done," she said sadly. "If it trailed us this far, then its mothership can't be that far away." Lacus turned slightly to look back out the viewport as Andy let out a growl of frustration. "They must've been keeping the Mendel Colony under observation. That was careless of me." Lacus felt ashamed—she knew of Durandal's connection to Mendel, and so she'd ordered a search of the colony to learn more of his motives. But she'd made the mistake of believing Durandal wouldn't realize they knew about that connection, in spite of them being there only a few years ago, when they learned the dark secrets of Divinity.

"No, it wasn't you…!" started DaCosta, before Andy grabbed him and wrapped him in a headlock with prosthetic arm.

"That's right!" said Andy. "This is the guy who brought 'em here, huh?" DaCosta's expression was slightly uncertain as Andy dropped the slight joking tone. "So what do we do now? The machines here at the Factory are still undergoing final adjustments. If they attack us now, we'll be virtually defenseless."

"We need to get the ship out of here Commander Waltfeld," said Lacus, clutching the journal to her chest. "Immediately."

"Huh?"

"Get out?" questioned DaCosta. "They'll be sure to see us then."

"They'll see us either way," replied Lacus softly. "That's why we need to get into the best position possible before they launch their attack."

"Yeah, but with most of its weapons still waiting to be initialized, the _Eternal_ isn't able to deal with even a single _Nazca_-class ship," said Andy. "Nor of outrunning one. We don't stand a chance of winning."

"I'm not trying to win this battle," said Lacus. "I'm trying to protect!" Andy and DaCosta gasped in surprise and confusion. Lacus clutched the journal a little tighter. "You see… we need to protect the people here at the Factory who worked to help us." She closed her eyes. "And these notes…" She turned and floated to her flagseat. "Leaving right now will draw the ZAFT forces after us." She turned to face the other two. "This will give the Factory time to come up with a contingency plan. In the worst case, we'll flee into a descent orbit."

"Hey, hold on, you know that's…" started Andy.

"We'll send the Angels, the Knight and the documents to the Enclave," said Lacus, cutting him off. Andy thought about that for a moment before smiling slightly, shaking his head.

"Heh… sounds good to me," he said, letting go of DaCosta and floating forward to his seat. "_Eternal_, prepare to move out. Notify the Terminal." He stopped at his chair and started hitting switches on the arm. "I'll talk to the Factory. Open a circuit."

As Andy and DaCosta assumed their stations and began coordinating for the launch, Lacus took her own seat, glancing at the journal she held in her arms before opening it to the final section and rereading what was written, a portion DaCosta didn't reach.

_Hello Lacus. I know you're the one reading this. I want you to know that I was foolishly arrogant, arrogant enough that I recreated Divinity, this time with my own image. Arrogant enough that I've played god, and arrogant enough to recognize my arrogance. And I did it anyways. This journal tells you everything you need to know about the situation you face now. And when you gather all six of the Children together, my final gift to Makoto will tell you the rest._

_Say hi to her for me. And to Minako, and Kira, and to Chris as well. Tell them that Sera Takara is sorry for everything that she… that __**I**__ have done._

"Discard camouflage," ordered Andy, drawing Lacus from her reading. She watched as the asteroid camouflage was cast away.

"Now _Eternal_," she said. "Go ahead and launch!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

"What did you say?" exclaimed Kira.

"The _Eternal_ has launched preemptively," said Faith. "They were discovered by ZAFT, and took off in order to protect the Factory and Terminal. If they can't shake the pursuit… they'll begin a descent and drop a pod holding the Angels, Knight and some documents from Mendel."

"Angels? Knight?" questioned Treize.

"The Mendel Colony?" gasped Flay.

"Lacus…" muttered Athrun. Nearby, Meer gave Athrun a shocked glance.

"Damn it… the _Eternal_'s systems weren't initialized?" questioned Makoto.

"Not for another couple of hours," said Faith, shaking her head. "The Angels and Knight are complete, pending the proper OS input, but they're only pilot is Captain Waltfeld, and he can't handle those machines with his prosthetics."

"Damn," cursed Kira through grit teeth. "Lacus…"

"What are you gonna do?" questioned Minako.

"Kira…" The level yet urgent tone turned everyone's attention to Makoto. "Go to her. You still have to tell her…"

Kira's eyes widened slightly as he subconsciously reached down to a slight bulge in his pocket, one that he'd kept since Christmas…

"Faith." Kira's voice had turned cold as ice, and there was an iron fury in his gaze that had everyone but Faith and the Taiyonoha nearly trembling. Suddenly, Kira seemed to be radiating power the way Makoto had when she used the Cosmic SEED, though nowhere near as acutely or powerfully, since this strength was entirely his own, unlike the Cosmic SEED.

"Yes, Admiral Yamato?"

"Have Morgenroete prep the Strike Rouge for launch with a booster," said Kira. Nobody questioned him—only one person dared to even open her mouth.

"Have them prep the Strike Renaissance as well," ordered Makoto.

"And the Strike Raven," added Flay, this time catching even Faith off-guard.

"Flay?" questioned Liz softly.

"You better take care of Alex," said Flay, to one in particular as she started running.

"Cagalli, Ami, take care of yourselves while I'm gone," said Kira, sounding wholly the part of the older brother as he also started running for the garage.

"Faith, look after Ami if you get going before we're back," added Makoto, giving chase. No one managed to get in a word before the three were through the door to the garage, with Faith opening the main door for them.

Within a minute, two motorcycles and a car were racing towards Morgenroete.

"Are they crazy?" questioned Clotho, a look of 'oh man' on his face. Tolle grinned.

"They're angels, the usual rules don't apply."

**

* * *

**

ZAFT _Nazca_-class Destroyer _Auric_

"They're fast," muttered the pilot.

"They're in the _Eternal_," said the sensor operator. "What kind of game are these guys playing?"

"Indeed," said Commander Joseph Abraham, leaning back in his seat slightly. "Who would've thought we'd run across a ship that went missing in the confusion of the Great War?" Abraham turned his attention to the comm. officer. "Where are the _Caernarfon_, _Holst_, _Arnell_, _Eichberg_ and _Garth_?"

"Sir, they're at Green 22 Charlie, Indigo 8 Alpha, Blue 19 Beta, Green 10 Gamma and Yellow 12 Alpha."

"Good," said Abraham. "We have them cornered. Now that we've found those terrorists, they're not getting away from us."

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

"Green, Indigo, Blue and Yellow, five more _Nazca_-classes," said the sensor operator. "Detecting incoming ZAKUs and GOUFs."

"Damn it, shake them off!" shouted Waltfeld. "Descend fifteen degrees!"

Lacus clutched the journal to her chest. This was horrible… they had to make it. They had to get these documents and the new machines to Kira and the others, no matter what!

Within less than ten minutes, the mobile suits were upon them.

**

* * *

**

Morgenroete Inc.

A short while later

"_Admiral, what should we do about the voltage and the other specs?_" questioned the Morgenroete crew chief.

"Use the same settings as the Strike," ordered Kira. He, Makoto and Flay were all wearing pilot suits, in case they needed to perform an emergency transfer.

"_Yes sir._"

"_Lady-Admiral, everything is set,_" came the voice of a female crew chief. "_Strike Renaissance is ready._"

"_Ensign Allster, Strike Raven is hooked up to the booster, we're double-checking the connections now._"

"_Please hurry,_" said Makoto. "_I don't think we have much time._"

Kira finished his typing, fully rebuilding the Strike Rouge's OS.

"I'm ready," he said.

"_Roger that, raising the boosters now!_"

Kira felt a slight jerk as the Strike Rouge began to rise, alongside the Strike Raven and Strike Renaissance, to one of Morgenroete's secret launch facilities.

"_You factored in the orbital data, right?_" came Murrue's voice. "_The __**Eternal**__ will be descending._"

"I factored that into our course," said Kira.

"_Faith, I want the First Fleet to launch for rendezvous with the __**Eternal**__,_" said Makoto. "_Tell them to send the __**Yukihime**__ along as well._"

"_Understood,_" said Faith. "_Course is clear. Strike Boosters, you are clear for launch._"

"Launching!" called Kira.

"_I'm heading out!_" added Makoto.

"_Taking off!_" called Flay.

The boosters activated, and the three Strikes rocketed from the launch facility, Rouge and Renaissance activating their PS armor, turning the machines the same color as the Strike, with the exception of the Renaissance's black torso.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

"Damn it, nothing's worse than being in this situation because of a few technical upgrades!" cursed Andy, pushing off from his seat after another round of explosions far too close to the bridge. The _Eternal_ was almost literally defenseless right now—the cannons, the METEORs, _everything_ except the CIWS and a quarter of the missile launchers was out.

"Tell Chandra and Jason to prep the Gaia for me," said Andy. "I'm taking off."

"But Commander–" started DaCosta.

"I'll keep these wolves at bay," said Andy, cutting his adjutant off. "We have to get some distance. DaCosta, don't let them hit the engines!"

The elevator door closed. Lacus stared outside, where molten lead was being poured out in the form of over a thousand bullets per second from the Æsir, and she saw the stars spin as the pilot desperately tumbled to avoid a blast from the pursuing destroyers, even as the beams faded against the anti-beam curtain created by the _Eternal_'s depth charges. She felt her gut clench. At this rate, they wouldn't make it…

A few minutes later, and Andy launched the Gaia, VPS armor now a red-orange color complemented by gold, befitting the legendary Desert Tiger.

"Oh yeah," muttered Andy, liking the very _feel_ of this machine. He snapped off a shot with his beam rifle, skewering a ZAKU that spotted him too late, then tumbled to the side to evade the attack he knew would be coming. Gaia's sensors alerted him to a GOUF approaching the _Eternal_, but as he moved that way, Gaia next alerted him to a ZAKU approaching at high speed from behind.

The Desert Tiger turned his attention that way, eyeing the green mobile suit as it approached to melee range and swung its beam tomahawk. At the instant it got within reach, he punched his thrusters to the side, disappearing in a blur before pulling back, setting himself up for a shot on the ZAKU's undefended flank, blasting out its head. He shot forward, deciding to give the BuCUE-like mobile armor mode a shot, switching modes and pushing the now quadrupedal Gaia off the ZAKU he'd just defeated and towards an approaching GOUF, deploying the Griffon 2 in the wings and slicing his surprised opponent in half.

"The Gaia?" questioned the _Auric_'s pilot. "H-how did they get a hold of that? What kind of organization are we dealing with?"

"Hmm." Abraham had to admit, he was curious about that as well. He'd heard that the Gaia was destroyed, or possibly recaptured by the Earth Forces (though that scenario was unlikely). Were these terrorists secret supporters of Logos? That would actually seem to make a lot of sense.

_Seem_, that is.

"How much further until we reach the point where we can launch the pod?" questioned Lacus aboard the _Eternal_.

"I'd say twenty… no, make it twenty-five," said DaCosta.

"We have to reach that point," said Lacus. "Please do your best."

"Yes ma'am."

At that instant, one of the dozens of ZAKUs attacking them, a Gunner ZAKU Warrior, fired its Orthros cannon. At the distance, even a large ship like the _Eternal_ wasn't an _especially_ large target, but the cannon blast still managed to graze the hull, though the energy was easily converted into harmless heat dispersed throughout the armor to nothingness.

Andy rushed forward, firing his beam cannons at the ZAKU, but the pilot managed to evade, and a GOUF Ignited lashed out with its heat rod, coiling the whip around the Gaia's rifle.

"Damn," cursed Andy, releasing his rifle as it exploded and raising his shield to defend against the blasts from the Draupnir that followed. Then, two ZAKUs appeared on either side of him, beam tomahawks raised, while a trio of ZAKUs opened up on the _Eternal_ with their rifles and single Orthros cannon, only a few of the blasts making it through the anti-beam curtain, and those ending up dispersed completely by the laminated armor.

Then, a warning alarm went off, alerting Andy to more approaching mobile suits… from _Earth_.

"What the…?"

A trio of familiar mobile suits attached to massive boosters ascended from the Earth, beam rifles blazing.

"The Strike? Three of them?"

The boosters all shot past the formations, and the Rouge, Renaissance and Raven detached the boosters. Kira twisted about, firing his beam rifle on the three ZAKUs hounding the _Eternal_, first taking out the Orthros cannon, then blasting the heads and limbs of the trio. Makoto lashed out with her shield-mounted heat rod, slicing a ZAKU in half as she fired her beam rifle on another ZAKU, piercing its chest. A GOUF shot towards her and swung its beam sword, but Makoto pulled slightly to the side, snapping the blade of the Exia R into place and cutting off her assailants right arm, shooting past and spinning about, slicing off the left arm. Flay, meanwhile, deployed the Raven Striker, and opened up with her cannons at once, the hail of fire taking out a trio of ZAFT machines instantly.

"Kira… Makoto… Flay!" exclaimed Lacus.

"_Lacus, Mr. Waltfeld,_" came Kira's voice as he appeared onscreen.

"Kira!" cried Lacus, feeling tears of joy coming to her eyes despite the grim situation.

"_I'm sorry,_" said Kira. "_But I was worried._"

Three ZAKUs and a GOUF shot towards Kira, firing their weapons at him. Kira evaded the first shot, then charged back, raising his shield to defend before snapping into firing position and letting loose with four shots in rapid succession, blasting out the heads of his assailants.

"_Damn it!_" cursed Makoto, catching everyone—except Kira—off-guard. "_Kira, these machines…!_"

"_I know!_" said Kira, pulling and twisting to the side to dodge an Orthros blast… and fracturing a section of the Strike Rouge's left arm as he did so. Kira snapped into position and fired, but his shot went wide as fractures sprouted in the right arm. "_The Rouge is just too slow!_"

"_Kira, Makoto, just hang on!_" cried Flay, shooting down the target Kira had missed. Makoto dodged an attack by a ZAKU, and twisted the Renaissance's arm about to strike back. She bisected the ZAFT machine… but the strain from keeping up practically snapped the whole arm off.

"_Ugh, damn it!_" cried Andy, flying towards Kira as fired off another shot, compensating for the Strike Rouge's too slow reactions. He hit his target, but even moving slower, Kira's god-like reflexes proved too much, and the arm practically broke then and there, grip on the rifle lost.

"_There isn't even air resistance up here! How can you two be outstripping those machines?_" questioned Flay in surprise, blocking an Orthros blast before returning the favor using the Raven Striker.

"_Dumb kids,_" said Andy, catching Kira's rifle and shooting the cannon of a Gunner ZAKU Warrior. "_Get onboard the __**Eternal**__ before it's too late. Go and get your new machines._"

Lacus's joy had been evaporating, replaced briefly by horror as she realized the Strike Rouge and Strike Renaissance were falling apart, but now, a new emotion rose to the surface: sorrow… and desire. She pushed off from her seat, floating towards the elevator, vaguely hearing DaCosta send orders to Chandra and Jason to prep the two machines.

Outside, Kira and Makoto struggled to get through the fire without tearing their machines further apart, something that proved far more difficult than the average individual would think—the reflexes of the two Ultimate Coordinators were so acute that trying to be _slow_ was practically like trying to dodge a bullet. Somehow, the two reached the entrance to the _Eternal_'s rear storage deck, but not without setting even more fractures through the frames of the two Strikes.

"Damn," muttered Makoto, exiting the Renaissance's cockpit alongside Kira in the Rouge. "I didn't think our reflexes had gotten to this level." She spotted Lacus in the observation room, and saw Kira push off eagerly. A pang of jealously passed through her heart, but the redhead viciously squashed the emotion, berating herself for it before following.

The two entered the pressurization room, Kira hitting a few switches and waiting the bear minimum time necessary for the room to pressurize before opening the next door, tearing off his helmet as he did so.

And there she was, in all of her beautiful splendor: Lacus Clyne, the girl whose heart and soul had been traded to the White Angel an eternity ago.

"Kira!" cried the rosette, rushing forward.

"Lacus," murmured Kira, pushing forward himself as Makoto held back and watched the two embrace, a weak smile on the redhead's lips. She was overjoyed at their reunion and happy to see Lacus again—the weakness of her smile was because of her own anger at herself. Why was it that only Kira set off this feeling of jealousy, when Liz and Louisa had never been able to?

"Are you okay?" said Kira.

"Of course," said Lacus. "I'm fine." She smiled. "I'm glad you came, Kira."

"Where you go, I will go," said Kira, brushing away a lock of pink hair.

"And where I go, I will take you with me," finished Lacus. She looked over Kira's shoulder to see Makoto, whose smile instinctively gained strength, but Lacus saw right through it, looking away.

"Um…" Makoto pushed herself into the room. "I know you two would probably like nothing more than to run to your room and cuddle the day away, but…"

Before Makoto could finish, the _Eternal_ shook under another blow.

"The armor won't hold if this keeps up," murmured Lacus. She looked at the two people closest to her in the whole world. They hadn't resolved things, and she wondered if that was her fault. But… well, for these two, she knew she could do anything. But that was for later. "Come on. They're waiting for you."

Lacus led the two from the pressure room and through several corridors connecting rear storage to the main hangar. The three arrived to see mechanics scattering, and there _they_ were:

On the right, the new sword of the White Angel of Freedom, wings in standby but still giving it an incredible breadth, rifles held in hand. On the left, the new sword of the Dauntless Angel of Faith, wings giving it the breadth of its twin, swords ready to be drawn on its waist.

Lacus looked down. She was asking her soulmate and her sister (no other word properly described what Makoto was to her) to return to the battlefield. She knew what these two machines meant. Secretly, a part of her had been overjoyed at the destruction of the Freedom—at the way it set Kira free of being the White Angel.

But deep down, Lacus always knew that Kira and Makoto would always be the White Angel and the Dauntless Angel. It was who they were—the Angels were constructed out of those two pure lights, not something those two lights had fit into a mold for.

"Thank you, Lacus," said Kira softly, turning to her. "With this machine… I can fight properly. I can truly fight the way that I know how."

"Kira…"

"Lacus, with these machines… we can finally end this… and maybe we'll really be free," said Makoto, something telling her what it was that was bothering Lacus.

"We'll go back to them," said Kira. "Back to our friends."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Lacus was back on the bridge, and Kira and Makoto were putting the finishing touches on their new machines.

"CPG settings complete," said Kira, typing away faster than any ordinary person could follow. "Neural linkage ion density normal. Update metamotor cortex parameters. Nuclear reactor critical. Power flow stable, VI system functioning, systems all green."

Yellow eyes flashed to life.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
/DEVOTION - 0000/**  
**G**uardian  
**U**nsubdued  
**N**exus-  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis Complex  
_Series DA000-X1 SF/MR/DF 01-13864_  
White Angel Five Lights Custom**

"Strike Freedom, system activated!"

"CPG settings complete," murmured Makoto to herself, echoing Kira exactly as she too reprogrammed the OS in her new machine. "Neural linkage ion density normal, updating metamotor cortex parameters. Nuclear reactor is critical, power flow is stable, SS system functioning, systems all green."

Blue eyes flashed to life.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
/SERENITY - 0000/**  
**G**uardian  
**U**nsubdued  
**N**exus-  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis Complex  
_Series DA000-X1 SF/MR/DF 01-13864_  
Dauntless Angel Seven Swords Custom**

"Dauntless Faith, system activated!"

The _Eternal_'s catapult opened up, the two Gundams lined up to be launched one after another in an instant.

"_X20A Strike Freedom, go ahead, launch!_" came Lacus's voice.

_Lacus… this machine is the same as Freedom. It will always symbolize our bond._

"Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom, let's do it!" cried Kira, punching the controls. Lacus's voice returned before he'd even cleared the catapult.

"_X26A Dauntless Faith, go ahead and launch!_"

_After so long… the time has finally come. Dauntless Faith… no…_

"Makoto Taiyonoha, Serenity Gundam, let us take flight and cut open the path to the future!" called Makoto, punching her controls forward.

The ZAFT forces attacking the _Eternal_ would barely be given the time to tremble in fear.

**

* * *

**

Lagrange Point 1

"We never even reached lunar orbit," commented Saul, staring out at the two ships floating alongside the five destroyers of the Kessel Team.

"How did you people manage all of this?" questioned Luna, awe in her voice. "That's an _Archangel_ out there."

"The Last Archangel Project," said Nicol softly. "We've got a lot of resources." He turned to her and smiled. "Care to join us and see what they've got waiting over there?"

Luna smiled. Finally… she would be fighting for a cause she knew to be right. And this time, she wouldn't falter. She wouldn't fail.

"Yes," she said. "I'd like that, even if I'll be stuck with my GOUF." She looked at them, smile growing a little. "So, you're going to let me see these new Gundams of yours, right?"

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

"Hi, Fortuna," said Suiren, stroking the machine gently. "I'm sorry I left you here for so long. And I'm sorry I abandoned you for Rose. But… I'm sure you understand." There was a small smile on her lips. "I need your help, one last time. You remember Makoto? Well… we're gonna settle things with her. And hopefully, it'll be the end of Reine… the end of Suiren… and I can be my true self, whoever she… whoever Misuumi really is. I don't know… if you'll make it through that. But please, will you fight for me as you always have?"

As though in answer, a slight humming came from the machine as its eyes briefly glowed.

**

* * *

**

Izanami First Fleet Flagship _Kamui_

"This is Admiral Mizuki Ishida to all ships," said the admiral, his voice perfectly cool as he prepared for sortie. "We've received orders to deploy to Earth orbit. We are to rendezvous with the _Eternal_, where Lady-Admiral Taiyonoha will be waiting for us. We will join forces with all those who seek true peace, and defend the Earth and our motherland from all threats, be they ZAFT, the Earth Forces or any other! For the Dauntless Angel! Now, First Fleet of Izanami, launch!"

At Ishida's order, the ships of the First Fleet, the _Archangel_-class _Kamui_, the _Izumo_-class _Bishamonten_ and _Ebisu_, a dozen _Athena_-class battleships, and dozens more _Yomi_-class cruisers, all lit their engines and set course for Earth.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Durandal smirked slightly as he moved his pawn into position to take the White Queen, which could not move out of danger, nor take the pawn, without putting its King into check. Of course, the White Knights were ready to jump forward and save their Queen, but if they did so, Durandal could checkmate the King.

And then, the game would be over.

Durandal wouldn't learn until far too late that all the White pieces were on the move… and he was the one about to be checkmated.

**

* * *

**

Copernicus City

"You're here," said Eve softly, hearing the footsteps behind her and glancing back at the young woman. "Just in time."

"Sorry I'm late."

"No, it's fine," said Eve, leading the girl to the upper floor of the house. "As long as you made it, Saki."

"I see," said Saki softly as Eve pushed open the door to the master bedroom.

Lying in the bed, medical equipment all around her, was a woman in her mid-thirties or so, with short brown hair and light brown eyes. The woman's eyes lit up joyfully as Saki walked over to her.

"Hi… mom," said Saki, smiling slightly as she sat down in the chair beside the bed. Her mother smiled back at her.

"Hi, Tenshi-chan," she said, using her favorite nickname for her daughter. Saki's smile grew a bit at that.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," said Saki, reaching out and taking her mother's hand. "My latest charge watches me like a hawk, so…"

"It's okay," said her mother. "We knew this would happen."

"Why… why didn't you worry more about yourself?" asked Saki.

"Because your future was more important to me than mine," her mother answered simply. "I know I'm betraying your father's final wish by giving myself up, but for the sake of my sweet little angel, I was willing to do that." She smiled at her daughter. "So… have you made your choice?"

"I won't be able to have children if I pick from what's left," said Saki, smiling slightly. "The boys are already taken, and their girlfriends aren't people I want to cross."

"You'll find a way," assured the brunette. "It's not that hard. And children are wonderful things… you've always been the brightest part of my life."

"Mom…"

"Promise me that you'll live happily," said her mother, cutting her off. "Too much has been lost needlessly… promise me that you won't let go of whoever it is you choose to love, whether it's one of them or someone else entirely. Don't be afraid to admit how you feel. And don't let anyone hurt those dear to you. Okay, Tenshi-chan?"

"I promise…" said Saki. "Mom… my name. Please, I want to hear it from you one last time."

Her mother smiled.

"I can't deny anything to my sweet little angel," she said, giving Saki's hand a slight tug. Understanding the gesture, Saki stood up, leaning over and shared a final hug with her mother, who gave her a soft peck on the temple. "I love you, my sweet little angel, my child…"

"Mom…"

The final word to leave her mouth would be her daughter's name as life finally faded from her body and Sera Takara passed away.

**

* * *

**

The _Auric_

Earth Orbit

Abraham shrunk back into his seat in fear. This was… this was impossible…

All of them. All _six_ destroyers and _fifty-seven ZAKUs and GOUFs_… defeated in a mere three minutes by those two monsters. He looked out the viewport to see the two mobile suits floating there and felt his eyes widen and gut clench in terror.

No… that couldn't be… they were gone… gone! Those two were dead! They were already dead!

The Gaia and Strike Raven soared towards the _Eternal_ to land. The Strike Freedom and Serenity continued to stare at the ZAFT force they had crippled with mocking ease before turning and taking up escort positions on either side of the _Eternal_.

Lacus smiled. She couldn't help it. The two people she loved most were doing something that they loved now that the battle was over—flying and protecting. And the great battle dance they had woven was something she would remember for the rest of her life. Her eyes focused on Kira, and she mouthed something to him.

Though she couldn't see it, she sensed that he was mouthing 'I love you' right back at her.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, I torment you all. All you get to see is the aftermath, meaning I deny you a look at Makoto's new machine, the titular Serenity Gundam (originally named Dauntless Faith). I also show you that, no, breaking their machines is not merely limited to their SEED modes. The Freedom simply took a long time and the SEED because it was a lot tougher than even "conventional" Gundams.**

**A lot of other stuff happens too: the heroes of the last chapter get medals all around (since by rights, Shinn shouldn't have been able to take out the Destroys all practically single-handed, it's really not fair that only he was really highly praised), and both the Kyusai and Kessel Teams return to space. Suiren knows what the Kessel Team is about to do, and sends Luna over to them because of it, while Suiren attends to her own business. We shift about a lot, and ultimately arrive at some major events at the climax (it's fun to note that the Strike Freedom has a different "G.U.N.D.A.M." OS here than in canon. ^_^)**

**The most important of all is Sera Takara. Yes, this woman faked her death, even giving them an apparently authentic corpse. Originally, she was gonna live, but I realized she was way too intelligent for me to leave her alive****—the woman is a _gamebreaker_. I'm all for the heroes having an easy time****—it won't always be a challenge to beat your enemies****—but there's a point where I must draw the line. Other developments include the Kessel Team recieving their new toys, Luna's defection becoming a tad more formal, the launch of Izanami's First Fleet, Leon getting called away to meet Raphael, and more drama from Kira and Makoto (the unresolved sexual tension is getting really irritating you two! ****…of course, being a believer in polyamory, I don't see anything wrong with them having a relationship in addition to their other ones, but that tends to rub most people the wrong way, and it doesn't necessairly fit Kira and Lacus properly).**

**Also, for those who didn't catch on: Eve Walser was one of Sera's people in the Divinity Projects. David Dante mentioned her in the logs back in _Phase 33: The Truth of Divinity_ back in _SEED Dauntless_. She was the woman who _named_ the projects "Divinity". Frankly, I can't help but be amazed that some of the more over-analytical reviewers didn't bring that up. In any case, now you know how Sera's been pulling everything off "from beyond the grave": she's not so far beyond it as we thought. Well, she _wasn't_ anyway. She's still got some serious aces waiting, and in the elaborate, 3d (truthfully), four-party chess game that's being played, she is the one who is winning. For added fun, I made it her journal that discusses the Destiny Plan. That'll be handy for truly convincing Meer that yes, Durandal is in fact dead wrong.**

**There are other bits of foreshadowing too, some blatant, others less important. Some of you might criticize Kira and Makoto for not telling Cagalli about Djibril, but they're not a hundred percent certain he's really there, and I had them explain why they don't simply go tell Cagalli, because they seriously can't take any chances, or Orb could go up in flames. They need power to be placed unquestionably back in Cagalli's hands, without resistance. And Yuna (the Seirans in general, if you ask me) is too stupid (or power hungry/arrogant/stubborn in general) to hand over the reins without at least some significant motivation to do so.**

**Oh, and for those who want to know: the Strike Renaissance is basically the Strike Rouge with a heat rod attached to the shield, a sword-rifle in place of the standard rifle, and beam sabers in the hips instead of assault knives. Makoto goes nowhere with it, because it can't keep up with her any better than Strike Rouge can keep up with Kira. I would've had the canon bit where Kira blocks a shot at the _Eternal_, but I wanted to make it clear that Kira isn't losing because he relied on Freedom's strength (canonically, he was just focused on protecting the _Eternal_, and could've won in Rouge if it weren't for that), so I went with Kira tearing the Rouge apart instead.**

**Also, to make it clear: there were three changes to the Strike Freedom (besides OS). One is that it now has the assault frame****—meaning the canon SF is actually much less agile. The second is that it has a panoramic cockpit/linear floating seat cockpit. The last****… well****… I'll let you try and figure it out. ^_^**

**Alright, please review! This story is _very_ close to 600 now, and I'd like to reach that point, and end with at least 700-800 reviews. So please, **

**Again, hope to see you soon. Sayonara, desu!**


	40. Phase 40: The Lioness of Orb

**They just keep rushing out, don't they? ^_^ This chapter _really_ flowed out, and it was fun to write.**

**So let's see, what to address up here****…****? Well, to start, since all of you already expect the Akatsuki to show up, I'll go ahead and bring up an alteration: in canon, the Akatsuki was inexplicably "there", which made absolutely _no_ sense. Given that it's portrayed as pre-dating Uzumi's death, why wasn't it used to defend Orb from the Earth Forces invasion? The DRAGOON system is also very power-intensive on every level, so how could it use it for an extended period of time? I address****… well, pretty much all of it here. To summarize, though: the main doors being sealed is symbolic in nature, and Uzumi asked Serenity to build it for Cagalli. There, simple enough.**

**Some other things are addressed here that didn't make much sense in canon, but, well****… I'll let you read it.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Where to start? Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, or any of the associated characters or mecha. I do not own Treize Zabiarov (though this interpretation could probably be called mine), Elizabeth Dante, Zane Scirocco, Tristan Palleon, Saul Kessel or the Kessel Team in general. I do not own the ZGMF-X74S Specter Gundam or the Redemption Gundam. What I do own is Makoto Taiyonoha, her entire damn family, Louisa Kohls, the AI known as Faith, the whole bloody Kyusai Team, Aleksi Shimizu, Saki Hirano, Samba Takayama, Suzuko Matsuda, the OCs in the _Dominion_ crew and Nabiki Ombre. I _also_ own the following: Izanami, the _Athena_-class battleship, the _Yomi_-class cruiser, the _Suijin_-class submarine attack carrier, the Terminal transport _Charon_, the ABF-A1 Kame, MBF-M2 Angelus, MVF-M3 Guardian, MBF-M4 Yamato, TVF-T1 Tahiko, ZGMF-X105S Shadow Strike Gundam, ZGMF-X308S Sacred Guardian Gundam, ZGMF-X252T Forbidden Templar Gundam, ZGMF-X264T Twilight Crusader Gundam, ZGMF-X370T Phantom Raider Gundam, the ZGMF-XX03T Raptor Shadow, the ZGMF-X65S Avenger Gundam, ZGMF-X777S Reckoning Gundam, the MAF-X01 Sincerity Gundam, and the ZGMF-X26A Serenity Gundam. That should cover everything. Oh, and I also copyright my upgrades to the _Eternal_. Mwuhahahahahaha!  
**

* * *

Phase Forty: The Lioness of Orb

January 17th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

No one could even recognize her—at least, not from her appearance. Even her team, her _family_, wouldn't realize who she was if they couldn't sense it.

Of course, it was all only temporary. Suiren had used a very temporary dye to turn her hair from golden blonde to a red-hued brown and let it loose, falling to her waist. She exposed fifteen of the nineteen scars on her arm, and wore colored contacts that disguised her heterochromic eyes as a deep ocean blue. She wore a black mourning dress, and looked for all the world like a hurt young woman visiting a deceased relative to whom she'd been extremely close.

She was now Reine En Creuset, the daughter of Rau Le Creuset, the woman who would become ZAFT's Golden Rose of War, a name inherited from the custom colors and rose emblem on her early machines. But right now, the Golden Rose slept, while it was a little girl who clung desperately to her father that now stood in front of the man's grave.

"Hi, daddy," said Reine, kneeling down and placing the flowers on Rau's grave. White roses, his favorite, though he'd sooner give up everything than admit that himself. "I'm sorry… I've never visited you like this. I always came here as Suiren. Soon though, I might not be able to visit you at all anymore. So I wanted to see you as your daughter, not the girl who'd betrayed you because she believed you were wrong."

The Crucible's daughter reached out and gently stroked his tombstone.

"But I don't believe I was wrong," she said. "I've never faltered in my belief that all of this is worth it. Yes, humans are horrible creatures, and there are endless tragedies, but… you could never see past the darkness. You never saw past your creation, past your tragedy, past… so much. Except in me. For some reason, you saw light in me that you didn't see anywhere else, even in places it shined brighter. Is that why you let me go?"

Reine sighed.

"I love you. You will always be my father. Gilbert, Rey, Talia… they'll be my family too." She sighed again. "But… but I believe in the future. The difference between you and them is that they wanted to save humanity and you didn't. But only Talia still sees the light. And she's… swathed in her own mix of light and darkness, but she lives with it. I can't do that anymore. Father… I'm sorry, and I don't know if this is what you really want, but I'm going to face my darkness… and I'm going to conquer it, however I can. Even if I must beg for help from them. I will conquer my darkness… and I will find my happiness. So please… please father… be happy for me. And if you can, help me to succeed."

Reine stood up, turning to face the Kyusai Team, and the little girl melted away into the conflicted warrior once again.

Everyone could see the difference. From a young girl to the woman who would always be their true leader.

"Commander… Captain Noriega is on her way back with the _Diana_," said Murase. "When she gets here, where will we go?"

"We'll prepare… and in the meantime, we'll protect this place," said Suiren softly.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

"That was amazing!" said Flay as Kira and Makoto emerged from their new machines in the _Eternal_'s hangar. Lacus immediately flung herself into Kira's arms, the two wrapping each other in a tight hug as mechanics gathered around Makoto.

"I knew these machines were incredible, but that was unbelievable!" said Chandra. Makoto brushed some hair out of her eyes, giving the mechanics a somewhat quizzical look.

"It's just the assault frame coming into play," she said. "These are the first machines to be deployed in combat with them since the Sincerity." Makoto looked over at Kira and Lacus as they floated up to her. "The Taiyonoha First Fleet is on its way."

"What are you planning?" questioned Lacus.

"A regroup," explained Kira, already aware of what Makoto was thinking. "We'll gather our forces and watch what happens. Then we act." Makoto nodded.

"Sounds good," said Andy, floating over to them before casting his gaze over the mechanics. "Hey, you lazy bums! Get back to work! I want those weapons initialized twenty minutes ago!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

"The pursuit force has been dealt with," said Faith, her words a significant relief to the others, particularly Minako, Ami, Cagalli, Treize, Liz, Louisa and Athrun. "No casualties. Kira had a bit of trouble with the new frame, but the systems compensated properly. Oh, and both the Strike Rouge and Strike Renaissance got torn to pieces."

"Torn to pieces?" questioned Athrun. "But… how?" Kira and Makoto were too good of pilots to get 'torn to pieces' very easily, even if their machines were a few years out of date. Faith shrugged.

"It's the same thing that happened to the Dauntless, the Faith and even the Freedom," she said, image flickering. "The Rouge and Renaissance couldn't keep up with them."

"What? But how is that…" Treize trailed off, the implications clear to him—clear to everyone, even Meer.

"What are they?" whispered Meyrin.

"I think that's a question you should be directing at them, personally," said Serenity.

Faith's image flickered again, and she frowned slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"Faith?" questioned Ami.

"Hmm… Ami, why don't we get you settled into your new machine?" questioned the AI, deflecting the real question that was going to be asked. Cagalli didn't need to hear about the possibility of Djibril's presence until ZAFT made its intentions clear or the Seirans seriously slipped up, whichever came first.

A part of Faith hoped it was the former, because it would be followed soon after by the latter, and shatter everything for the Seirans, allowing Cagalli to retake Orb without effort.

Still, that was the riskier path, so she mostly hoped the Seirans slipped up first.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

The next morning

Durandal had been woken up with the news that Djibril had been located, exactly where he had predicted and hoped the man would be: in Orb.

Eager to launch the attack and destroy Orb—perhaps with a little luck, Djibril as well, accelerating his plans as long as Gabriel didn't interfere—Durandal had arranged for a meeting with the major military officials at the base, as well as Talia, and detailed to Linwood the orders he wanted Gibraltar's commander to present.

"No matter what, we insist that they hand him over to us," said Durandal after Linwood finished briefing Talia and the officials. "Given his role in the Heaven's Base battle, as well as the evidence we have already obtained, his guilt is beyond question. For them to give this man sanctuary is absolutely unacceptable."

There were murmurs of agreement from the group.

"A fleet has already been dispatched from the base at Carpentaria in response to our request," said Linwood. "But we're also taking emergency precautions just in case. The _Minerva_ is to head out immediately and join the fleet." Talia gasped.

"Our ship sir? We're to join them from here?" she questioned incredulously.

"They may not negotiate if we don't show them that we mean business," said Linwood. "We'll use boosters to send the _Minerva_ to suborbital altitudes, and you will descend between Carpentaria and Orb, just in case they have an anti-air weapon like we saw at Heaven's Base. You should get there in plenty of time."

"I realize your crew must be exhausted after fighting so many consecutive and difficult battles," said Durandal. "Things have been rushing forward and happening all at once. Even still, I'm counting on you, Captain Gladys. Not only does Orb pride itself on its advanced military technology, but because of its mass driver, it also has an easy route to space, and that is what has me concerned. Should Djibril be able to take Orb's military strength and link up with the Alliance forces based the moon, there's a real possibility the PLANT homeland could find itself in danger." When he saw the shock on the faces of those gathered, especially Talia, he let a hard note enter his tone. "Or have you forgotten that he is the leader of Blue Cosmos and a rabid anti-Coordinator?"

"Are you suggesting Orb will help him?" demanded Talia, shocked.

"He's already _in_ Orb even as we speak," snapped Durandal. "It's inconceivable that Orb is the only country that doesn't know we're looking for him." There were more mutterings amongst the officials, including talk of Orb siding with Logos and Blue Cosmos. "Until the incident with Junius Seven, we considered Orb a friendly nation." Durandal stood up and walked to the window. "Now I can't help but feel disappointed." He turned around. "Nevertheless, I have no intention of backing down from this situation. Logos has gotten away with its machinations for far too long. It's time that man was brought to justice!"

"Yes sir!" cried the officials, saluting him. Talia saluted as well, but her voice wasn't among those he heard.

"There is one other concern," said Linwood. "Yesterday, the Abraham Team, reinforced by three additional ships and many more mobile suits for its mission of hunting out a terrorist cell went silent." There were several sharp intakes of breath. "Shortly after all contact was lost, a fleet was deployed from Izanami, consisting of about four dozen ships, most of two types we've been unable to identify. However, among the vessels were two of the _Archangel_-class and two of the _Izumo_-class."

"You don't think they could be deploying against us to protect Orb, do you?" questioned an official.

"I do not know," said Durandal. "It is my hope that the two occurrences were mere coincidence. In all likelihood, the fleet is merely an escort for the remaining assets of the Taiyonoha in Orb as they prepare to withdraw. Or perhaps, despite its neutral stance, Izanami is deploying to halt Djibril. That is my hope, in any case, but I want you to be careful, Captain Gladys."

"I understand," said Talia.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

A few hours later (about 2200 local time)

"What?" exclaimed Cagalli. "Djibril's with the Seirans? Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Faith. "There's no mistake. ZAFT's already deployed a fleet from Carpentaria. They'll be here in two days, early morning. Also, the _Minerva_'s been launched from Carpentaria. According to my calculations, they'll be a few hours behind the main fleet."

Cagalli looked away, gut clenching in fury.

"What the hell is Unato thinking?" she spat through grit teeth. They were alone in her room, so the only one Cagalli had to answer her questions was Faith.

"If I had to give it a guess, I'd say many of the Seirans have been long-time supporters of Blue Cosmos," said the AI. "Cagalli, I know you want to give them a piece of your mind now, but please, just wait. Within the upper echelons of the government, the Seirans still have a lot of power. Durandal can't afford to attack without at least giving Orb a chance to simply give Djibril up. If the Seirans refuse, the sheer preposterousness of it will shatter their support. If they accept, they'll be admitting to harboring the man and endangering Orb, as well as supporting, if only briefly, a man accused of crimes against humanity, on top of demonstrating clear cowardice. You're return will be welcomed overwhelmingly in the face of the reality of what the Seirans are, and you'll find only support for your withdrawal from the Alliance."

"And for the alliance with Izanami?"

"Well, actually, that one caught me off-guard, but I doubt anyone will say anything," said Faith. "A permanent alliance, or just a mutual defense agreement until the war ends?"

"I don't know," admitted Cagalli. "Probably a defense agreement. I want to guard the ideals of Orb…"

"And a permanent alliance wouldn't be in keeping with that," said Faith, shaking her head. "It's always honor before reason with us, isn't it?"

"Close to it," agreed Cagalli. "But… but placing reason before honor led us into this mess in the first place. Sometimes, we need to throw reason out the window and simply do what is right, no matter how preposterous it is."

Faith smiled.

"You're right," she said. "Don't forget to use a little reason, but you're a person who places honor first by nature, and when you didn't, it caused problems. Go with your nature, Lady Cagalli."

"Thanks Faith."

**

* * *

**

The _Baldur_

The next day

The Kessel Team was currently on course for its rendezvous with the _Eternal_ and the Taiyonoha Fleet. Luna had been settled in and mostly kept to her room, with Nicol and Shiho occasionally taking the time to visit her when they weren't over on the accompanying _Archangel_-class vessel where their new machines were being held. Many other Kessel Team pilots frequented the Terminal transport ship, _Charon_, that carried the new Tengu, which had caught the team completely by surprise.

However, there was another concern: a _Minerva_-class battleship had been detected on an intercept course, and had opened a comm. line, requesting to speak to Diana Kessel.

Lee let out a small sigh of relief when his commander finally showed up after what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes.

"What do you think, Commander?" he asked her. "The ship's alone and isn't in the registry."

"That would have to be Kyusai's new flag," commented Diana. "Hmm… alright, open the channel." The comm. officer did so, and the bridge of the ZAFT battleship appeared onscreen, revealing a man in his mid forties sitting in the captain's seat. He saluted her.

"_Commander Kessel, thank you for finally taking my call,_" he said, a slight smile on his lips. "_I'm Captain Ali Sara. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, even if it's not in person._"

"The pleasure is mine, Captain Sara," said Diana diplomatically as she returned the salute. "If I might ask, what is this about?"

Ali chuckled. "_I guess you wouldn't have heard,_" he said. "_Defense Committee Chairman Amalfi sent us. This is the LHM-BB04 __**Yggdrasil**__. Chairman Amalfi hoped you would accept it as your new flagship._"

"I haven't heard anything about this," said Diana, surprised as she heard the elevator doors open behind her.

"_The __**Yggdrasil**__ was developed alongside the __**Diana**__,_" said Ali. "_I'm not terribly surprised you haven't heard._"

"What's Chairman Amalfi's game?" muttered Diana.

"He knows what we're up too," came Nicol's voice, catching Diana off-guard as she spun about to see him standing there with Luna. Nicol gave her a slight smile. "Father's been working for Terminal for a long time now." He looked at the screen. "Hi Ali. It's been awhile."

"_Indeed it has, Nicol,_" said Ali with a chuckle. Diana looked _almost_ dumbstruck.

"Ali's been an aide to my father for years now," explained Nicol. "We can trust him."

"Understood," said Diana. "You should've told me sooner." Nicol shrugged.

"I didn't know about this until just now."

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_ Briefing Room

"Our rendezvous with the First Fleet should be about an hour after the ZAFT fleet reaches Orb," said Makoto. "We'll need another hour to prep for deployment. So how long Orb is under attack before we can provide aid will depend entirely on the Seirans."

"Gee, _that's_ comforting," said Andy sarcastically. "Got any other bright news?"

"Yuri's sent the Kessel Team a _Minerva_-class present," said Makoto idly. _That_ shut Andy up, causing Lacus to giggle slightly at the Desert Tiger's gaping expression.

"When will they be meeting up with us?" questioned Kira.

"They could rendezvous as early as six in the morning," said Makoto. "But with the _Charon_ in tow, it'll take several more hours. I'd estimate… a little while after the ZAFT fleet reaches Orb."

"I see," said Lacus, a note of concern evident in her voice. "That doesn't give us much time to prepare."

"We usually don't have much time," commented Kira. "This will simply be the biggest move we've ever made."

"So, what's your plan, for now at least?" questioned Flay.

"Lacus will deliver the Infinite Justice to Athrun, and you'll deliver the Redemption to Treize," said Kira, catching them off-guard.

"Me? Take the Justice to Athrun?" questioned Lacus.

"You don't have to fight," said Makoto quickly. "Just take the machine to him."

"What am I supposed to do after getting the Redemption to Treize?" asked Flay.

"We'll send one of the Triad to you," said Kira, again surprising her. "I think unit two would work best."

"And how are you gonna do that?" questioned DaCosta.

"The VI system," said Makoto simply. "All units equipped with the assault frame should have the basic program. Lacus, which ones have the full version?"

"The Freedom, Redemption and Blitz," said Lacus. "And as you requested, the Serenity doesn't have the VI, though it is equipped to accommodate."

"That's good," said Makoto. "We'll remove all the basic VIs once everyone adapts to the new frame, or once the war is over, whichever comes first. We don't want anyone getting over reliant on them."

"VI?" questioned Flay. "What is that exactly?" Kira, Makoto and Lacus shared a smirk between them.

"The best trump card in the world," said Kira simply.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The next day

The Taiyonoha Estate had been more or less emptied entirely to the _Archangel_, with Athrun placed in the infirmary alongside Neo. The Crimson Knight had reacted rather strongly to the news of the ZAFT invasion fleet, and set back his recovery by several days. Meyrin, on the other hand, had been given a tour of the ship by Cagalli (she knew it was merely a tactic to distract her), while Meer had been left in Serenity's care. The Templars, Sentinels, Tengu, Sincerity, Specter and Astarte had been transferred to the _Archangel_ and _Dominion_, which had in turn been moved from the Enclave to one of Morgenroete's secret docks at the Orb mainland so that they could be easily deployed when the time came.

Despite the preparations, Cagalli was growing impatient now that the ZAFT fleet had actually arrived. She'd started pacing the _Archangel_'s corridors, and had discovered the exits all seemed to be locked to keep her trapped aboard, apparently on Kira's orders to keep her from running off and aggravating the situation. She was going to kill him for that, even if she understood that they wanted to have as much time to ready the reinforcement fleet as possible. With any luck, she'd be able to take control, formally request Izanami's assistance, and bring down a force that would drive ZAFT all the way back to Carpentaria. Cagalli wasn't privy to Izanami's military development, nor did she feel the need to be—in fact, worrying too much about such things was part of what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. All she needed to know was that Izanami had overtaken Orb, ZAFT and the Alliance in the arena of technological advancement, and its military had surpassed Orb's in size.

Cagalli had also prepared for the aftermath. Hopefully, the war would come to an end soon, but whether it did or not, she was going to make sure Orb regained its lost strength so that she could protect its neutrality in the future. The major points for this being a contract for Morgenroete to continue producing _Izumo_-class battleships for Orb, as well as a contract for full production of M2 Angelus mobile suits and limited numbers of M3 Guardians. Serenity had been generous, mostly, but for reasons Cagalli didn't have much trouble understanding, she had only allowed Orb access to M4s on a commission basis, and withheld all of the Sincerity's secrets.

Even still, Cagalli was getting thoroughly frustrated being cooped up like this, especially as she overheard the news that it would be Onogoro again, _and_ the Seirans were trying to keep everything hushed up. She'd talked to Faith, but Izanami was bound by political red tape in that arena, and media attention was being focused towards a performance by a friend Makoto had made in the music industry in order to help keep people from learning of ZAFT's presence.

"Damn it," muttered Cagalli, stalking the halls, passing right by Ami, who looked after her older sister in concern.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

"There they are," said Makoto lightly, turning to face Kira, Lacus and Flay as they stared out the viewport at the six ships of the Kessel Team, plus the two additional vessels from the Sanctuary. "I'll head over there, go over things with them. Flay, go ahead and keep studying the Triad and tell us which unit you want before we begin the descent. Kira, Lacus, I'll let you two finish organizing things over here." With that, Makoto floated towards the elevator and left the bridge.

"What's up with her?" questioned Andy mildly, turning to face Terminal's leaders as Flay went back to studying the Triad.

"She probably wants to see Shiho," said Kira.

"And she's met Lunamaria Hawke before, so she's probably interested in why she defected," added Lacus. "Especially since Lunamaria was part of the Kyusai Team."

"Hmmm… you're probably right."

**

* * *

**

Seiran Estate

"Well, anybody with a brain in his head can see what kind of game Durandal is playing here," said Djibril.

"Hmm… right," grunted Unato unenthusiastically. He didn't know how ZAFT had discovered Djibril's presence so quickly, or why it was that Djibril seemed to be delaying his launch into space, especially after one of the pilots he'd brought with him had already departed.

"You know, if he were to take over this world, there would be no place for people like you," said Djibril, sounding smug. Unato trembled slightly at the reminder of why he did this. He hated Coordinators, but he was hardly fanatical about it, the way Blue Cosmos was, and could tolerate them if he had too. Only fear of Durandal had kept Unato from turning against Djibril upon learning of Logos and Djibril's actions in Eurasia.

"Well, not to worry," continued Djibril. "We'll be launching our counterattack soon enough."

"Huh?"

"He will return to space shortly," said Djibril smugly. "And when I follow him, the Requiem will begin to play." He smirked at Unato. "And everything will end."

"The Requiem?" questioned Unato, hiding his fear.

"You're an intelligent man," said Djibril. "And if you wish to be among the victorious survivors, then you know what is required of you, Unato Ema."

Unato barely maintained eye contact. He couldn't help but feel that this was his fault and that he'd been wrong from the start. He should've listened to the Taiyonoha and Athha, no matter what had happened in the past.

But it was too late now. Djibril had attained Yuna's ear and effectively stripped Unato of his power, pandering to Yuna's ego. Now, Unato could only hope that, regardless of his fate, Orb would be okay.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Luna had been surprised to see the _Eternal_, and was even more surprised when she was told to head for hangar of the _Archangel_-class warship she was now staying on. She didn't understand the reason for it all, because of all those gathered, she understood what was going on the least.

So, while she waited for whatever it was, she'd taken to admiring the mobile suits in the hangar. She'd seen the new mobile suits of the Kessel Team aboard the _Charon_, and they seemed like things of beauty, but what really drew most of her attention were the machines on this ship, the Gundams proper (though the new Kessel Team mobile suits were of the same genus as Orb and Izanami's production models).

One of them looked mildly reminiscent of the Duel, with aspects of Shiho's Duel Arms, which had made it obvious this machine was intended for her. There was also the new Surge, which featured large wings on its back spread out into a pattern vaguely reminiscent of the Freedom.

Then there was the new Blitz… or rather, the new _Hellfire_ Blitz. Luna couldn't help but shudder slightly every time she looked on that demonic machine. She'd always privately thought that the ZAKU Blitz had simply been ugly, but looking at a true successor to the machine that had earned Nicol the dissonant nickname 'Grim Reaper', Luna began to understand _real_ terror.

And to think that this was while it was _inactive_. That alone would make anyone glad to still be on Nicol's side in the conflict.

Looking away from that, Luna turned her admiration to three new machines, which the mechanics had identified as the Triad. It hadn't taken her long to realize that they were developed from the Astarte, with two of them possessing visually similar weapons, along with a few other notable aspects, though she could sense there was something special about the third, unassuming machine.

Luna heard the hangar doors open, turning her attention that way. What stepped through that door had eyes widening all over the hangar.

"The Faith…?" whispered Luna in awe. The machine settled its wide breadth into one of the two largest cradles in the hangar, and then the cockpit opened…

… and Makoto Taiyonoha floated out, red hair spread out behind her like a short cape.

Luna had met Makoto before, back when the Dauntless Angel had been going under the name 'Setsuna'. She'd been excited then as well, but she could feel even greater excitement filling her stomach now that she knew who the Orb Noble really was.

Then, she realized Makoto was floating right at her, halting her momentum on the rail right in front of Luna, who jumped back slightly in shock as the Dauntless Angel's striking features appeared in her face. Makoto giggled slightly.

"You should stop spacing out," she said mildly, pulling her legs over the railing and 'sitting' on it.

"I… I'm sorry," said Luna, bowing quickly. "It's nice to see you again, Lady Makoto."

Makoto giggled again.

"Just Makoto will be fine, Lunamaria," she said mildly as Luna straightened. "I admit, I was curious about you. Why did you defect?"

"Well…" Luna looked away. "I, um… I had several reasons. Suiren pushed me towards this…" Makoto glanced away slightly, but Luna didn't notice. "She said this was… she said this was the best way for me to meet him."

"Him?" questioned Makoto.

"Kira Yamato," said Luna softly, feeling a slight blush hit her cheeks. Makoto's eyes widened in shock.

"Kira? Wait, but that would…" Makoto looked dumbfounded before letting out a small sigh as Luna nodded, uncharacteristically meek. "So, that explains that. But that isn't the only reason, right?"

"No," admitted Luna. "I know he's taken, but I still want to see him."

"You'll have to wait on that," said Makoto, sounding sympathetic. "We'll be launching again soon. So will you tell me your other reasons?"

"Because I know that the Chairman is wrong," said Luna. "Maybe… maybe he believes what he's doing is right, but I can feel it! Everything I hear, everything I feel… everything seems to be telling me that, despite the best of intentions, the Chairman is wrong. And I… I can feel that you… all of you are right."

"I see," said Makoto softly, studying Luna. Her cousin had taken a great deal of interest in the young pilot, and Makoto understood why. Over the years, she, Kira and Lacus had developed a gift for these sort of things, and so Makoto saw Luna's great potential, her kind heart, her determination… Luna was a good person, who would fight for what she felt was right, and right now, she felt that Terminal was right. "Can you fight?"

"What?"

"Can you fight ZAFT?" asked Makoto. Luna gasped. "A ZAFT fleet is preparing to attack Orb. Djibril is there, and he's trying to use ZAFT to destroy Orb. Not that it truly matters, because if Cagalli retakes Orb, then it will be a threat to Durandal. Orb… and Izanami. We won't stand for what Durandal has planned."

"What the Chairman has planned…?" questioned Luna.

"The Destiny Plan," said Makoto. Her thoughts briefly strayed to that mysterious message at the end of the journal, but she brushed it aside, focusing on the present instead. "I'll tell you more later, but what I need to know now is… can you fight against ZAFT? Can you fight to protect Orb from this attack?"

Luna looked down. She'd always been a ZAFT soldier. This was a surprise, much sooner than she expected… but she'd known this would happen eventually. She looked back to Makoto and squared her shoulders.

"I can fight," she said. "I will fight!"

"_Lady Makoto,_" came a voice over the PA suddenly. "_Izanami's First Fleet has just arrived._"

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"The Orb government is on the air," said Miriallia, drawing everyone's attention to her. "It's an official response. I'm putting it on the speakers." She hit the switch to play it over the bridge speakers and on the main display screen.

"_On behalf of the government of Orb, allow me to reply to your warning,_" came an irritatingly annoying voice as Cagalli's thoroughly loathed ex-fiancé appeared on the screen.

"Yuna," gasped Cagalli.

"_The individual by the name of Lord Djibril, whom you have demanded we hand over, is simply not in this country,_" continued Yuna, sounding distinctly smug.

"Yuna, no…" whispered Cagalli, horrified. This was even worse than Yuna just refusing to hand Djibril over!

"_Furthermore, this kind of intimidation, where the threat of force is used to try and tarnish our good name is an insult to our sovereign nation,_" said Yuna. "_We find it distasteful._"

"Yuna, what the hell are you thinking?" shouted Cagalli pointlessly.

"_Therefore, we insist that you withdraw your forces at once._"

"How could he…" Cagalli's hand curled into a fist. "Does he really think that his words are helping? This whole situation is out of control!"

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Durandal had to hide his smirk at how beautifully Djibril and the Seirans, especially this idiotic Yuna Roma, had played into his hands. He stood up, addressing the gathered officials.

"It appears that we have no alternative," he said, expertly feigning regret. "I see no reason to let this little game continue any longer. If they insist on responding to our concerns with such blatant lies, then in the name of justice and for the sake of peace for all, I will take action! Drag Djibril out of Orb!"

"Yes sir!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

"Please don't try to run off," said Serenity, directing Meer to one of the seats in the middle of the tower. "We should be safe here."

"Safe?" questioned Meer.

"The Taiyonoha have developed a bit of a philosophy," said Serenity, looking at the screens showing the current situation. Within moments, the ZAFT forces would launch their machines. "We like to be what most people would call 'crazy prepared'. This tower is one of the most apparent locations of that. Unless ZAFT specifically guns for it, they won't even scratch it." She walked over to one of the stations, hitting a switch. "Makoto, are you there?" There was a brief pause.

"_I'm here mom,_" came Makoto's voice, her face appearing on one of the display screens. "_We just heard the announcement. Unato isn't that dumb, so Yuna must've gone over his head on this one. How Yuna's stayed alive this long is beyond me, that idiot's too stupid to live._"

"He's gotten this far because his father's foolish, not stupid," answered Serenity idly.

"Ma'am, detecting mobile suit deployment," said one of the sensor operators. "ASHs, GOOhNs, DINNs, BABIs, GOUFs. No ZAKUs, they're probably holding those back until they've secured a beachhead."

"What about Orb?"

"No response from the military yet, and no evacuation order."

"_Damn it, a lot of people are gonna get killed because we overestimated Yuna's intelligence!_" cursed Makoto.

"What about the fleet?" questioned Serenity.

"_This'll be a first,_" said Makoto. "_No one's ever dropped a warship into a battle from orbit. The fleet's moving into position, and drop pods are being readied. We've already got the remaining Sentinels, the Tengu and the Triads all ready to go. The Knight and Angels are being prepped right now, and the crews are all making sure they're ready._"

"How long?"

"_An hour,_" said Makoto through grit teeth. "_We tried finding ways to cut it down, but… well, Kira and I can descend ahead of the fleet. The added confusion should help us to ensure that no one gets shot down on descent. What about Cagalli?_"

"Samuel, Kisaka and Erica are gonna take her to the Akatsuki," said Serenity. "Then Samuel will head to the Defense Headquarters and take over."

"_Got it,_" said Makoto. "_See you soon._" With that, the transmission cut.

"Lady Serenity, Orb has begun deployment and evacuation."

Serenity nodded.

"Order all pilots to their machines," she said. "Is the Kairi Fleet ready?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," said Serenity. "Now for the hardest part. Waiting." She sighed, walking to take a seat next to Meer. "I hate politics."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"Amagi, we should send out the Murasames," said Cagalli, anger evident in her tone. She should've just broken out before Yuna had a chance to mess things up, even a power struggle was better than the scenario that idiot had created.

"Yes ma'am," said Amagi, though there was some surprise evident in his voice.

"Then let's go," said Cagalli, turning to Murrue. "Captain, may I have your permission to use the Skygrasper?"

"What?"

"Lady Cagalli!"

"We'll fight," said Cagalli simply. "Even if we're the only ones."

"Are you insane?" cried Murrue. "Out there in the Skygrasper?"

"I cannot let my country burn again!" said Cagalli, running for the door. "I can't just stand back and watch!" She reached the door… and bumped right into Kisaka as he came through with Erica and Samuel.

"Cagalli," said Kisaka, evidently surprised by just who'd run into him.

"Colonel Kisaka," murmured Amagi.

"Miss Erica," gasped Murrue.

"Come on Amagi, I'm using that machine," said Cagalli, ignoring the new arrivals as she tried to rush out, only for Kisaka to grab her.

"Cagalli, just wait!" he said.

"I'm not waiting anymore!"

"I want you to come with me!" said Kisaka.

"I can't!" said Cagalli. "If Orb's about to be plunged into war, I'd rather throw myself into the flames then do nothing at all!"

"What good will you do Orb if you get killed because you were flying that outdated fighter?" questioned Samuel firmly. "You'll do it anyways though. That's why you need to come with us."

"Just shut up, you're not stopping me!"

"Cagalli, calm down," said Shizuka, coming up from the CIC. "They're not here to stop you from launching."

"That's right," said Erica. "We just want you to hear Lord Uzumi's final message before you go."

"Huh?" Cagalli calmed, just as requested. "My father's message?"

"Yes," said Erica. "His last will."

**

* * *

**

Morgenroete ORB-01 Secret Hangar

A little while later

"What is this place?" murmured Cagalli.

"A place to which only a few people have had access over the years," said Samuel. "Even I don't know what's truly beyond those doors. I have to get going. I'll be at the Defense Headquarters." With that, he turned and left, regret evident in the aging general's gait. Cagalli, Amagi, Kisaka and Erica watched him go, each able to recognize his growing weariness. Erica let out a small sigh before turning back to the doors.

"There are words etched on the plate here," she said. "Read them."

Cagalli stepped forward, staring at the table on which the plate was mounted. It was covered in dust, and she brushed it away in order to read what was beneath it in the low light.

"A wish… that the day that this door need be open never arrives," she read. Suddenly, the doors parted, catching her off-guard, unaware that it was responding to her voice and her words.

"The day when this door need be opened," echoed Erica. "In other words, the day when Orb was in danger of being scorched by war again." Cagalli started walking forward. "That's what he meant. Here it is… one of Morgenroete's greatest accomplishments: the legacy of Lord Uzumi, sealed away until now." Erica pulled the switch, turning on the lights to reveal a machine Lord Uzumi had commissioned from Serenity on the day of his death. The machine had been mostly complete for over a year now, with Shizuka, Johanna and Erica regularly upgrading parts of it through a hidden secondary door, the main doors being accessible only to Cagalli.

Cagalli had to turn her eyes away. The sudden, bright light reflecting off the massive machine was blinding. After a moment, as her eyes adjusted, she was able to put her attention back on it, and gasped in surprise.

"A… golden mobile suit?" murmured Amagi in awe. Cagalli felt the same awe as well, looking on a machine like none she'd ever seen before.

"_Cagalli,_" came a voice suddenly over the speakers.

"It's my father," gasped Cagalli.

"_Should the day come when you have need of additional power, consider this gift my answer to that need,_" said the recording of Uzumi. "_There are many things I wasn't able to teach you myself. But if you have an open heart, you can learn everything you'll ever need form those around you. From those who love and support you. Therefore, I can only give you what you see now before you. Power is whatever one makes of it. Foolish are those who hope for it in excess. Uniquely foolish are those who resent it for no reason._" Cagalli felt tears coming to her eyes, hearing her father's voice again after so long, and recognizing her mistakes in his words. He knew her so well, but had believed in her too much to realize she would fail.

No… she wouldn't fail again. Cagalli unconsciously swore this to herself.

"_Think of it as a sword, for protection,_" continued Uzumi. "_If you need this now, then take it. If it will help you walk the right path, it is yours._"

"Thank you father," murmured Cagalli, falling to her knees, feeling tears coming unbidden to her eyes, the same tears she had shed when Uzumi sacrificed himself to destroy Morgenroete and Kaguya.

"_However, I had hoped the day would never come when this door would be opened. If it had been opened, then these words may be in vain. But my dear Cagalli… I wish you a long and happy life._"

"Father…" sobbed Cagalli. Kisaka, a sad expression on his face, stepped forward, kneeling down next to her.

"Cagalli," he said, drawing her attention. "Will you take the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki?" she echoed, looking at him before looking back to the golden mobile suit before her for a moment. She looked back to Kisaka and nodded. "Yes."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Djibril grit his teeth as the limo drove desperately through the city, on route for the Seirans private shuttle. ZAFT's response was quicker than he'd expected, and he was now being forced to rely on the few soldiers still completely loyal to the Seirans and those worthless EX-Cs; the one called 'Rache' was currently driving, and Djibril could admit he handled the car well, while 'Silber' and 'Miguel' checked their weapons over. The last of them, that little girl, seemed almost catatonic, but there was nevertheless a sense of insanity in the air about her. Silber, who seemed to be leading them, had assured him that 'Maia' was quite dangerous in a fight, and would probably be the best if they got into actual combat.

Djibril hoped it didn't come to that, for in combat, he would be in danger, and only he could stop Durandal and wipe the PLANTs from the face of the universe.

Unnoticed by anyone else, Maia's catatonic state seemed to fade slightly, eyes widening as she saw a mobile suit pass by overhead.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Murrue cut the bindings on Neo's wrist, which surprised him. He couldn't understand it—after all this time, why were they setting him free?

"What's this?" he questioned. "Why are you doing this?"

"Well… you're injuries have healed completely, right?" said Murrue. "If you stay here, you'll just get hurt again."

"That's why…?"

"The Skygrasper," said Murrue, motioning to the fighter behind him on the launch pad. "It's just a fighter, but you can use it. It can launch vertically from here, and has a modest weapon supply, and enough fuel to get you to the Atlantic Federation."

"But… what about Treize and Ami?" questioned Neo, worried about his comrade and surrogate daughter, both of whom he'd hurt in various ways.

"They've chosen to fight for Orb," said Murrue, turning around to leave. "You don't have to do what they do, though."

Neo took a step towards her. He'd probably never say it outright, but he cared about her. This woman was the sort of person he could've been. If he'd just listened to his own humanity more than his orders, he would've taken Stella, Sting and Auel, gathered everything necessary, and fled the Earth Forces with them. But he hadn't done that. This woman, he knew, would've.

"You're not him," said Murrue softly. "You're not Mu. So… it's pointless to pretend you are."

The truth was, Murrue cared about Neo as well. He was still Mu at heart, even if he didn't remember. He was still the man she loved; yet at the same time, he wasn't. And Murrue was falling for the parts that were Neo just as much as she was falling for the parts that were Mu. And she didn't know how to handle it, especially after the way he'd broken her heart before, not just once, but twice.

Murrue ran off before Neo could say anything.

"Ugh…" Neo straightened up, dropping the hand that had instinctively reached out to stop her as she disappeared. He turned and faced the Skygrasper. This fighter could take him anywhere… but could it take him to where he really wanted to be?

He felt a gust of wind blow by, perhaps kicked up by the crashing and explosions from the battle not far enough away.

And turning to the Taiyonoha guards, he made his decision.

"Let me fight," he asked, catching them by surprise. "Please! A machine, any machine, just let me help!"

The two guards glanced at each other, momentarily hesitating. They looked back to Neo, knowing what he'd done to Lord Kira's younger sister, and knowing that he regretted it.

"Okay, follow us," said the one in charge after a moment.

"Thank you."

**

* * *

**

Morgenroete ORB-01 Secret Hangar

Cagalli had switched into a pilot suit and now sat in the cockpit of the Akatsuki, readying it for takeoff. It had been completed long before the assault frame technology was finished, so it didn't have that going for it, but they had managed to redesign the cockpit to the Sincerity's panoramic monitor/linear floating seat design.

Cagalli had also been told that it utilized a nuclear fission reactor and N-jammer canceller, like the Freedom had, including emergency shutdown functions, just in case. The Yata-no-Kagami armor, with its ability to reflect directed energy weapons, would be extremely useful in modern warfare, and it possessed enhanced versatility thanks to its Strike-like backpack equipment, which would also make it easier to upgrade the machine. Since, aside from its CIWS, none of its weapons were grafted directly into the machine (unlike a fair number of others), upgrades would basically amount to simple redesigns on the mobile suit and new equipment being mounted, something Cagalli appreciated.

She hit the startup switch, glancing around as the Akatsuki's blue eyes flashed, the golden mobile suit hummed to life, the panoramic monitor lit up, and the startup screen displayed the OS type.

**MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM  
/AKATSUKI - 1000/  
G**eneral  
**U**nilateral  
**N**euro – Link  
**D**ispersive  
**A**utonomic  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System  
ORB-01**

"_ORB-01, Akatsuki, system activated,_" came Erica's voice. "_Go ahead. Launch._"

"Cagalli Yula Athha, Akatsuki taking off!" called Cagalli, punching the thrusters up and shooting up from the underground hangar. As soon as she emerged, she gunned for Onogoro and the frontlines.

Within minutes, she was in sight, and saw how bad the situation was. As the Murasames from the _Takemikazuchi_ formed up around her, along with Kisaka in Andy's old M3, Cagalli leveled her rifle and blasted a GOUF Ignited.

"You bastards won't take Orb," she quietly swore.

"_They need to rebuild their defensive lines if we're to hold them off,_" said Kisaka.

"We'll take over the Defense Headquarters and then reorganize them," said Cagalli. "Samuel should be there soon, so I'll make sure Yuna can't intervene. I want one team to come with me. The rest of you hold the line."

"_Roger!_"

With that, Cagalli pulled away from the rest of the machines, accompanied by three of the Murasames, and headed towards the Defense Headquarters and the Izanagi shoreline. She needed to take everything back from Yuna quickly, both so that Samuel could properly organize the defense and so that she could destroy the political red tape holding Serenity back.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union Defense Headquarters, Onogoro

"Colonel Soga," called Kei Nosaka, one of the comm./sensor operators at the Defense Headquarters. "Fresh reinforcements seem to have arrived off-shore."

"Fresh troops?" questioned Soga, turning his attention away from Yuna with whom he'd been having a bit of an argument, trying to get reality through that idiot's head.

"Their identification codes say they're machines from the _Takemikazuchi_," said Kei.

"Are you sure?" questioned Soga as Yuna gasped in shock.

"Also picking up an unknown mobile suit," added Toshiko Narato, another comm./sensor operator. "It's leading the Murasames straight toward us." She brought the image up on the main monitor.

"Gah, what is that?" exclaimed Yuna.

"A golden mobile suit…" murmured Soga as the door behind them opened and Samuel Dante walked in.

"_This is the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha,_" came the voice of a young woman suddenly. "_Cagalli Yula Athha!_" There were gasps of shock from everyone but Samuel. "_Defense Headquarters, do you copy?_" Murmurs started up. Samuel was about to snap at them to answer when Cagalli suddenly continued. "_Some of you may have doubts because of my sudden return. Can you put the Commander-in-Chief on please?_"

"Cagalli, Cagalli, Cagalli!" cried Yuna in excitement, having rushed forward and grabbed a mic from a comm. officer. Samuel looked the Seiran heir with disgust as he walked down the steps and towards Yuna. "Yes! You've come to rescue me! You're my honey! Oh thank heavens! You are my goddess!" Yuna pointed at himself, not that Cagalli could see. Soga glanced at General Dante and saw a dangerous smirk forming on his lips, then glanced down to see one hand already curled into a fist. "The Commander-in-Chief… surprise, it's me!"

"_Yuna…_" There was a very dangerous note in Cagalli's voice, which went completely over Yuna's head. "_Are you saying that you recognize me as the Cagalli Yula Athha, the Chief Representative of the Orb Union?_" As she spoke, Cagalli shot down a BABI before dodging fire from a DINN and shooting it down just as quickly.

"Of course, of course, of course!" said Yuna. "There's no doubt in my mind who you are!" He turned towards the other occupants of the command room, his tone of voice saying that only he would recognize her, even though the rest had little in the way of doubts. "It's the real Cagalli, alright?"

"_Then I use my authority to issue the following order,_" said Cagalli. "_Soldiers: for the crime of treason, I want you to arrest and restrain Yuna Roma Seiran!_" Yuna gasped.

"It's an order," said Samuel, grinning almost manically. "We're taking you into custody!"

Samuel's fist connected with Yuna's face with enough force to send the Seiran heir flying. Soga winced slightly at how much that must've hurt, but his only regret was that he wasn't fast enough to help the General knock Yuna off his feet.

"Uh, no, wait…" cried Yuna as other soldiers tackled him in what they hoped would be the most painful way possible. "You can't do this to me, you can't… gah!" Yuna's cries were drowned out by his own pain.

As Cagalli's escorts took up a speartip formation and opened fire on several mobile suits on the ground, Cagalli shot down a DINN before getting attacked by a pair of BABIs. The Akatsuki shifted angles slightly, and the beams bounced off its reflective coating. The BABI pilots were so surprised that they didn't even react until it was too late and their own attacks obliterated them.

"_Get Yuna to cough up Djibril's location,_" said Cagalli. "_Unato's with the cabinet, get him on the line. Orb forces, as of this moment, I am taking over as Commander-in-Chief. Is that clear?_"

"Ma'am!" called the soldiers, saluting her.

"_General Dante will be in charge of the Defense Headquarters,_" said Cagalli. "_All remaining Astray teams, gather at Takemizugata. Deploy two teams of Murasames to give them air cover. We must protect our homeland. Everyone, lend me your strength!_" The Akatsuki was coming under heavy fire, which Cagalli couldn't evade entirely—they were just too outnumbered right now, and she'd have been dead if not for the Yata-no-Kagami.

"_Get me Lady Serenity,_" ordered Cagalli.

"Uh, yes ma'am," said Kei, but he was cutoff.

"_I'm already here, Lady Cagalli,_" came Serenity's voice.

"_Lady Serenity, as Chief Representative of the Orb Union, I would like to request the assistance of the Taiyonoha Fleet,_" said Cagalli, surprising many of the soldiers. "_I realize this may be asking too much, as Izanami has maintained a neutral stance with regards to all other countries, but please._"

"_We can do it,_" said Serenity. "_As a personal favor to the Athhas. The First Fleet will deploy shortly. In the meantime, we are ready to assist in the defense of Onogoro._"

"What…?" questioned Soga.

Suddenly, barrages of missiles let loose on the ZAFT forces. Enormous railgun rounds tore GOOhNs and ZAKUs apart, and beams soared in from above, crushing almost an entire squadron of mobile suits.

"What the hell?" cried a GOUF pilot, looking up.

Standing on a cliff above him were a trio of BuCUE-like machines, but their heads looked much more real, like mechanical wolves, and beam cannons and wings were visible on their backs. The three suddenly leapt from the cliff at him, and he pulled back with his companions.

Then, he saw the newcomers shift to a bipedal mobile suit mode just before crashing to the ground on their feet, straightening immediately and leveling rifles at him, pulling the trigger and skewering him and his wingman before they could react.

"Move out," ordered Lieutenant Commander Samba Takayama. "All T1 squadrons are to reinforce the Izanagi coastline!" With that, Takayama shifted his T1 Tahiko back to mobile armor mode and went charging forward with his two wingman, deploying wings as they leapt into the air and sliced an off-guard GOUF and DINN apart.

Behind the ZAFT submarine fleet, another surprise was waiting.

"All ships… open fire," ordered Captain Saki Hirano aboard the _Suijin_. "Then deploy all mobile suits."

Following orders, the five submarines of the _Suijin_-class, the _Ikari_, _Heisui_, _Okuyuki_, _Taiheiyō_ and the _Suijin_ itself, opened fire with their massive phonon masers and dozens of torpedoes.

A dozen _Vosgulov_-class submarines went up in an instant, along with many mobile suits around them.

The _Suijins_ rose to the surface, deploying their vertical catapults and opening the doors to their fighter catapults as the still submerged dry dock tubes, already flooded, opened up and let loose the A1 Kames held within. M2 Angelus' shot into the sky from the vertical catapults, while M3 Guardians loaded onto the fighter catapults in mobile armor mode and shot forth. To offer covering fire, the dozen 64-tube anti-air missile grids of the five submarines opened up, a massive barrage that cast shadows over the ZAFT fleet.

Cagalli and all the other Orb soldiers and officers couldn't help but stare at what was happening. The Izanami forces stationed at Orb to protect Morgenroete and the Taiyonoha Estate were much stronger than any of them had realized. None of them had known of the existence of the T1 Tahikos or A1 Kames, and Kisaka hadn't realized there was more than one _Suijin_-class submarine operational.

An ASH moved to intercept one of the A1 Kames, but the tortoise-like mobile suit suddenly shifted from cruising mode to its more powerful combat mode, and fired its head-mounted CIWS guns, blowing apart the initial torpedo blasts, then retaliated with its shoulder-shell mounted phonon maser cannons.

The ASH handily dealt with, the A1 Kame sidled up next to a submarine, and reared back a fist, punching through the armor with tremendous force.

Then the pilot, Suzuko Matsuda, fired the torpedo launchers mounted in her machine's forearm.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

The secret docks holding the _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ finished flooding, allowing the Taiyonoha Fleet's strongest vessels to launch.

"_Opening hangar doors,_" came the voice of the dock controller. "_**Archangel**__, __**Dominion**__, you are clear for launch._"

"_Thanks control,_" said Grissom from the _Dominion_.

"Roger that," added Mir.

"As soon as we clear the dock, load forward missile tubes with Korinthos and aft missile tubes with Sledgehammers," ordered Murrue. "Load Helldarts, and deploy the Gottfried and Valiant."

"Yes ma'am," said Sai.

"And prep all mobile suits for launch," said Murrue, glancing down into the CIC, where Athrun and Meyrin were lending a hand.

The white and black assault ships cleared the docks and sailed briefly through the water before taking to the sky.

"When we reach the battle zone, launch all mobile suits," ordered Natarle as Adams readied the _Dominion_'s weapons systems.

"Yes ma'am," said Grissom.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

It had taken longer than they would've liked, but finally, the _Minerva_ arrived at Orb. Zane, in his pilot suit like everyone else, walked into the locker room, returning from a short briefing on the situation.

"Anything on Djibril?" questioned Shinn.

"It seems they haven't found him yet," said Zane. "Apparently they're putting up quite a fight down there." He swept his eyes over the other six pilots.

"Hmph."

"Shinn…" murmured Aleksi, looking at the red-eyed pilot with concern in her eyes.

"There's no need for all of us to sortie," commented Rey. "I'll go out alone."

"No, don't," said Shinn suddenly, surprising everyone. "I'll go out!" Aleksi and Tristan gasped.

"Shinn, what are you…?" started Aleksi.

"Shinn, you don't have to…" said Rey.

"No," said Shinn. "I said I'm going." Shinn straightened up, walking to the elevator. Zane motioned to the others to let him go.

_If anyone's gonna destroy Orb…_ thought Shinn, remembering all the atrocities of these people. But this was definitely the worst. _It's gonna be me!_

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Cagalli couldn't help but marvel at the incredible performance of Izanami's mobile suits against ZAFT. The T1 Tahikos were tearing the ZAFT machines apart on land and providing heavy anti-air support to the skies over Onogoro, some even utilizing their flight packs to join the battle against ZAFT in the air.

It was like someone had taken the Gaia, gave it the ability to fly, added in the BuCUE's versatility, threw in some extra quirks for fun, then put it into full-scale production.

The A1 Kames were doing much the same in the water. They were faster than the ASHs, and more agile than the ZnO, contrary to their tortoise-like form. Those that had arrived on shore were demonstrating that their high-performance wasn't limited to the water, either—in fact, the gap in performance between the A1s and the ASHs was even more pronounced on land, though that didn't mean none of the A1s went down, but for each that fell, it took three or more ZAFT mobile suits with it. It was awe-inspiring to see the tables turned on ZAFT so heavily.

That wasn't all, though; the M2 Angelus and M3 Guardians were truly showing their worth. This was the first time the standard mass production models of those powerful machines had seen real combat, but that didn't mean the pilots weren't incredibly skilled, with each M2 Angelus nearly the equal of ZAFT's GOUF Igniteds and surpassing the rest of their machines, and the M3 Guardian actually somewhat superior.

"This is unbelievable," murmured Cagalli, dodging a shot instinctively and returning fire with her beam rifle. "The M3s are a lot stronger than I'd realized." Then again, perhaps she'd just overestimated the GOUFs—looking around, she could see that the Murasames were just as strong as ZAFT's latest model, despite pre-dating them by at least six months.

And to top it all off, the five Izanami submarines were still pounding away at the ZAFT forces where they could. The Kairi Fleet had pulled around the ZAFT fleet, joining up with the Orb naval defenses, allowing ZAFT the chance to flee instead of trapping them into a fight.

Even still, the Izanami forces couldn't win this fight on their own—there were only forty or so M3s, and not many more T1s or A1s, with the most dominant mobile suit of Izanami being the M2s. ZAFT still had hundreds of machines and a huge submarine fleet on this attack.

"_Lady Cagalli, look out!_" came a voice suddenly. "_ZAFT has deployed the Destiny!_"

"Destiny?" gasped Cagalli, spinning about, quickly locating the mobile suit as it destroyed a pair of Murasames with its beam rifle. "Damn! I'd hoped Kira and Makoto would be back before the _Minerva_ got here!"

Cagalli charged at the Destiny, firing her beam rifle. Shinn was caught off-guard by the sight of the golden mobile suit, but his reflexes were quick enough that he was able to bring up his beam shield in defense, pulling back to get some distance and a better measure of his opponent.

"We can't let this guy through!" said Cagalli, pursuing the Destiny to try and keep Shinn on his toes. "He's tough!" With that, she fired one of her backpack-mounted beam cannons, but the Destiny pulled to the side, evading the shot, then absorbed her beam rifle attack with its shield.

"What the hell is this thing?" he questioned, drawing his beam cannon and returning fire. Hoping to catch him off-guard, Cagalli allowed the blast to connect with the Akatsuki's chest, and the Yata-no-Kagami sent it straight back at the Destiny, though Shinn's instinctive danger sense allowed him to dodge. "It deflected the beam?" He raised his beam rifle and snapped off a shot at the head, which merely bounced harmlessly off the golden armor. Gritting his teeth, he drew his Arondight. "Fine then!"

The Destiny deployed its Wings of Light, charging forward. Cagalli grit her teeth, firing at the Destiny with her rifle, but it was too fast for her. From the footage of Heaven's Base, she'd assumed it was just a fancy afterimage system, but seeing it in person made it apparent that they considerably increased the Destiny's speed.

"_Lady Cagalli!_" cried a voice suddenly. A half-dozen Murasames charged forward in mobile armor mode, firing their rifles and cannons. Shinn pulled up, out of their line of fire, then descended suddenly as one passed under him, slicing it in half with his anti-ship sword. Three of the Murasames shifted to mobile suit mode and opened fire on the Destiny, but Shinn easily blocked the comparatively weak blasts with his beam shield as he charged forward.

"Those things are going down!" he swore. However, as he reached the Murasames (which couldn't pull back even a quarter as fast as the Destiny could charge forward) and swung his sword, the Akatsuki appeared in front of him, shield halting the Arondight in its tracks. "Bastard!"

"_Lady Cagalli!_"

"Pull back and defend the city," said Cagalli. "I'll hold this guy off. Help will be arriving soon."

"_But Lady Cagalli…!_"

"Go!" cried Cagalli, pushing the Destiny back as she fired her rifle. Shinn grit his teeth as he blocked with his beam shield again. As the Murasames reluctantly pulled back, Cagalli drew her Type-73J2 twin beam saber and activated it, knowing she was in for a tough fight as she charged forward.

"It looks like you're the leader!" said Shinn, charging forward as well, Wings of Light activated and trailing afterimages. The two narrowly passed each other by as they spun, both pilots using the spin for added momentum as their weapons clashed. "Though you don't really have the skill!"

Cagalli grit her teeth. Shinn was trying to goad her by speaking over the radio and mocking her piloting abilities. But he was also getting cocky—and the Akatsuki promptly delivered a kick to the Destiny's midsection, knocking Shinn off-balance.

"What?"

Cagalli took aim with both her beam cannons and fired at the Destiny, Shinn only barely bringing his shield up to defend in time. The Akatsuki descended quickly, and Shinn barely pulled away as Cagalli swung her twin saber.

_Damn it, you did it again you idiot!_ Shinn thought to himself. He'd behaved egotistically and let his guard down. He should know better by now!

What was it? All the time, Shinn found himself just a little more confused. Something was wrong with him, he could feel it. Why was it that certain flaws kept coming back to bite him? What was he doing so wrong that it kept him from learning from his mistakes for more than a single battle?

Shinn charged back in, anti-ship sword connecting with twin beam saber.

"Guess I should thank you," bit out Shinn through grit teeth, practically feeling bile welling up in his throat at the thought of expressing _gratitude_ to someone from a country as selfish as Orb. "I won't make that same mistake again!"

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"We're getting a visual of Onogoro Island now," said Mir, hitting a few controls on her station and bringing it up on the display screen.

"Alright," said Murrue. "Go ahead and send out the mobile suits!"

Down in the hangar, the two Sentinels were loaded onto the catapults first.

"And to think… I was there when your ancestor stepped into the light of day," commented Tolle as the Ultima Shadow Striker was mounted. "I'll be there now. Only this time, I'll be the one at the controls." Smiling slightly, Tolle donned his helmet and switched his new machine on.

**MOBILE SUIT SENTINEL OPERATION SYSTEM  
/SENTINEL SERIES – 1000/**  
**G**uardian  
**U**nlimited  
**N**exus  
**D**euterion  
**A**ssault  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. System Complex  
_Ver.1.0.7 Rev.28_**

"It's been a long time," murmured Liz, checking over her machine's systems. "But soon… we'll all be together again. Alright Guardian, let's show them what we're made of!"

"_X105S, X308S, you are go for launch,_" came Meyrin's voice.

"Roger that Meyrin," said Tolle, punching the controls. "Tolle Koenig, Shadow Strike Gundam, taking off!"

"Elizabeth Dante, Sacred Guardian Gundam, here I go!" called Liz, punching the controls as well.

Two mobile suits, easily recognizable as radically improved versions of the legendary Strike and Guardian Gundams shot forth from the _Archangel_'s catapults. They activated their VPS armor, the Ultima Shadow Strike's torso, shoulders, wings, head and trimming turning black as its limbs and faceplate turned dark gray, while the Sacred Guardian's torso and shins turned dark blue with silver trimming, and its thighs, arms, skirt armor and head turned white.

Aboard the _Dominion_, Shani and Louisa were prepped for launch.

"Huh… this is kind of strange," murmured Shani. "Heh… not for my father, and not for those sadistic bastards… but this time… for something that's worthwhile!"

"_X252T, you're go for launch!_"

"Shani Andras, Forbidden Templar, launching!"

"No matter what anyone says, you're different from the last one, you know?" said Louisa, switching her machine on as Shani launched. "You're a gift from someone I love… and you were born to be a protector, not a destroyer."

The new machine's eyes flashed bright blue.

**MOBILE SUIT TEMPLAR OPERATION SYSTEM  
/TEMPLAR SERIES – 2000/**  
**G**eneral  
**U**nlimited  
**N**etwork  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. System Complex  
_Ver.2.1.4 Rev.11_**

"_X264T, you're go for launch!_"

"Louisa Kohls, Twilight Crusader, we're taking off!"

As the two cleared the catapults, Clotho was loaded.

"Well… heh… never would've thought this would be how I would make up for what I did last time I fought at Orb," said the Raider pilot. "And you're not a copy this time. This time, it's my own machine!"

"_X370T, you're clear._"

"Clotho Buer, Phantom Raider, taking off!"

"_Treize Zabiarov, Specter, launching!_"

"_Minako Rei Arata, Astarte Gundam, let's go!_"

"_John Alaric, Farsight IV, sortieing!_"

"_Victor Cain, Talos III, launching!_"

"Are you ready?" asked Faith. Letting out a breath to calm herself, Ami nodded as she was loaded onto the catapult.

"_Ami, are you okay?_" asked Mir.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine," said Ami.

"… _okay._"

"Ami Hibiki, Sincerity, I'm taking off!" called the blonde, pushing the controls forward, barely even feeling the Gs as she was shot out of the catapult like a bullet, activating the VPS armor on the machine Makoto had given her.

As soon as all ten mobile suits were clear, they all turned and gunned for Onogoro.

**

* * *

**

Defense Headquarters

Samuel grit his teeth as the lines were slowly but surely pushed back. ZAFT had sent a massive attack force, and he was remembering all too vividly the last time Orb had been attacked. The Izanami reinforcements were slowing the ZAFT advance, but hadn't been able to halt it.

"Sir, detecting ten mobile suits approaching from the mainland!" called Kei. "We've identified two of them as the Sincerity and the X74S Specter, but the remaining eight are unknown!"

"The Sincerity?" questioned Soga, shocked that Lady Setsuna would be launching.

"Don't worry," assured Samuel, though he was surprised as well, wondering who was piloting Makoto's machine. "They're on our side."

Toshiko gasped. "Five of the unknowns show a rough silhouette match to the Forbidden, Twilight, Raider, Strike and Guardian!" she exclaimed.

Then, the ten mobile suits shot over the Defense Headquarters.

"For Orb!" cried Liz, firing her combined terra beam cannon-rifles in a huge blast that obliterated nearly a half-dozen mobile suits in one shot. A GOUF Ignited swung its heat rod at her, but she ducked under it and let loose with her Draupnir beam guns, the light beam blasts vaporizing armor and quickly crippling the mobile suit.

A trio of BABIs fired everything they had on the Forbidden Templar… but the blasts all bent away, a sphere of light briefly flashing around the Forbidden as the Avalon shield did its work. Shani chuckled slightly.

"This machine is virtually impervious," he said. "But the same isn't true for you!"

Then, he retaliated with his Yokō plasma cannon, utilizing the powerful magnetic field generated by the entirety of the Sangreal backpack to manipulate the path of the beam to his whims, making it impossible for the BABIs to dodge and sending all three down in flames.

"Alright then, let's try this out!" said Clotho, deploying his forearm-mounted weapon units in gun mode. Two beam blasts let loose from each wrist, followed seconds later by dozens more, releasing a hail of beam gunfire from a single mobile suit and battering or destroying a dozen aerial mobile suits in less than half a minute.

"Eat this!" cried Tolle, leveling his long-range beam cannons at a pair of ZAKUs on the ground. He pulled the trigger, but even the one that brought its shield to bear on time was consumed by the wide blast. Tolle immediately snapped to an alternate firing position, letting loose with the cannons on two more ground targets, while his Memoria railguns sniped down a DINN. He missed one of his ground targets.

"Damn," he muttered, firing again and taking the GOUF out this time as it tried to ascend into the air. "Even with this targeting system, I just can't handle that many weapons accurately."

"_Run for it!_" cried a ZAFT pilot, but he was too late—the Twilight Crusader's Sasori beam cannons had already skewered his GOUF three times.

"_Why you…!_" roared another pilot, swinging his Slayer Whip at her. Louisa opened up her Sansensa twin beam trident, cutting the heat rod before it had even come close to actually doing anything, then deployed her wings into HiMAT mode and easily danced around the pilot, who fired his beam guns, but couldn't seem to get a bead on the Twilight—thanks to its Mirage Colloid scattering, he was confused and disoriented.

Then, the Drache Giftzahn suddenly clamped down on his GOUF and a BABI unfortunate enough to be close by.

"You're lucky…" said Louisa, intentionally letting her more sadistic side show. "I'm feeling like being nice to my toys today!"

Louisa activated the Drache Giftzahn.

A massive electrical burst overtook both mobile suits. The pilots cried out in pain beyond anything they'd ever imagined before Louisa released them. The GOUF and BABI crashed to the ground, both pilots twitching slightly and unable to move properly, nervous systems scrambled by Louisa's attack as the accompanying virus ate the entire OS of both machines.

"Go, Takusan!" called Minako, deploying her DRAGOONs. Using them in combination with her beam handguns and cannon, the brunette quickly downed more than twenty of the mobile suits that had been attacking her would-be-homeland.

"Argh!" cried Ami, firing the Murakumo at a pair of DINNs, skewering both of them. Despite the trouble she was having with the frame, Faith was helping her to compensate every step of the way.

"Ami, just stay calm," said Faith reassuringly. "Everything will be fine."

"I'll try," said Ami, twisting away from a GOUF's heat rod with preternatural grace before shooting back in with unbelievable speed and slicing it in half with her sword-rifle. Spinning about, she let loose with her own heat rod, slicing another GOUF in half, before deploying her machine cannons and letting loose on a formation of DINNs and BABIs that was trying to attack the group.

"This machine… it's incredible," murmured Ami.

Meanwhile, John and Victor landed on a plateau, hidden by their Mirage Colloid.

"I like this," commented John, readying his sniper railgun. "The full view of the battlefield is very handy for people like us."

"_Heh._" Victor eyed his twin contemplatively, probably readying his own railgun.

"The Mirage Colloid's also pretty handy," added John. "I'm in position."

"_The only reason they'll ever see us coming now is if we run out of bullets,_" commented Victor. "_So… time to rain death on ZAFT?_"

"Well, however you want to do it," said John, taking aim. "Death… or just taking them out of the fight!"

With that, John pulled the trigger. The magnetically hyper-accelerated bullet streaked across the battlefield and pierced the main camera of a DINN, with the sheer kinetic energy tearing off the rest of the head as well.

"_Heh._" Victor pulled the trigger as well, his own bullet tearing through a GOUF cockpit; he was probably more ready to do so because of his greater attachment to Orb through Shizuka.

The Farsight IV and Talos III were nearly identical, being merely minor variants of the same base Raptor Shadow model. The sniper railgun was the main weapon of choice, not only because it didn't drain the battery, for they did not utilize the Deuterion Drive, but more particularly because they didn't leave an easily traced trail to follow, the way beam weapons did.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

As the other machines from the _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ retook the skies over Onogoro, Treize shot towards the coast, driven by a strange feeling.

It didn't take long before he spotted them: a golden mobile suit battling with the Destiny. As Shinn shot towards the Akatsuki, Treize leveled his beam cannon and opened fire, cutting them off.

"_Treize?_" exclaimed Cagalli as the Specter approached them.

"_You again?_" cried Shinn.

"Yes, me," said Treize, releasing his cannon and drawing his beam sword instead. "It's been some time since we've done battle. And a mobile suit's performance doesn't decide who the better pilot is. Think you can take me on, White Devil? Or is it the Dark Knight of Destiny now?"

"_You…!_" snarled Shinn, charging forward. However, before their battle could get underway, Cagalli snapped off a shot between them.

"_Treize, what are you doing here?_" demanded Cagalli, firing another shot from her cannons at Shinn, who blocked with his beam shield.

"Lending a hand," said Treize. "Not because anyone told me too… but of my own will!" With that, he charged forward, swinging his sword at the Destiny, Shinn barely blocking with his solid shield.

"_Okay,_" said Cagalli, following after him and attacking with her twin beam saber. Shinn blocked with his right beam shield, but then Treize drew his beam revolver.

"_No way!_" shouted Shinn, shooting up and away suddenly with the Wings of Light.

"Argh," grunted Treize, opening his verniers and taking off in pursuit.

Nearby, a GOUF was bisected just as it was about to destroy an Astray Shrike using its heat rod. Asagi Caldwell grit her teeth slightly in frustration, bringing her prototype M4 Yamato about.

"Kanai Squadron, form up on me," she ordered.

"_Yes ma'am!_" replied the M3 pilots as they pulled about to take up position on her wing.

"We need to do something about those GOUFs up ahead," said Asagi. "Cover me!"

With that, the samurai-like mobile suit charged forward, beam katana and beam wakizashi held in hand as the four remaining M3s of the Kanai Squadron shifted to mobile armor mode and charged forward, two on each of her flanks. The GOUFs spotted them and fired their Draupnir beam guns, but Asagi responded by firing her scattering cannon, creating a makeshift beam curtain that easily absorbed the enemy fire, while the M3s fired their beam rifles as the 'curtain' faded, piercing three GOUFs. Asagi continued her charge, the braid of her M4 rising and firing a series of suppressive chakram beam rings at the GOUFs.

She reached one and swung her katana. The pilot deflected with her shield, but Asagi flipped her wakizashi into a reverse grip and swung it in at an angle the pilot couldn't possibly intercept, cutting through the powerplant. Another GOUF swung its Tempest beam sword at her, but Asagi swung her machine's leg about, using the ankle-mounted beam chakram to block the sword. Then, she fired chakrams from the braid of her machine straight through the GOUF's cockpit, destroying it as the M3s mopped up the last two GOUFs easily.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Is running away all you can do?" questioned Treize.

"_Why don't you try this without double teaming me?_" shouted Shinn.

"What? I thought the great 'Dark Knight' would be able to take on a Natural and a man in an inferior machine at the same time without effort," mocked Treize, snatching up a Cerebus and opening up on the Destiny with it. Shinn blocked with his beam shield, and Cagalli flew in from the side, swinging her twin saber. Shinn, teeth grit, fired up the Wings of Light again, shooting away.

This was getting infuriating! He was a better pilot than either of them, but not good enough to take both on at once. They were seriously starting to test his patience!

Then, a massive beam split the sky between the three battling mobile suits.

"What the–?" gasped Treize. The Akatsuki, Specter and Destiny all paused briefly, turning to the source of the attack…

To see the Reckoning soaring their way, tossing away its rifle and taking hold of its Scindo beam sword instead.

"Commander!" gasped Shinn.

"_Shinn, deal with the golden one,_" said Zane. "_I'll deal with the Specter._"

"Yes sir," said Shinn as the Specter and Akatsuki broke away from Zane's attack before the Reckoning opened up with its wrist-mounted beam pistol.

"_Long time no see, 'Chris',_" said Zane, charging forward, beam sword connecting with the Specter's shield.

"Zane…" muttered Treize, swinging his own sword at the Reckoning, only for Zane to block with his beam shield.

"_At least you recognize me now,_" said Zane. "_Sorry, but I can't forgive this country for harboring a man like Djibril!_" With that, Zane broke away, then rushed back in, Scindo clashing against Tempest, and quickly overwhelming it. Treize grit his teeth as he boosted away.

"You're lying," said Treize. Suddenly, an image came up on one of the Specter's comm. monitors, showing him Zane, who'd removed his helmet. Treize gasped.

"_And what makes you say that?_" questioned Zane mildly.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" roared Treize, charging back in, drawing his second Cerebus and attacking with both. The Reckoning easily evaded the assault, and two quick shots from its beam pistol took out both of the Cerebus.

"_Tut, tut,_" mocked Zane. "_Getting all overemotional, Chris?_"

"You bastard!" cried Treize, spinning about to fire his beam cannon, not noticing another voice coming over his comm. line. Zane blocked the blast with his beam shield.

"_Now, now, I gave you that fine machine,_" sneered Zane. "_Is a little gratitude too much to ask?_"

"You're not even hiding your true colors now!" exclaimed Treize, dodging a swing by the Scindo. "You bastard… you led us right there even though you knew how many people would die!"

"_If not me, then another,_" said Zane. "_The Chairman even asked if I wanted to keep the Specter or not. You should be thanking me for letting you have it._"

"I don't know what would've happened if things had been different!" roared Treize, firing his cannon again. The Reckoning evaded and shot past, swinging its sword again. Treize managed to dodge, but the Scindo cut through his cannon, and nearly the Specter's arm as well. "And you… you knew about Chris even then, didn't you?"

"_I thought there was something familiar, but I wouldn't have guessed at that!_" said Zane, charging forward, beam sword connecting with Treize's swiftly drawn beam saber. "_In the world of the future though, you have no place! A world of peace awaits us just over the horizon, and you will not stand in its path, no matter our past together! Though I suppose the truth is that there isn't one. You're not Chris. You simply share his face._"

The Reckoning suddenly sprouted an arm from its skirt armor, and the beam saber it held swung through the Specter's legs, catching Treize off-guard as he broke away quickly to avoid a follow-up attack.

"_You're pathetic,_" said Zane. "_Not even worthy of dying by the sword! I will put an end to your miserable existence!_" He swung his sword at the Specter, slamming it into the shield and knocking his opponent off-balance.

"BASTARD!" roared Treize as Zane fired his beam pistol at the vulnerable Specter.

"_Big brother!_" cried a new voice suddenly.

And Zane's shot pierced the leg of the Strike Noir as Mariemeia tackled the Specter out of the line of fire.

"Maia!" exclaimed Treize as Zane grit his teeth in annoyance at his quarry evading him. The Specter grabbed hold of the Strike Noir and started to pull it away. "Maia, what are you doing here?"

"_I want to help,_" said Maia, her unmasked face appearing on the Specter's comm. screen, drawing a gasp of shock from Treize. "_Please big brother! I want this!_"

"Maia…"

"_How touching,_" sneered Zane as the Reckoning charged after them, firing its beam pistol repeatedly. "_Now why don't you be a good boy and girl and just __**die?**_"

"Damn," cursed Treize, shifting the Specter to shield the Strike Noir.

"_Treize, no!_" said Maia.

"Maia, you shouldn't be here!"

"_I want this!_" said Maia. "_The music… it wouldn't stop! It wouldn't stop playing, and it started driving me crazy!_" Treize bit back the comment about all of them being crazy by default. "_But when I did this… when I chose this, the music stopped! It stopped, and I could think clearly! I want to protect Orb!_"

Treize couldn't believe it. Somehow, impossibly, Maia had broken free completely on her own, and her choice to protect Orb was her own decision. Perhaps it was influenced by whoever she'd been in the past, but he somehow knew that it was indeed Maia's decision.

Treize didn't hear the voice whispering 'thank you' in Maia's mind.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Cagalli clashed with Shinn again, both unaware of the startling revelations regarding Zane's actions, but this time, Cagalli's reflexes were just too slow, and Shinn managed to hit the Akatsuki's shield on its vulnerable side, slicing it and the arm holding it, forcing Cagalli back.

"This ends now!" roared Shinn, activating his Wings of Light and charging forward to run the Akatsuki through on his Arondight.

"No, Cagalli!" cried Athrun aboard the _Archangel_.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Ma'am, objects incoming from space!" cried Bart.

"Mobile suits?" questioned Arthur.

"No, they're too fast!"

"What are they?" demanded Talia.

**

* * *

**

Descending

The four objects descending into the atmosphere actually _were_ mobile suits. But they were descending far faster than anyone had ever believed was possible.

In the Strike Freedom, Kira's eyes narrowed, and he released the Infinite Justice, piloted by Lacus, charging forward and deploying his Xiphias 3 railcannons, letting loose on the Destiny and knocking it away from the Akatsuki.

"What the hell?" gasped Shinn in shock. His alarms went off like mad, and a mobile suit suddenly appeared in front of him, beam sabers ready to slice him apart, and he barely pulled back in time.

But he wasn't the only one under attack, as a blindingly fast mobile suit suddenly cutoff the Reckoning, beam saber flashing through the air so quickly that Zane was lucky the only things he lost were his beam sword and beam pistol.

The entire battlefield, or at least those who could see what just happened, froze in shock.

"It can't… it can't be!" gasped Aleksi aboard the _Minerva_. Soldiers aboard ships and in mobile suits started to tremble at what had just appeared, beam sabers held in their hands, light reflecting off of them as they projected an aura of power unlike anything any of the ZAFT soldiers had ever witnessed.

Between the Destiny and Akatsuki, in all of its glory, railcannons swiveled to rear skirt armor, rifles stored on its hips, black and blue wings settled into standard mode, golden joints shining proudly, yellow eyes glowing with power and six-winged feminine angel crest displayed on its left shoulder: the White Angel of Freedom.

Between the Reckoning and Specter/Strike Noir, intense power displayed with pride, swords stored at its waist and on its back, railcannons swiveled to rear skirt armor, silver and blue wings waiting to deploy at a moment's notice, golden joints shining, blue eyes glowing with power and six-winged draconic angel crest engraved on its left shoulder: the Dauntless Angel of Faith.

"It… it can't be…" whispered Shinn, feeling his body trembling with fear. "Th-the Freedom…"

"The Faith…" whispered Meyrin in awe.

Aboard the _Minerva_, Rey and Nabiki glared at the screen displaying the two legendary mobile suits.

"Kira…?" gasped Cagalli, unable to believe what she was seeing, having always been blissfully unaware of what the Angels Project really was. "Is that you?"

"Miss Murrue, please pick up Lacus," said Kira. "We'll deal with things here. Head for Defense Headquarters Cagalli."

"_Gotcha._"

"Flay, take care of Treize," said Makoto before switching to an open comm. line—they _wanted_ ZAFT to hear what was about to happen.

"This is Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha in the Serenity Gundam," she called out. She heard gasps filling the comm. line. "Supreme Commander of the Izanami Defense Force. All Orb forces please withdraw from the shoreline and tighten the defense line around the city. We will take over the counterattack. We'll drive ZAFT right back to Carpentaria!"

"_You and what army?_" sneered Zane.

"That one," said Makoto, making a gentle motion upwards—not that it was needed as alarms went off on every sensor throughout Orb.

"What the hell?" gasped Shinn, staring at the sky.

Dozens upon dozens of drop pods fell through the atmosphere, breaking through clouds before opening up. M2 Angelus', M3 Guardians and production model M4 Yamatos fell from the pods briefly before activating. The M2s spread their wings and activated thrusters, shooting forward to attack, alongside the M3s as they shifted to mobile armor mode. The M4s drew their beam daishō and moved to defend the shoreline.

That wasn't what was frightening, though. What struck terror through the onlookers was what came down _following_ the drop pods:

A _Minerva_-class battleship. Not one, not two, but _three Archangel_-class assault ships. Four dozen warships almost none of them had ever laid eyes on before, though a dozen, the _Athena_-class battleships, were reminiscent of a combination of the _Minerva_ and _Archangel_, while the remaining three dozen, the _Yomi_-class cruisers, were most reminiscent of a combination of the _Minerva_ and _Izumo_-classes.

And most awe-inspiring of all, the flagship that spearheaded the fleet: the _Eternal_.

"Let's go," said Kira, spreading the Strike Freedom's wings.

* * *

**Author's Notes: You know****… that was honestly a lot longer than I'd originally expected. Like I said at the top, I explain the Akatsuki a bit better than in canon, and there are a fair number of other changes. Unlike in canon, where Orb seemed to go from the edge of defeat to cutting even, then to suddenly winning because of the DOMs (and a single attack from Kira), Orb continues to get pushed back even with somewhere on the line of two hundred extra machines from the Taiyonoha. The reasons they didn't show up sooner were largely political, but also because it was an absolute necessity that Cagalli retake Orb from the Seirans.**

**Another thing that shifts from canon is the size of the ZAFT fleet. Canonically, ZAFT apparently managed to nearly take out Orb with less than twenty subs/naval ships. Since, unlike fighters, mobile suits practically _replace_ standard troops, there would logically be a very high number of mobile suits out there. I have serious doubts that ZAFT could've done so well with the number of machines they could've gotten onto the limited ships in canon. Also, inexplicably, ZAFT didn't seem to run out of suits. Ever. That would've required several dozens subs, at least.**

**Moving on, we get the introduction of the Templars and two of the Sentinels, as well as the new Farsight IV and Talos III. Kira won't meet Luna until _after_ the battle. Sorry. I also give the Kessel Team a _Minerva_-class present. Thank you Yuri. ^_^ And yes, I gave Ami the Sincerity. As soon as I decided the Freedom would end up destroyed, I knew what I would give to Ami, though if the Freedom had survived, Ami would've gotten it, and someone else would've been given the Sincerity later on.**

**We also get Asagi's return. Yay! And I have some seriously fun surprises for you in the near future.**

**Also, with regards to Maia: I knew her fate would be decided at Orb. I considered two possibilities: one in which she "takes the bullet" from Shinn for either Cagalli or Treize and she dies (which is just downright nasty to Shinn), or one in which she "takes the bullet" and Ami saves her. I ended up going with neither route, Shinn remains unaware of Stella/Ami's survival, and his focus on Cagalli is such that he doesn't realize Zane's about to kill his sister. On that note, he still outclasses Cagalli, but it's not nearly as much as he did in canon (to be fair to canon, though, that was one of the less "severe" "curbstomp" battles).**

**Regarding Zane: he _is _genuinely remorseful for what he did in the past. Overtime, though, he's come to believe in Durandal's vision for the world, and realizes that the EX-Cs have no place there, as well as the above conclusion that Treize simply has Chris's face, but is not Chris. Zane is just as fanatical about his new goals as he once was about his old ones, he's just considerably more sane here. Remember that Durandal and Rey were never truly bad people—they were just well-intentioned extremists who believed utopia justified the means. They're good people, who simply end up "doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons". They've stepped (or _will_ step) over the line, but they do mean well****—like I said, the believe the ends justify the means, and the sacrifice of a few innocents is worth it to bring an end to war and save countless more innocents. Zane feels the same, is passionate about it, and probably doesn't like Treize, who in some respects could be seen as "mocking" Chris's memory (or Zane personally).**

**Alright, enough of that. Even after this A/N and the long chapter, you've still got a fair bit to read with all the OMS introduced here. ^_^ Just a heads up, when I post the next chapter, I will also be putting up the poll for favorite OMS in this story, because next chapter will fully introduce all remaining OMS, with the exception of the upgraded Valiant that will appear a few chapters later.**

**Please, _please_ leave a review! I may reward it with some information. ^_^ Hope to see you all soon! Say****ō****nara!**

* * *

**_The Lioness of Orb _mecha stat page**

_ "And to think… I was there, when your ancestor stepped into the light of day. I'll be there now. Only this time, I'll be the one at the controls." _~ Tolle Koenig.  
**Shadow Strike Gundam:**  
Description:  
A successor to the legendary Strike Gundam, the Shadow Strike Gundam is a product of the Terminal organization's Sentinels Project. An improvement over its predecessor on every level, the Shadow Strike features VPS armor, a Deuterion Drive powerplant, mobile assault frame, Hyperion system, and its ancestor's ability to mount a wide variety of equipment modules for different types of combat. The Shadow Strike's default armament consists of a pair of anti-armor knives stored in the hip armor, a pair of head-mounted CIWS, and beam shields on the forearms, helping to maximize its versatility. The Shadow Strike's equipment modules consist of the mobility-based Sky Striker, close-combat Sword Striker, long-range bombardment Assault Striker, multi-vector attack Dragoon Striker, extended operations Storm Striker, stealth-based Ghost Striker, water-based Marine Striker and all-purpose Ultima Striker. Upon completion, the Shadow Strike is assigned to former MX1 Athena pilot Tolle Koenig, a long-time friend of the original Strike Gundam pilot Kira Yamato.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X105S  
**Code Name:** Shadow Strike Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom All-Purpose Multi-Mode Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 17.72 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 58.37 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Hardpoints for mounting Shadow Striker Packs;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x M73-AAK "Cultellus" Anti-Armor Knife, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** ACM/E-X01 Sky Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X02 Sword Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X03 Assault Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X04 Dragoon Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X05 Storm Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X06 Ghost Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X07 Marine Shadow Striker; ACM/E-X08 Ultima Shadow Striker;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR89L High-Energy Beam Rifle, MA-PMR03 Phonon Maser Rifle,  
**ACM/E-X01 Sky Shadow Striker:** 2x MA-983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on Sky Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 73F Modified High-Energy Beam Cannon, mounted on Sky Shadow Striker;  
**ACM/E-X02 Sword Shadow Striker:** MMI-D01 "Accido" Mega Sword, stored on left shoulder, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on Sword Shadow Striker Pack, hand-carried in use; 2x DES-C03S Composite Sword, set includes long and short swords, stored on Sword Shadow Striker armor on waist;  
**ACM/E-X03 Assault Shadow Striker:** 2x MA-M80 "Defiant" Beam Javelin, stored on Assault Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M17XE4 "Cerberus" High-Energy Long-Range Beam Cannon, mounted on Assault Shadow Striker; 2x SSCW-U01 Combo Weapon Pods, mounted on shoulders, each mounts: MMI-L913 125mm anti-ship vulcan cannon, MMI-237D "Memoria" turret-mounted railgun, GMF42 dual-barrel missile launcher (AGMX39 "Dragonfly" particle missiles);  
**ACM/E-X04 Dragoon Shadow Striker:** MAU-M3 Dual Linear Gun, mounted on Dragoon Shadow Striker over shoulders; 2x MA-983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on Dragoon Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use; 8x M16M-D4C Gunbarrel Kai, mounted on Dragoon Shadow Striker, can be wirelessly or wire-controlled, each mounts: GAU-868L2 dual beam gun, DE-RXM91C "Horned Moon" field edge;  
**ACM/E-X05 Storm Shadow Striker:** Type 94-87 Electromagnetic Beam Cannon, stored in two components on forearms, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 70-86 Hyper Railgun, stored on Storm Shadow Striker, mounted under arms in use; 2x Type 87-12 Lightning Sword, stored on waist, hand-carried in use;  
**ACM/E-X06 Ghost Shadow Striker:** MMI-M687S Beam Sniper Rifle, stored on Ghost Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-BAR89L High-Energy Beam Rifle, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-S13E Beam Sword, stored on Ghost Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use; Mirage Colloid Stealth System Generator, mounted on Ghost Shadow Striker;  
**ACM/E-X07 Marine Shadow Striker:** 2x Phonon Maser Cannon, mounted on forearms; 2x 12-tube Torpedo Launcher, mounted on Marine Shadow Striker; 2x 14-tube Torpedo Launcher, mounted on hips; 2x Sonic Sword, stored on Marine Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use;  
**ACM/E-X08 Ultima Shadow Striker:** 2x MMI-710II "Excalibur II", stored on Ultima Shadow Striker, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 2x M1800GS Long-Range Beam Cannon, stored on Ultima Shadow Striker, mounted under arms in use; 2x RQM-60F "Flash Edge 2" Beam Boomerang/Saber, stored on shoulder armor; 2x MMI-237D "Memoria" Turret-mounted Railgun, mounted on Ultima Shadow Striker over shoulders;  
**Pilot:** Tolle Koenig  
**Appearance:** The same as the Strike E.  
**Color:** Also the same as the Strike E.  
**Notes:** A real successor to the iconic Strike Gundam. There really isn't much to say—the Shadow Strikers are all either simple updates of the equivalent Striker packs, or adapted from some other rather obvious sources. The Ultima Shadow Striker stands out a bit, though—it's basically a 'take that' at the Destiny Gundam by being a more complete adaptation of the Destiny Silhouette of the Impulse, though without the beam wings. Also of note is the Dragoon Shadow Striker, because Tolle isn't even a low-level Newtype. So he actually relies on a variant of ZAFT's new DRAGOON system in order to use that Shadow Striker. Also, the reason for the gunbarrel default is that it's less power-intensive and can be used almost constantly as a result, where as if they switch to the DRAGOON operation, he can only use them for a limited period before having to recall them and let his DDS recharge.

_"It's been a long time. But soon… we'll all be together again. Alright Guardian, let's show them what we're made of!"_ ~ Elizabeth "Liz" Dante.  
**Sacred Guardian Gundam:**  
Description:  
A successor to the legendary Guardian Gundam, the Sacred Guardian Gundam is a product of the Terminal organization's Sentinels Project. Like the Guardian, the Sacred Guardian is designed to be a transformable, high-speed heavy assault unit. However, with its vastly improved thrusters, VPS armor and perpetual energy supply, the Sacred Guardian is a massive improvement over its ancestor. Its primary weapons are its terra beam cannon-rifles, which can combine into a single twin beam cannon-rifle with power comparable to the Reckoning Gundam's Coma, and complements these with its Caelum hyper beam sabers, Draupnir quadruple beam guns, its numerous vulcan guns, and the weapons mounted in its beam carry shield. Upon completion, the Sacred Guardian is assigned to Elizabeth Dante, the pilot of the original Guardian, and first sorties in defense of the Orb Union from ZAFT's Operation Fury.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X308S  
**Code Name:** Sacred Guardian Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Transformable Assault Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.67 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 64.38 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; 4 Folding High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings; High-Speed Mobile Armor Assault Mode;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M987H "Caelum" Hyper Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam cannons in mobile armor mode; 2x M181SE "Draupnir" Quadruple Beam Gun, mounted on forearms; 2x MR-Q18Z "Griffon 3" Beam Blade, mounted on outer wings, operable only in mobile armor mode; 8x MMI-GAU32 "Levis" Beam Vulcan, fire-linked, mounted on wingtips, operable only in mobile armor mode; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MX2001 Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, includes EEQ8 Grapple Stinger and 2x RQM56 "Blazing Edge" Beam Boomerang;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** 2x MA-M1760EL Terra Beam Cannon-Rifle, can be combined, can be mounted on shield, mounts on main body in mobile armor mode;  
**Pilot:** Elizabeth Dante  
**Appearance:** The Sacred Guardian resembles the Zeta Gundam, but with wings like those of the Wing Zero and the forearm beam guns of the GOUF Ignited. It's shield looks like that of Wing Zero as well, though with some Cosmic Era aesthetics and boomerangs mounted on the edge in the fashion of the Infinite Justice's boomerang, while its rifles resemble the Wing Zero's rifle(s), and its MA mode also looks like Wing Zero's Neo Bird Mode.  
**Color:** Dark blue torso and shins, and the beam guns are also dark blue. White arms, thighs and skirt armor. White head and silver trimming. The shield is predominantly red, the same as the Wing Zero's shield.  
**Notes:** This was a fun design. It's more in keeping with the original Guardian than the Divina Guardian was, but still manages to make some marked improvements, notably its powerful "terra-class" beam cannon-rifle (we've got "mega beam rifle", why not giga or terra?). Of course, the beam carry shield was a lot of fun too—those beam boomerangs can actually activate while still attached, to give the shield beam claws, or a ramming device in MA mode. It also has rear-firing coverage via the beam vulcans in MA mode, and improved beam blades and beam sabers. The one area where it's perhaps lacking is the exchange of explosive grenades for beam guns, but since it has a Deuterion Drive, the beam guns are better, since they essentially have unlimited ammo.

_"Huh… this is kind of strange. Heh… not for my father, and not for those sadistic bastards… but for something that's worthwhile for once!"_ ~ Shani Andras.  
**Forbidden Templar Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Forbidden Gundam was a mobile suit notorious for being nearly impervious to virtually all attacks, and was one of the strongest machines deployed in the Bloody Valentine War. The Forbidden Templar, part of the Terminal organization's Templar Project, is a massive improvement over its predecessor, taking merely impervious to borderline invulnerability. In addition to general upgrades to the original Forbidden's weapons, the Forbidden Templar features a pair of beam shields for enhanced defense and beam sabers for improved close combat abilities. However, it's most dominant feature is the fighter-like Sangreal backpack, which not only mounts a battery of powerful weapons, but also generates the Avalon magnetic shield, which generates full 360-degree defensive barrier that can deflect virtually any attack, and the powerful magnetic forces also allow the Forbidden Templar to manipulate the path of its plasma cannon to the pilots whims, making it virtually impossible to dodge. This powerful mobile suit is given to former Biological CPU Shani Andras, pilot of the original Forbidden.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X252T  
**Code Name:** Forbidden Templar Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Close Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 17.66 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 78.36 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Sangreal Flight Backpack, can detach and act as independent fighter craft; "Avalon" High-Energy Magnetic Shielding System, mounted on Sangreal Backpack;  
**Fixed Armament:** MA-E56 "Yokō" Plasma-Induction Cannon, mounted in torso; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 81G Beam Vulcan, mounted on forearms; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms; Sangreal Backpack, includes: 2x MMI-M32E Hyper Railcannon, 2x GMF41 4-tube Missile Launcher (AGMX39 "Dragonfly" Particle Missiles), 4x MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS, fire-linked;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** "Jormungand" Heavy Beam Scythe  
**Pilot:** Shani Andras  
**Appearance:** The Forbidden Templar looks virtually identical to its predecessor, though with a chest-mounted cannon similar in appearance to that of the Abyss Gundam. In place of the Forbidden's backpack, though, the Forbidden Templar has a backpack that looks like the 0-Raiser and functions in a similar manner.  
**Color:** Basically the same as the Forbidden, but with the gray-green portions recolored to white. Its backpack follows the color scheme of 0-Raiser, but with blue replaced by red.  
**Notes:** Oh, how cruel. Hmmmwaaaa Hahahahaaa! Anyways, the Forbidden Templar is big time improvement over its predecessors. It's got much, _much_ more competent close combat defenses, and fancy armor isn't going to stop any of its weapons without batting an eye. Prominently, I basically gave it the 0-Raiser as a replacement backpack. In this case, not only does it generate a full 360-degree shield (like Virtue's GN field! Honestly, I didn't even realize the comparison until just recently), but it mounts the railcannons and particle missiles, and the magnetic forces are enough to improve on what the upgraded Forbidden from earlier in the story could do—so, while you might dodge it the first three times, can you keep it up? ^_^ As mentioned in the design features section, the backpack can also detach and withdraw the cockpit in order to act as an emergency escape vehicle, just in case.

_"No matter what anyone says, you're different from the last one, you know that? You're a gift from someone I love… and you were born to be a protector, not a destroyer."_ ~ Louisa Kohls.  
**Twilight Crusader Gundam:**  
Description:  
Often considered one of the most powerful mobile suits ever conceived, the Twilight Gundam was a legend that rivaled the legendary Freedom and Faith Gundams for power. The Twilight Crusader, the pinnacle of the Terminal organization's Templar Project, takes the abilities of the original to a far greater level. In addition to greater mobility, the addition of the Freedom Gundam's HiMAT wings gives the Twilight Crusader a far greater scattering area for its Mirage Colloid particles, and its Drache Giftzahn improve over its predecessor's Drache Schild by infecting enemy computers with a destructive virus and simultaneously scrambling the nervous systems of enemy pilots. The Twilight Crusader also features unique composite projectile weapons which use a stream of particles to enhance penetration power without interference from the Twilight Crusader's own systems. Upon completion, this almighty mobile suit is given to Louisa Kohls, pilot of the original Twilight Gundam and lover of the Dauntless Angel of Faith.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X264T  
**Code Name:** Twilight Crusader Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom General-Purpose Close-Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.73 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 68.47 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; 2 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings w/10-wing High Mobility Aerial Tactics mode; Mirage Colloid Scattering System;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-DC07 "Drache Giftzahn" Extendable Claw Arm, each mounts: Composite Mirage Colloid Virus/Electric Burst Generator, 2x Hyper Flamethrower, MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on arms; 2x MMI-M32 "Anima" Particle Railcannon, mounted on back, slides forward over shoulders in use; 2x MMI-M29G "Signum 4" Railgun, folded underneath hips, spread out in use; 2x 8-tube Particle Missile Launcher, mounted in shoulders; 2x "Sasori" Beam Cannon, fire-linked, mounted on backpack "stinger tail"; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** Type 101 "Sansensa" Beam Staff/Twin Beam Trident  
**Pilot:** Louisa Kohls  
**Appearance:** Like its predecessor, the Twilight Crusader resembles the Altron from Endless Waltz, with missile launchers like the Heavyarms Kai in the shoulders, the "stinger tail" beam cannons of the TV version of Altron, railguns like those of the Freedom on the legs, as well as a pair of railcannons that slide forward over the shoulders, resembling the Freedom's Balaena cannons, and it has wings resembling those of the Freedom in the "down position" of HiMAT mode, like in the images of it dueling the Impulse—the wings don't spread out fully, but rather, are swept downward.  
**Color:** The Twilight Crusader has a midnight black torso, wings, skirt and shoulder armor, with white limbs, silver trimming, and silver forearms. The "Drache Giftzahn" have the golden claws of the original Dragon Fangs, with the body being primarily midnight black, while the 'line' that it shoots out on is white.  
**Notes:**Now this… _this_ is _evil_. Mwuhahahahahahahaha! All right, moving right along. Of all the machines I made, this was probably the hardest, simply because… well, how do you improve on the Twilight without going into Gamebreaker territory? Given that the Twilight Crusader still manages to be a borderline Gamebreaker, I think my point is made. Faster, more agile, superior MC scattering, superior railguns and missiles (which aren't hurt by the MC scattering), proper beam sabers, an improved beam staff that can switch to a twin beam trident mode to generate a wider blade more suited to engaging multiple opponents… and then the real king, its Drache Giftzahn. Not only do these feature beam shields and more intense flamethrowers, but the traditional electric burst (for opponents with fire-resistant armor) now hurts a lot more and, instead of scrambling the computer systems, scrambles the _pilot's nervous system_ (yes, this _is_ possible). Simultaneously, an MC virus is planted which obliterates the OS. I'm not sure if I can top this without calling in a god.

_"Well… heh… never would've thought this would be how I would make up for what I did last time I fought at Orb."_ ~ Clotho Buer.  
**Phantom Raider Gundam:**  
Description:  
A successor to the Earth Alliance's Raider Gundam developed as part of the Terminal organization's Templar Project, the Phantom Raider Gundam is mostly a general technological improvement over its predecessor, with the most notable change the addition of the mobile assault frame, upgraded Variable Phase Shift armor, its Mirage Colloid stealth system and massively improved thrusters. For weapons, notable changes are the addition of a pair of beam sabers for close-combat, its unique multipurpose composite weapon units on its forearms and the particle generation upgrade to the machine guns of its mobile armor mode. Upon completion, the Phantom Raider is assigned to former Biological CPU Clotho Buer, the pilot of the original Raider Gundam.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X370T  
**Code Name:** Phantom Raider  
**Unit Type:** Custom Attack Use Transformable Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 17.98 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 71.88 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Mobile Armor Platform Transformation; Atmospheric Flight Wings/Thrusters; Mirage Colloid Stealth System;  
**Fixed Armament:** M10E-HC1 Hyper Beam Cannon, mounted on mouth; 2x Composite Weapon Unit, each mounts: 2x hyper beam gun, beam sword, MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" beam shield generator, mounted on forearms; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x "Ahura Mazda" Short-Range Plasma Cannon, mounted on claws, operable only in both mobile suit and flight modes; MMI-GAU9M 80mm Particle Machine Gun, mounted in nose, operable only in flight mode; 2x GAU3E 76mm Particle Machine Gun, mounted on shoulders, operable only in flight mode;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** "Mjolnir Kai" Spherical Breaker, mounts thrusters for changing flight path  
**Pilot:** Clotho Buer  
**Appearance:** The Phantom Raider is—intentionally—almost indistinguishable from its predecessor cosmetically, with the most noticeable change being to its arms—in place of the shield and attached cannons, the Phantom Raider has weapon units that have a vaguely diamond-like appearance, though with one end stretching out in a dagger-like fashion. The extended side is normally facing the elbows, but flips around when using them to attack. When active, the weapon units 'split', with each of the four triangular sections of the 'diamond' moving out.  
**Color:** The Phantom Raider has the same color scheme as the Raider. The weapon units are dark grey.  
**Notes:** Compared to its companions, the Phantom Raider isn't very different from the original design. Before anyone objects, I must simply point out that you don't have to radically alter the weapons of a machine for it to be better than the previous model. All of its weapons are capable of damaging VPS armor, and it is _much _faster, as well as more capable in a close-quarters fight. Also, this saves me a lot of trouble in the arena of ideas—I'm a genius, not an engineer, desu. ^_^

_"The only reason they'll ever see us coming now is if we run out of bullets." _~ Victor Cain to John Alaric on the Raptor Shadow.  
**Raptor Shadow:**  
Description:  
A powerful and versatile sniper mobile suit produced as part of the Terminal organization's Tengu Project, and designed specifically with snipers Victor Cain and John Alaric in mind. The Raptor Shadow is the first dedicated sniper unit to feature Mirage Colloid, making it effectively impossible to locate these machines, and can employ a variety of sniper-type rifles, as well as a powerful sniper cannon mounted on the right shoulder. If forced into close-quarters combat, the Raptor Shadow can use its beam sabers and shield-mounted heat rod to fend off attackers. As an emergency fallback, the Raptor Shadow also possesses anti-armor knives capable of piercing conventional mobile suit, concealed in the mobile suit's forearms.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-XX03T  
**Code Name:** Raptor Shadow  
**Unit Type:** High-Mobility Stealth Sniper Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.46 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 67.81 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters; Atmospheric Flight Unit; Mirage Colloid Stealth System;  
**Fixed Armament:** MXE-BSR1 Beam Sniper Cannon, mounted on right shoulder, hand-operated in use; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x M73-AAK "Cultellus" Anti-Armor Knife, stored in forearms, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; ME81D Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, includes MA-M803 "Lightning Blade" Heat Rod and 2x EEQ8 Grapple Stinger;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M672 Beam Assault Rifle; MMI-M666X Beam Piercer Rifle; MMI-M687S Beam Sniper Rifle; MMI-SR32 Sniper Railgun;  
**Pilots:** John Alaric, Victor Cain  
**Appearance:** The Raptor Shadow resembles the Strike Gundam, but with the head of the M1 Astray, backpack of the GOUF Ignited, and a cannon on the shoulder resembling the sniper rifle of the Gundam Dynames from 00.  
**Color:** Farsight IV: Black with white trim and two white strips running down the arms and legs. A white hawk decorates the right shoulder. Talos III: Gray with dark gray trim.  
**Notes:** John and Victor's new units. Even though they lack projectile-resistant armor, that's sort of a moot point in the current era of beam weapon dominance, especially on a battery-powered machine that also utilizes Mirage Colloid. Since the better strategy is generally "don't get shot" to begin with, it's better to dedicate more attention to making the machine more agile. It also has a _lot_ of rifle options, but the top is generally the sniper railgun, for reasons mentioned in the chapter. Hope you like this. ^_^

**T1 Tahiko:**  
Description:  
In order to fulfill its plans for a terrestrial foothold, the nation of Izanami required a dedicated ground combat mobile suit to surpass all others, so as to compensate for the nation's smaller numbers. The result of this intent was the T1 Tahiko, the pinnacle of mobile suit terrestrial combat. Inspired by ZAFT's quadrupedal BuCUEs, the T1 Tahiko utilizes a variable frame so as to adapt to different forms of combat and enhance its ability to fight different types of enemies. In this way, it is markedly similar to the Gaia Gundam, though generally more advanced, with a mix of close to mid-range combat weapons, and a variety of optional turrets that can mount on its backpack and utilized in mobile suit or mobile armor mode, greatly enhancing its versatility, and the powerful verniers in its backpack grants it limited atmospheric flight.

**Model Number:** TVF-T1  
**Code Name:** T1 Tahiko  
**Unit Type:** Mass Production Ground Assault Transformable Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.23 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 73.41 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Quadrupedal Mobile Armor Mode; Mobile Stealth System; Flight Unit Backpack w/Turret Hardpoint;  
**Fixed Armament:** Type 17T Dual Beam Claw, mounted in head in mobile armor mode; 2x Type 70V Kai Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam guns mounted on main body in mobile armor mode; 2x Type 13D Dual Vibroclaw, mounted on forearms or forelegs in mobile armor mode; 2x Type 72T High-Energy Beam Cannon, mounted on shoulders; 2x Type 70W Beam Blade, mounted on wings; 6x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, 2 mounted in mobile suit head, 4 mounted in mobile armor head; Shield, mounted on left arm;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** Type 87E Dual Beam Cannon, mounted on turret hardpoint; 15-tube Missile Pod, fires Type 66S "Shippū" heavy missiles, mounted on turret hardpoint; Type 84R 154cm Dual Railcannon, mounted on turret hardpoint; Type 78G Quad Gatling Cannon, mounted on turret hardpoint; Vulcan Pod, includes 6x 75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS, mounted on turret hardpoint;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle, can be mounted on main body in mobile armor mode  
**Pilots:** Samba Takayama  
**Appearance:** In mobile suit mode, the T1 Tahiko resembles the M1 Astray, but with the backpack of the GOUF Ignited (and whatever turret it had attached), and wings like the Gaia's. In mobile armor mode, it looks similar to Liger Zero from Zoids, though again with the GOUF backpack (accompanying turret), wings of the Gaia, as well as a beam rifle and beam cannons, again like the Gaia.  
**Color:** Predominantly white, with a black torso, red trim and headcrest, and golden eyes and V crest.  
**Notes:** It got to me that the LaGOWE never replaced the BuCUEs. I understand that the BuCUEs are good machines, but even with the Kerberos Wizard, it would seem to be that they're in danger of becoming outclassed by the advancing technology. My personal guess would be that somebody decided he didn't like it enough, and so the closest thing you see to the BuCUE getting updated in canon is the Gaia. Call this my response to it: a mass-produced Gaia! ^_^ Aerial combat is nice, but you need a machine that can be dominant on land as well. Izanami now has this. ZAFT is learning these details the hard way.

**A1 Kame:**  
Description:  
In order to fulfill its plans for a terrestrial foothold, the nation of Izanami required a dedicated amphibious combat mobile suit to surpass all others, so as to compensate for the nation's smaller numbers. The result of this intent was the A1 Kame, the pinnacle of mobile suit amphibious combat. Armed with a heavy battery of torpedo launchers, high-speed marine propulsion systems, torso-mounted phonon masers and a pair of optional equipments for operations in either shallow waters or the depths of the ocean, the A1 Kame is a versatile and powerful machine, strong enough to crush a standard mobile suit with its bear hands. The A1 Kame is the most agile amphibian mobile suit in existence despite its tortoise-like bulk, and it surpasses the amphibious mobile suits of both ZAFT and the Alliance on effectively every level.

**Model Number:** ABF-A1  
**Code Name:** A1 Kame  
**Unit Type:** Mass Production Amphibious Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 20.26 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 59.62 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Lorenzini Sensors, range unknown; IR Sensors, range unknown; Submarine Cruising Mode; Aquatic Maneuvering Fins; Hardpoints for mounting Scale System Armor or "Geschmeidig Panzer" Shields;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x Type 61 Propeller and Multipurpose Torpedo/Missile Launcher, mounted on back; 2x Type 70J Kai Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x Type 56 Phonon Maser Cannon, mounted in torso; 24x Type 20 Torpedo Launcher, 12 mounted in torso, 6 mounted in each forearm; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** Abyssal Operations Unit, mounts: 2x Type 13 triple vibroclaw, 2x Type 81 dual cannon, 12x Type 20 torpedo launcher, "Geschmeidig Panzer" Energy-Deflection Armor; Amphibian Operations Unit, mounts: 2x Type 13A triple vibroclaw arm, 2x Type 97 phonon maser cannon, 12x Type 20 torpedo launcher;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** Type A1 Multipurpose Beam Vibrolance  
**Pilots:** Suzuko Matsuda  
**Appearance:** Imagine if you will, an anthropomorphic tortoise. A very muscular anthropomorphic tortoise. Then turn it into a machine. Now, imagine it with the Forbidden Deep's backpack (for Abyssal Operations) or cannons coming out of its shell (for Amphibian Operations). Now give it a vaguely Gundam-like head and attach the propellers of the ASH to it. Now imagine it crushing your puny body under its titanic might. Have a nice day.  
**Color:** White biceps, thighs, head and skirt armor. Sea green forearms and shins. Black torso and backpack, with blue trim, red headcrest and silver V crest.  
**Notes:** Call this my tribute to one of my favorite animals in fiction: the tortoise. Few things for me have been cooler than seeing an anthropomorphic shelled 'slowpoke' punching out enemies that send numerous other beasties trembling. Among other things. I really like the tortoise, and wanted to give Izanami its own aquatic mobile suit. Also, 'Kame' means 'turtle', so it's appropriate as well. Some aspects were loosely inspired by ZAFT's aquatic mobile suit, but all in all, I largely let my inspiration draw from the aforementioned animal.

**M4 Yamato Production Model  
Model Number:** MBF-M4  
**Code Name:** M4 Yamato  
**Unit Type:** Mass Production Melee Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Orb Union Taiyonoha Fleet  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.**  
Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 17.94 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 42.32 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Quad Mobile Assault Wings w/Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;  
**Fixed Armament:** Type 99 Multi-Phase Scattering Beam Cannon, mounted in chest; Type 70K Beam Katana, stored behind right shoulder, hand-carried in use, can be combined with beam wakizashi; Type 70W Beam Wakizashi, stored behind left shoulder, hand-carried in use, can be combined with beam katana; Type 39S Chakram Beam Shooter, mounted on braid; 2x Type 70T Beam Saber, mounted in feet; 2x DES-G10D VPS Sword, set includes long and short swords, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 4x Type 39C Chakram Beam Generator, mounted in wrists and ankles; 2x M2M5D 12.5mm Automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" Beam Rifle; Type 70G Beam Ōdachi; Shield;  
**Appearance:** The M4 Yamato looks virtually identical to the M1 Astray, but with wings like those of the Wing Gundam Zero, which likewise fold up into two wings in 'standby' mode. The mobile suit has braid-like attachment to the back of the head, similar to the Dragon Gundam.  
**Color:** Primarily white with red trimming, with black torso, arms, skirt and legs with white trimming. The 'V Crest' is silver, and the eyes are violet.  
**Notes:** This is the completed mass-production version of the M4 Yamato, which is easier to operate and produce than the prototype model. So, a general improvement. I just figured I'd let you have a quick look at it.

* * *

**_The Lioness of Orb _ship stat page**

**_Suijin_-class:**  
Description:  
Developed by Izanami with the intent of securing a naval foothold on the Earth, the _Suijin_-class submarine is the ultimate naval combat vessel. Unlike other naval vessels employed by ZAFT, Orb and the Alliance, the _Suijin_-class is designed to hold its own in combat, utilizing its depth charges for anti-mobile suit and torpedo defense underwater, and its numerous anti-air missile launchers to protect it on the surface. Unlike other ships, these submarines feature a massive phonon maser cannon running along their centerlines, powerful enough to destroy any other naval vessel with a single shot, and it can quickly launch its nearly two dozen mobile suits via its numerous launch catapults and dry-dock tubes. The _Suijin_ would make its combat debut on January 20th, C.E. 74 as a counter to ZAFT's Operation Fury at Orb.

**Ships of the Line:** _Suijin_  
**Unit type:** Submarine Attack Carrier  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Izanami Defense Force  
**Launched:** December 29, C.E. 73  
**Dimensions:** Overall length 313 meters; overall height unknown  
**Weight:** Unknown  
**Propulsion:** Unknown  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Depth Charges;  
**Fixed Armament:** 500cm Phonon Maser Cannon; 2x "Valiant Mk.8" 110cm Linear Cannon; 4x Large Torpedo Launcher; 8x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS; 12x 64-tube Anti-Air Missile Launch Grid; 24x Torpedo Launcher; 8x Multipurpose Launch Tube;  
**Mobile Weapons:** 6x MVF-M3 Guardian; 8x MBF-M2 Angelus; 8x ABF-A1 Kame;  
**Launch Catapults:** 3 fighter catapults; 4 vertical catapults; 4 dry-dock tubes;  
**Captains:** Saki Hirano (_Suijin_)  
**Notes:** This is one of my most evil designs ever. ^_^ I was always a little curious as to why it was that no ship ever bothered equipping a phonon maser, so this is my response to that: a gigantic cannon that most would consider 'overkill' (I don't believe there is such a thing). Regarding those missile grids: they're only about the size of the _Archangel_'s Helldart missile cells, and are 8x8 grids. For underwater defense, it has depth charges that it uses both to destroy incoming torpedoes and to counter mobile suits, while its Igelstellung protect it on the surface and its own torpedoes are used alongside the main cannon to destroy enemy subs and naval vessels.


	41. Phase 41: Dawn of the Angels

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity**  
Story By: Maileesaeya  
Beta-Read By: Kiiroi Senko  
_Phase 41: Dawn of the Angels_

* * *

Janauary 20th, C.E. 74

Orb Union

ZAFT and Orb soldiers alike gaped at what they were seeing. It was an impossible sight, yet beyond any shadow of a doubt, it was real.

"Wh-what is this?" questioned Shinn, trembling. He'd never seen anything like this before; mobile suit drop pods were one thing, but an entire fleet of _warships_?

"_Don't take your eyes off the enemy!_" came a voice suddenly. Shinn's attention snapped back to the White Angel in front of him as Kira charged forward, beam sabers held at the ready. Behind him, the Akatsuki turned and headed for the Defense Headquarters.

"Damn it!" cursed Shinn, activating the Wings of Light and charging forward as well, Arondight clashing with the Strike Freedom's Super Lacerta.

Meanwhile, Flay flew the Redemption over to the Specter and Strike Noir as the Izanami fleet took up positions high in the sky, heading towards Onogoro as they deployed their catapults to launch their remaining mobile suits.

"Flay, is that you?" questioned Treize.

"_Yes,_" said Flay. "_Are you okay?_"

"Yeah," said Treize. "Maia, what about you?"

"_I'm fine,_" said Maia, voice suddenly very soft. "_W-what's going on?_"

"I don't know," said Treize honestly, glancing back at the massive horde of mobile suits that was now tearing through the ZAFT forces.

Makoto sprung open the shoulder racks of the Serenity, placing her Super Panthera, and instead drew the Exia II from her machine's waist.

"Hmph," growled Zane, drawing his own beam sabers and deploying all four of his hidden arms. "The Dauntless Angel of Faith… it's time I paid you back!"

With that, the Reckoning went charging forward. Makoto spread the Serenity's wings into a large X pattern, activating the composite thrusters mounted there in.

The Serenity shot forward, blindingly fast. Those watching gasped in shock as the white mobile suit trailed afterimages, and suddenly, Zane couldn't track it properly. But as soon as the blur was in front of him, he struck with all six sabers…

… and all four of the Reckoning's hidden arms fell towards the ocean.

"What?" cried Zane in shock, spinning about to see the Serenity behind him, blue eyes flashing.

"_You're slow,_" said Makoto. "_And six swords don't do you any good if you can't keep track of them!_" With that, the Serenity charged forward again, and Makoto struck, composite swords crashing against the Reckoning's beam sabers. Zane grit his teeth as he was forced back, but lashed out with a kick.

The Serenity shot away.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

As soon as Lacus had approached in the Justice, Athrun had stood up and limped from the bridge with Meyrin's support. Murrue let them go, far more focused on the situation outside.

The arrival of the Taiyonoha Fleet had turned the entire battle against ZAFT. Kira and Makoto were keeping both the Destiny and Reckoning busy, and although Murrue couldn't see it herself, both were doing so with the utmost of ease—the power of the Strike Freedom and Serenity were matched only by each other, and the same was essentially true for the pilots. Technologically speaking, they were also much more advanced then their opponents.

Meanwhile, the fleet itself stayed high in the air, at about the peak of what they could maintain as they moved to the skies over Onogoro.

"Natarle," said Murrue, glancing at the display screen showing the _Dominion_'s bridge. "The _Archangel_ is going to move forward and engage the _Minerva_. Do you mind taking over the coastal defense?"

"_Not a problem,_" said Natarle. "_Good luck Murrue._"

"Thanks." Murrue smiled. "What about you?"

"_The __**Dominion**__ will submerge and assist the Orb fleet,_" said Natarle. "_The __**Archangel**__ isn't the only ship we have that can tear those submarines apart._"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Flay set the Strike Noir and Specter on the ground, well away from the battlefield proper, both machines damaged from the battle with the Reckoning. Flay didn't know what had caused the Strike Noir's pilot to intervene, but nevertheless realized that Treize wanted to protect her.

After emerging from the cockpit of the Specter, Treize immediately found himself assailed by Maia, wrapping her arms around his midsection and hugging him desperately.

"Big brother…" she cried softly. "I'm glad… I'm so glad…"

"Maia…"

"You're alive… everything's okay…"

As Flay emerged from the Redemption, Treize gently broke Maia's grip and knelt down to look at her more closely.

"Maia, what happened? Your mask…"

"You don't need yours," said Maia. "I don't need mine. She said… she asked me to let go."

"What?" Treize's eyes widened, as did Flay's. The redhead hadn't known any of the details behind the mask—and Treize had only ever known conflict without it, prior to the day Minako helped him become his own person.

"She asked me to let go," said Maia. "Of hatred… to be myself… to be… to be…" Maia fell to her knees, crying.

She was free. And she didn't understand it at all. Treize didn't know what to say, and neither did Flay.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The ships of the Taiyonoha Fleet in the skies overhead opened their catapults, readying to deploy the last of their mobile suits.

"_Luna, please wait to launch,_" said Saul as his machine was dropped onto one of the _Seraphim_'s catapults. "_You need to guard the Triad._"

"I know," said Luna.

"_Good,_" said Shiho. "_Shiho Hahnenfuss, Sentinel Gundam, going!_"

"_Saul Kessel, Hyper Surge, takin' off!_"

Luna's hands grasped each other as she felt her machine loaded onto one of the catapults in preparation for launch. This was it. There really was no turning back from here.

But Luna's apprehension was merely because she wanted to help, and was being held back.

ZAFT was doing better on the ground than in the air. The First Fleet dominated the skies over Onogoro and had already cleared every ZAFT machine in the vicinity of the mainland. But ZAFT still had plenty of mobile suits to throw at Orb and Izanami, and on the ground, the ZAKUs advanced fiercely.

That is, until a scene all too familiar to one Astray pilot repeated itself as black flames sprouted from thin air and consumed four ZAKUs in the dark inferno.

"What the hell?" cried a GOUF pilot.

"_Lieutenant, what is that?_" questioned an Astray pilot. The lieutenant trembled slightly—he'd seen this before, two and a half years ago.

The black fire steadily died down… and there it was: the most terrifying mobile suit ever conceived.

A cursory glance didn't suggest much change since the first time the demon had set fire to its opponents, but a closer look revealed much more leathery, organic-looking wings, torn and tattered; circuitry was exposed in some of its horrendous scars with electricity faintly crackling. A pair of demonic horns sprouted from its head in place of the normal V crest, but the right horn was broken in half, and what remained was filled with fractures, looking ready to shatter like brittle bone. A gash fell from its headcrest through its right eye and horrifically fractured right jaw, exposing more circuitry and its demonic right eye for all to see. The entire right half of the monster's head looked like a total nightmare—a terrifying contrast to the pristine left side of the head.

The eyes flashed to life with a demonic glow, the right eye an evil red, and the left a possessed white with spiraling blue. The demon gripped its weapon in both hands, and a massive scythe of red beam energy sprouted to life.

At least one ZAFT pilot really did lose control of his bladder, knowing what was standing before him.

"I guess I must enjoy being the Grim Reaper," said Nicol softly. "There's no other explanation for why I keep coming back to this. Well then… Blackfire Blitz! Let's _show_ them the power of a real demon!"

The Blackfire Blitz charged forward and swung its scythe, slicing all seven ZAFT mobile suits in half, the pilots literally paralyzed by fear as the end came for them. Nicol turned to face the Astray pilots, most of whom took a fearful step back, and he sighed slightly.

"Please continue to protect the city," he said. "I'll deal with the ZAFT machines."

"_Not alone you won't!_" cut in a voice suddenly. Nicol spun to face the direction in which Saul was… just in time to see the Hyper Surge flash past a dozen ZAKUs, GOOhNs and ZnOs.

Then, all twelve ZAFT suits exploded as the Hyper Surge landed on the ground.

"_Oh man,_" said Saul. "_I think I'm in love all over again._" Nicol chuckled.

"Your girlfriend won't appreciate that," he commented dryly as the Hyper Surge turned to face him, beam sabers at its side.

"_Not if I take her for a ride._"

"I doubt that'll work."

Closer to the city, Shiho dropped the Sentinel down, catching defenders and aggressors alike off-guard with her sudden appearance. The Sentinel's eyes flashed with an intense violet light, and Shiho leveled both of her beam submachine guns.

"Attacking Orb… you've made a mistake," said Shiho, opening up. Small beam blasts poured out. Two GOUFs and three ZAKUs—out of eight mobile suits total—leveled their shields in time, though one of them took some damage to the shoulder. Not releasing the triggers, Shiho shifted her aim, shooting out the legs of the ZAKUs as her Signum 2 snapped into position and fired on one of the GOUFs, knocking it to the ground.

Then, her beam SMGs tore through all four of the grounded mobile suits.

The remaining GOUF dodged though, firing its beam guns at her. Shiho blocked with the beam shield mounted in the Sentinel's left arm. The GOUF pilot grit his teeth, drawing his beam sword and charging forward.

Shiho drew her Galatine anti-ship swords. Her left sword intercepted the Tempest, and Shiho swung the other at the GOUF. The pilot blocked with his shield… and Shiho released that Galatine, instead snatching up one of her Anser beam sabers and stabbing it through the GOUF's cockpit.

The Sentinel's sensors alerted her to approaching mobile suits, and she spread her Gundam's wings, shooting into the sky. Turning, she saw the Templars, Sacred Guardian, Shadow Strike, Astarte and Sincerity as the Blackfire Blitz and Hyper Surge approached her position.

"_Yo, long time no see guys,_" said Tolle, his grin evident in his tone.

"_How's it feel, Shiho?_" questioned Liz. Shiho took a slight breath… then smiled.

"It's amazing," she answered. "Now I really understand what you see in these machines. This… this is the power of a Gundam."

The Astarte moved forward a bit.

"_We can talk more later,_" said the pilot, her face appearing on a side monitor built into the seats of each of the other mobile suits. Minako smiled. "_For now… we've got a battle to win!_"

"_Yeah,_" said Ami. "_Let's go!_" And with that, the Sincerity charged for the airspace over the waters where the battle continued.

"_Kira's little sister,_" explained Tolle before turning the Shadow Strike and following, the rest only a moment behind him.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

The three newly arrived Sentinels weren't the only ones empowering the tide against ZAFT on the ground. The Kessel Team, piloting their new Raptor mobile suits, landed on the ground, immediately leveling their beam rifles—and for the basic Raptors, their shield-mounted beam gatlings as well—and opened up. Diana and Lucius hovered along the ground in their Raptor Commands, firing their powerful beam railcannons, the massive blasts taking out an average of two machines per shot. ZAFT's return fire, however, was easily deflected by the beam carry shields possessed by each of the Raptors.

"I'm gonna have to thank Yamato for this one," commented Diana, blocking a shot with her beam shield before retaliating with a swipe of her Lightning Blade heat rod. "These are some impressive machines he's gotten for us."

Meanwhile, the former Speartip Team, Hilda Harken, Mars Simeon and Herbert Von Reinhardt, landed their DOM Troopers after launching from the _Eternal_.

Herbert sighed lightly. "_Did I ever tell you how much I hate Earth's gravity?_" he asked mildly.

"Cut the chatter," said Hilda good-naturedly, kind of glad to hear him say that again after all this time. "Alright guys, let's go!"

"_Right!_" said Mars.

"This is for Miss Lacus," said Hilda, charging forward with her DOM's high-speed hover jet thrusters.

The three opened up on every ZAFT mobile suit in sight with their powerful giga-launchers, a combination of bazooka and beam cannon. However, there weren't very many opponents left for them to hit at this point. Hilda quickly searched for a cluster of enemy mobile suits and found them.

In the time since they had left the Alaric Team when it was reforming into the Kessel Team, the former Speartip Team had continued to refine their teamwork. When they learned of the DOM Troopers, they became quite eager to try out a new attack formation they devised. But if they wanted to use it to its fullest, they needed quite a few targets.

"We'll begin with them," said Hilda, turning to charge one of ZAFT's few remaining footholds on the island. "Let's go!"

"_Yeah!_" cried Mars eagerly.

"_Heh, sounds good to me,_" commented Herbert mildly. The two moved into position directly behind Hilda's DOM as she drew her enhanced beam saber and blocked attacks with her beam shield.

"Jet stream attack!" cried the three DOM pilots together as Hilda fired her chest-mounted scattering beam gun and Mars popped up over her, firing his giga-launcher.

About fifteen seconds later, the jet stream attack was done, and all thirteen ZAFT machines were scattered about the area in pieces.

A shot from a BABI skewered the leg of Herbert's machine a moment later.

"_Ah, damn,_" he cursed as Hilda spun about and fired her beam cannon at the BABI, which returned fire with everything, but the DOM pilots all raised their shields in time.

"Be more careful," scolded Hilda. "We may be winning this battle, but that doesn't mean we can't be killed!"

In the air, Lisa DaCosta led the last few pilots of the Kessel Team, piloting the Raptor Valkyries made specifically for her unit, through the skies, cutting a swatch through anything the Izanami forces missed.

"_There's really not much to do up here, is there?_" questioned Tania Sabir.

"Not here," commented Lisa, cutting a DINN in half with her beam sword. "We'll clear the airspace over the enemy fleet. Come on girls… let _earn_ the name 'valkyrie'!"

"_Yeah!_"

With that, the Kessel Team's valkyrie team shifted their machines to mobile armor mode and shot forward. The Raptor Valkyries were minimally armed, but also exactly what a transforming machine should be: one that specialized in melee combat while in mobile suit mode and ranged combat while in mobile armor mode.

The high-speed, fighter-like mobile armors lit the sky with their beam guns, rifle and cannon, blasting any ZAFT mobile suit that didn't get out of their way quickly enough to pieces.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Lacus let out a light sigh as she removed her helmet. She'd been surprised when Kira launched for the descent without a pilot suit, the way Makoto had. In a way, she could understand—the pilot suit, or at least the helmet, felt very confining, though at least a part of that was because of her long hair. Even still, Lacus had to admire both Kira and Makoto—she didn't know if she could've been brave enough to fly without a pilot suit.

The door to the hangar opened, and Lacus turned her attention that way to see Athrun walking towards her, aided by a young girl with red hair who looked vaguely like Flay at first glance, but the rosette quickly brushed that away—it was just a trick of the girl's hair and the distance.

"Lacus!" called Athrun. The rosette gave her ex-fiancé a slight smile, walking over to him. He was wearing an Orb uniform with no rank insignia, like Kira used too, and she could tell his injuries were still worse than they seemed.

"Miss Lacus," murmured the redhead at Athrun's side—Meyrin, if Lacus recalled what she'd been told right.

"I never expected you to be in there," commented Athrun. At Lacus's side, her pink Haro bounced, excited to see Athrun again after all these months. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Lacus. "I really didn't do much. They just wanted someone monitoring the VI, really. What about you though? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," said Athrun with a slight smile. Lacus frowned.

"I don't mean physically," she said softly, surprising both Athrun and Meyrin. Athrun looked away, expression guilty as he thought about everything that had happened. "Athrun?"

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Damn it," cursed Shinn, righting the Destiny after yet another kick sent him flying. He charged forward again, swinging the Arondight furiously. "How is this possible?"

In the Strike Freedom, Kira shook his head slightly. He tossed both rifles into the air and shifted his beam shields to one of the special modes he'd input when he customized the OS. The Destiny swung its anti-ship sword down… and Kira clapped together the Freedom's hands on the blade, utilizing his modification to the beam shields to protect his palms from the beam blade itself. He heard Shinn gasp in shock, and Kira snapped his Xiphias 3 into position and fired point-blank, blasting the Destiny back and causing Shinn to lose his grip on the Arondight, which Kira tossed away, using the altered beam shields to slice it to pieces, having no need for the weapon himself.

"_If those had been beams,_" came Shinn's voice as he redrew his beam rifle. "_This battle would be over._" Kira, meanwhile, caught both of his rifles as they descended back to the earth, eyeing the Destiny calmly. "_Is that what this is? A LESSON?_"

Kira sensed Shinn's SEED trigger, and the Destiny drew one of its Flash Edge 2 beam boomerangs, shifting the weapon to saber mode and charging at him with its Wings of Light activated. Kira evaded to the side as Shinn tried firing desperately from all directions, but the Strike Freedom was the most agile machine in existence, and Kira easily evaded every last shot.

"Now Shinn," said Kira, his tone that of a teacher giving his student a lecture about being punctual. "You have to have learned _something_ since the last time we fought. Your improvement has to have been in more than just the arena of reflexes and accuracy."

"_WHAT?_" roared Shinn, charging at Kira with his beam saber. Kira twisted to the side, and delivered a kick to the Destiny's torso. He aimed his rifle at Shinn's, but the Destiny shot off using the tremendous velocity granted by its Wings of Light and Kira's shot missed.

"I told you before," said Kira. "A true super ace is created by the synchronous balance of many different abilities. Your skills and reflexes have improved considerably since we fought—but you're still not thinking Shinn. Still acting on instinct, on _impulse_."

"_Why you–!_"

"People are calling you the Dark Knight of Destiny," said Kira. "Do you realize what sort of honor that is? It may sound grim, but the title itself is a noble thing. But you're not worthy of that yet."

Shinn fired another blast, but Kira blocked with his shield.

"And you should know something else…" said Kira, dodging another shot. He focused on the Destiny, watched it closely, then… "You're being reckless!"

The Strike Freedom's railcannons snapped into position and fired, along with one of the rifles. The beam pierced Shinn's rifle while the slugs slammed into the Destiny's body, sending it tumbling wildly through the air as Shinn gasped in shock. Kira could've finished it then and there, but his attention was drawn to Asagi's M4, which was being badly harassed, the girl's M3 escorts all gone, and he let loose a barrage that cleared the sky around her.

The Destiny righted itself, and Kira turned his attention back to Shinn.

"The Wings of Light do allow you to reach incredible speeds," he said. "But you're not using them to their full potential, and you're being reckless with them. As your speed increases, both your mobility and perception decrease, making it difficult to react to an attack in time."

"_Freedom… you bastard!_" cried Shinn, drawing his long-range beam cannon and firing. Kira responded with a shot from the Strike Freedom's chest-mounted Callidus, the two blasts cancelling each other out as they collided. Shinn growled in frustration and stored the cannon, drawing his second Flash Edge 2 instead and charging forward. Kira stored his rifles and drew his own Super Lacerta beam sabers, one held in a reverse grip, just like when he first descended.

Part of the reason this was taking so long was because Kira had switched the VI to passive mode once he'd gotten a feel for the new frame and how his machine moved, so as to learn what Strike Freedom was really capable of on his own. Another reason, now, was that Shinn had activated his SEED, bringing his level much closer to Kira's. Actually, his reflexes were probably pretty close to what Kira's had been during their last fight (prior to his activation of the SEED, anyways), but Shinn still wasn't thinking clearly. Kira was also trying to probe his opponent, find what it was that continued to hold Shinn back, and why it seemed to be blinding him to certain things, though what he was blind to, Kira didn't know.

Shinn wasn't the only one having a hard time. Zane may have been much calmer than the Dark Knight, but he was still far out of his league. He had no idea how Makoto had sliced off his four extra arms without him noticing, nor did he really care—he was too focused on keeping her from doing the same to the Reckoning's main arms, and the Reckoning itself of course.

Zane charged forward, swinging his beam saber, but Makoto blocked with her Exia II. Teeth grit, Zane charged his second Lacerta 4 forward, only for Makoto to deflect it upwards with her second Exia II.

Then, the Serenity's Partis 3 railcannons snapped into place and opened fire point-blank.

The Reckoning was blown away and the skirt armor completely destroyed. Zane's eyes were wide as he checked the damage readouts—those cannons were _powerful_! He looked back at the Serenity as Makoto fired her sword-rifles at him, and raised his shield in defense from the blasts.

"Damn it," he cursed. This shouldn't be happening! How the hell did they have machines _this_ powerful?

The fact of the matter was that, at the moment, Makoto was strictly speaking the best pilot present. Although not truly as good as Kira, she'd already adapted fully to the use of the assault frame and other technology from the Sincerity used in the Angels. Until Kira adapted to the new systems—which Makoto doubted would take very long at all—she was Terminal's ace.

Well, and there was also the perhaps far more important factor that Makoto had no desire to lecture her opponent on how many ways he sucked.

The Serenity's wings spread, and the hyper-velocity mobile suit surged forward, readying one of its Exia II to attack the Reckoning, deciding to test if the powerful composite blade could break through the beam shield.

Then, Makoto's danger sense triggered, and she pulled back instead, dodging seven large beam blasts. Zane and Makoto turned their attention to the Avenger as Nabiki combined her Praemium 2 and shot one of her Lacerta 4 from the right forearm armor into the Avenger's hand.

"It's been a long time… Michiru," she said.

"Nabiki…" murmured Makoto.

**

* * *

**

Defense Headquarters

There was almost no fighting to speak of near the Defense Headquarters. What ZAFT machines did get that far were promptly shot down by the defenders. ZAFT was on the ropes.

However, ZAFT still had a few tricks up its sleeve as a Geo-GOOhN—the same type of mobile suit that had just smashed the Seiran shelter on the mainland, killing both Unato and the Seiran-controlled cabinet—broke through the ground right in front of an Astray, and fired it phonon masers before the Orb pilot could react.

Unfortunately for that particularly pilot, Cagalli had just arrived, and her twin beam saber stabbed right through the Geo-GOOhN's powerplant and cockpit in one strike. The Akatsuki shot up as the ZAFT mobile suit exploded, and landed in front of the Defense Headquarters, Cagalli quickly exiting her new machine and rushing into the building.

Within two minutes, she reached the control room.

And there he was: the idiot who was at least halfway responsible for this particularly mess, though Cagalli knew it was merely a symptom of a greater problem.

"Yuna," she spat coldly as she walked forward.

"Cagalli…" murmured Yuna, standing up as best he could with his hands tied. His face was covered in bruises, and Cagalli was fairly certain the Orb soldiers had been perhaps a little _overeager_ with carrying out her orders.

"I don't deserve this," said Yuna. "This is awful. Cagalli…" Unnoticed by Yuna, the blonde's hand clenched into a fist. "I-I took care of things while you were gone…"

"Argh," growled Cagalli, punching Yuna in the face and knocking him to the ground.

"Ugh, Cagalli…"

"You're not the only one to blame here," said Cagalli. "It's just as much my fault too, for not standing up to the opinions of you, Unato and the others… for failing to uphold my own responsibilities…"

"C-Cagalli… what are you saying?" stuttered Yuna.

"But what the hell is this?" cried Cagalli, as though in answer. "We may have had different opinions, but I really thought that we shared the same desire to protect the nation!"

"Ah, uh, l-let me explain," stuttered Yuna as Cagalli reached down and dragged him to his feet.

"Tell me! Where are you hiding Djibril?" she demanded. "Are you really gonna keep trying to protect him after all of this?"

"It's… it's like I told them before," said Yuna. "I don't _know_ where he is!"

"Yuna!"

"I'm telling you the truth!" insisted Yuna. "I really don't know! He was at our house before, but now… who knows?" Cagalli grit her teeth, tossing Yuna to a pair of soldiers.

"Forget it," she said. "Take him away."

"Ah, but wait! Cagalli!" cried Yuna as he was dragged off, but the blonde ignored him, instead directing her attention to Samuel.

"You made sure Kaguya is secure, right?" she asked.

"Of course," said Samuel.

"Still, there's no time to waste," said Kisaka. "We have to find Djibril immediately."

"How's the situation? ZAFT can't be able to fight for much longer," said Cagalli.

"It seems the Taiyonohas aid drew the attention of Carpentaria," said Soga. "They've sent out carrier jets, but it's unlikely they'll arrive before ZAFT is forced to retreat."

"Alright," said Cagalli. "We'll let Izanami handle ZAFT. We'll focus out attention on defense and finding Djibril."

"Yes ma'am!"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Maia," murmured Treize uncertainly. Flay stepped forward, kneeling down next to the girl and placing a comforting hand on the EX-Cs shoulder, drawing Maia's attention to her. Flay gave a slight, uncertain smile.

"You know… you don't have to fight anymore," she said.

"What?"

"She's right," said Treize, stepping closer. "Maia… thank you for saving my life. But you've done enough. Can you do this for me? Can you stay here and stop fighting?"

"… okay." And she meant it. She was created to fight, but her unstable mental state caused her to latch onto Treize, and all other things became secondary. Now that she was free, her mental state stabilizing, Maia only cared about her family—Treize.

"Thank you," said Treize, straightening up and turning to face Flay. He glanced briefly at the Redemption, making his question clear.

"Yes," said Flay, turning to look at the mobile suit, which also drew Maia's attention now. It had some similarities to the Strike Freedom, most notably the wings, but the shield looked more like that of the Sincerity, and the machine in general seemed to evoke the Faith more than the Freedom. "ZGMF-X21A Redemption." She turned back to Treize. "You'll need to input the final touches on the OS to customize it for yourself, but… it's your new machine."

"I see," murmured Treize.

"Originally, it was supposed to be mine," explained Flay. "The Midnight Raven… in honor of Chris. But… there's no better pilot for it than you."

"Big brother…?" questioned Maia uncertainly.

"Redemption, huh?" murmured Treize, not even seeming to pay attention to the other two. "That's… appropriate, in a way. I've come to understand that much of what I've done can never be forgiven." He glanced away. A puddle of water from when water had struck this area earlier caught his eye, and for a moment, he saw Chris reflected in it. "But perhaps with this, you won't be the one to pay the price for my sins."

"Treize?"

"Big brother?"

"_Don't worry…"_

Treize closed his eyes… then opened them, the mismatched orbs shining with determination as he turned back to the Redemption.

"Maia, please stay here," he said. "I'll return soon."

Treize walked up to the machine, grabbing the zipline and beginning his ascent. Flay turned to look at Maia, and let out a small sigh.

"He really cares about you," she said. "He's changed, right?"

"Yes…" said Maia softly. She looked at Flay. "Do I really… have to stay here?"

Flay nodded slightly. "For various reasons," she said. "Go ahead and use the Strike Noir to protect yourself." As Maia nodded, Flay pressed the comm. switch on her pilot suit's arm.

"_Seraphim_… send out my new machine."

**

* * *

**

The _Seraphim_

Luna heard Flay calling for her new machine to be sent out.

"_Roger that, the third pilot is already approaching your position,_" said Kaori Fujita, the _Seraphim_'s mobile suit controller. "_Lunamaria, are you ready?_"

"Yes," said Luna, closing her helmet visor as the APU triggered her machine's activation.

"_You have approval for launch, good luck._"

**MOBILE SUIT TRIAD OPERATION SYSTEM  
/TRIAD SERIES – 3000/**  
**G**eneration  
**U**ltimate  
**N**etwork  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**odule  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. System Complex  
_Ver.3.0.9 Rev.13_**

"Lunamaria Hawke, Stormblade Gundam, I'm taking off!" called Luna, punching the controls and shooting from the _Seraphim_'s catapult. As soon as she cleared the catapult, she activated the Stormblade's Variable Phase Shift armor, the torso and skirt armor turning black, the head and limbs turning white, and trimming turning purple as the Stormblade's violet eyes flashed to life.

Seconds later, and the two remaining Triads shot from the catapults and started flying towards where Flay had landed the Redemption.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Lacus returned after changing out of her pilot suit, and found Athrun and Meyrin still staring at the Knight of Orb as she walked over to them.

"The Justice?" questioned Athrun, not looking at her.

"Yes," said Lacus.

"For me?"

"Possibly," said Lacus. "But I think that's for you to decide."

"So what? I'm expected to be a soldier again?" questioned Athrun. "Is that what you're saying?"

"That is also something for you to decide," answered Lacus simply. "It's scary when someone closes their mind. That is it; all there is. They only see an end." Lacus sighed softly. "This may be a little cruel, seeing as how you're hurt. But Kira believes in you. Like always." She turned to look at the Knight of Orb, remembering some of the things Kira had said to her about this.

"Kira…" murmured Athrun.

"Power is whatever one makes of it," said Lacus. "And perhaps you are a soldier. But above and beyond that, you're still Athrun."

Athrun gasped.

"Really, that's all there is to it," said Lacus. "It's your choice. Do you want this? Do you want to take up the sword we forged for you? Or are you tired of fighting, in which case, you are free to pass this sword on to someone else. Or keep it for yourself. Because in the end, this sword is yours, to do with what you will."

Athrun turned to look at the Knight. His mind made up, he glanced at Meyrin.

"Could you help me to the locker room?" he asked. "I need to change."

**

* * *

**

The Bridge

Although they were winning, the _Archangel_ crew was still struggling as they fought the _Minerva_. The ships and crews were very evenly matched, and while the _Archangel_ did have greater firepower, that didn't do them any good if they didn't hit their target.

A barrage of missiles came their way. The CIWS opened up on them… but suddenly, beams streaked across the sky and obliterated the missiles before they got within range.

"What?" gasped Murrue and Talia at the same time. Suddenly, a familiar silver-white and midnight blue mobile armor shot through the sky.

"That's Liz's M3!" gasped Mir. The custom M3 Guardian shifted to mobile suit mode, rifles combining as it did so, and it fired the twin impulse rifle on the _Minerva_, crashing into its side.

Then, Neo's face appeared on the _Archangel_'s display screen.

"_Hehe… sorry, kind of cut you off,_" he said, chuckling.

"What are you…?"

"_You see, I got a score to settle with the __**Minerva**__, and a debt that I need to repay,_" explained Neo. "_I asked for something better than that outdated Skygrasper to lend a hand with and those soldiers brought me to this baby. Now, let's go ahead and finish this quickly._" Neo smirked. "_Don't worry. I've got a gift for making the impossible possible… right?_" The transmission cut as Murrue gasped in shock, a hand reaching instinctively for her chest as she remembered the time she'd thought Mu died.

"Mu…"

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Treize glanced about the spherical cockpit, amazed by what he was seeing. He'd heard of revolutionary new technologies, but he'd never expected something quite so visible.

Inputting the final OS modifications, Treize powered the Angel back up.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
/REDEMPTION – 0000/**  
**G**uardian  
**U**nsubdued  
**N**exus-  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis Complex  
_Series DA000-X1 SF/MR/DF 01-13864_  
Midnight Angel Nine Blades Custom**

"Alright," said Treize. He stared out the cockpit at Flay and Maia on the ground. Sensors alerted him to four approaching mobile suits, but they were all tagged friendly. Taking a breath, he stared forward.

Briefly, his image was reflected before him, flickering to Chris.

"_Let's go,"_ he said before fading away. Treize nodded.

"Treize Zabiarov, Redemption Gundam, taking off!" he called, hitting the controls and leaping into the air.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The assault ship had broken away from the _Minerva_ momentarily, and it's port catapult opened up as the green eyes of Athrun's new machine flashed to life.

"_The __**Minerva**__ has launched the Avenger, Legend, Saviour and Impulse,_" said Miriallia. "_Athrun, are you sure…?_"

"Yes," said Athrun. "This time, I decide…"

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM  
G**eneration  
**U**nsubdued  
**N**uclear  
**D**rive  
**A**ssault  
**M**odule  
**G.U.N.D.A.M Complex  
_Series SD100-O9 IJ 01-34152_  
ORB UNION**

"Athrun Zala, Infinite Justice, launching!" called Athrun, punching the controls forward and shooting clear of the catapult as the Knight of Orb.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Saviour and Impulse attempting to attack the M3 Dante Custom, only to be cutoff from fire all around them as the Sincerity and Astarte moved forward to intercept. However, he quickly sought out another conflict, and instead shot in that direction to lend aid to his longtime friends.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"What are those?" questioned Maia in surprise as an M4 Yamato aesthetically different from the rest and a trio of Gundams landed around them.

"The Triad," said Flay.

The M4's hatch opened, and Asagi jumped out, grabbing the zipline and descending to the ground.

"What's going on?" she questioned, running over to Flay, who gave a slight smile as Maia looked around, confused.

In the Stormblade, Luna stared in shock at the EX-C standing at Flay's side.

"This is your new machine," said Flay, motioning to one of the Triad's. Asagi gasped as the redhead turned to Maia. "Stay here now, Maia. Listen to your big brother for now."

"Okay," said Maia, nodding.

"Come on Asagi!" said Flay, rushing towards her machine. Asagi hesitated for a second before doing the same.

The two quickly piled in, and Luna appeared on their transmission monitors.

"_You two ready?_" she asked.

"Yeah," said Flay. "Asagi?"

"_Yeah, I'm ready,_" said Asagi. "_I… I can't believe this._"

"It's real," reassured Flay, smiling slightly. "Flay Allster, Sunblade Gundam, taking off!"

With that, the Sunblade shot into the air, activating its VPS armor, the torso and skirt armor turning red, the head and limbs turning white, and trimming turning gold as the Sunblade's yellow eyes flashed to life.

Asagi looked over her machine's specs real quick before gripping the controls. This felt odd to her—she'd never seen a cockpit layout quite like this before, but it felt… amazing.

"Asagi Caldwell, Moonblade Gundam, here I go!" she called, shooting into the air, eager to try out her new machine. She activated the VPS armor, the torso and skirt armor turning blue, the head and limbs turning white, and trimming turning silver as the Moonblade's sapphire eyes flashed to life.

The Triad all turned and gunned for the main battle.

"Alright girls," said Flay. "Let's see what these new Gundams can do!"

"_Right!_"

The Stormblade's railguns snapped into position along with its Exigo beam cannon and beam rifle, and Luna opened fire. Each railgun tore through the cockpit of an unsuspecting BABI, while the rifle blew off the arm of a GOUF and the cannon blast consumed two DINNs unfortunately enough to be in her sights. To her own surprise, Luna didn't feel troubled by that fact—that she was now fighting against the army to which she'd just belonged.

Because what they were doing was wrong!

"Go, Yume!" called Flay, deploying her eight winged DRAGOONs. The small dagger-like DRAGOONs soared through the battlefield, too small to follow effectively as they opened fire from all directions as Flay drew her Exitium mega sword. A GOUF Ignited fired its beam guns at her, but Flay blocked with her Solidus Fulgor as she charged forward with the tremendous thrust of her Libertas-00 backpack and swung the Exitium, slicing the GOUF in half. She spun about, firing her beam handgun at a DINN, which was too slow to dodge.

A GOUF rushed her, swinging its Tempest, but Flay blocked with her mega sword, then lashed out with a kick, slicing the GOUF's leg off with the Griffon beam blade mounted in her machine's knee, catching her opponent off-guard. While he was distracted, Flay aimed the backpack-mounted Novo Caelum and fired point-blank, destroying the GOUF.

Lunamaria fired her rifle at a BABI, but the aerial mobile suit evaded and shot back with its cannon. Luna spread the Stormblade's wings into HiMAT mode danced away as Asagi shot forward, firing her beam handgun at the BABI. The pilot dodged this surprise attack too, evidencing why he'd survived this long in the overall battle, but then, as Asagi spread the Moonblade's wings, the BABI suddenly fell to pieces, as though cut to ribbons by beam sabers.

The Blade Triad came back into formation together as a formation of GOUFs fired at them with their beam guns. Asagi spread the Moonblade's wings, and the beams all suddenly bounced off the shield the blonde projected in front of the three mobile suits, and Luna spun about, exposing her back to the ZAFT machines, only to fire the beam cannons mounted in her wingtips, destroying a trio of GOUFs with the blast as the others defended with their shields. Terrified now, the GOUF pilots tried to shoot down the Yume closing in on them from all directions, no longer bothering with evasion nor their own guns, but the beams all bounced away as well.

Then, the Yume crashed through the GOUFs, quickly spinning about to crash into them again.

As the ZAFT mobile suits fell from the sky, others backed away from the Triad fearfully. Flay recalled her Yume before they began to cause a serious drain. The Moonblade's wings glowed briefly… and suddenly, the Triad disappeared.

"This machine is amazing," murmured Asagi in awe.

"_I'm impressed you were able to do all that so quickly,_" said Luna, sounding just as awed at the power of the Triad.

"_It's the VI, right?_" said Flay. "_It doesn't just help us with the new frame, it's helping us with all the other new systems too._"

"Yeah… alright, let's go and finish this!" said Asagi, shooting forward along with the other two inside the Mirage Colloid Sphere.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Argh!" cried Ami, swinging her beam saber at the Saviour. Heine, teeth grit, deflected with his shield, then took aim with his beam rifle, pulling the trigger, but the Sincerity had already danced away.

"Damn," he muttered. "This girl…"

Ami and Heine knew whom they were fighting—they could recognize each other as the former Gaia and GOUF pilot, respectively. Heine shifted to mobile armor mode and shot away, getting some distance between them as Ami opened fire with the Murakumo.

Heine spun the Saviour about and fired with his beam cannons, but the Sincerity's shield easily intercepted the attack.

"This machine…" muttered Ami. Against ZAFT's mass-produced mobile suits, it hadn't come up much, but she was really struggling with the handling of this machine and was having to rely on Faith a lot more than she liked. Not only was the proper handling of the new frame difficult, but the Sincerity utilized the Seven Swords Control System… and Ami had never received any training in Shinsei Tsurugi, so she didn't understand some of the movements of the Sincerity, nor why certain controls worked the way they did. Faith was proving a tremendous help, but the blonde could feel just how much of the work Faith was doing.

She needed to learn more about this machine as soon as she could. She didn't want to rely on Faith forever.

Ami shifted the Murakumo to standby, drawing one of her hand-held sword-rifles instead and started exchanging rifle fire with Heine. The Saviour pilot grit his teeth slightly as the Sincerity suddenly surged forward, letting loose suppressing fire with its cannons. He managed to evade, leveling his rifle… and then the Sincerity's heat rod coiled around his weapon.

Heine gasped, remembering vividly when had done the same thing to the Gaia. Karma was a bitch sometimes.

The rifle exploded, and Heine shifted to mobile armor mode.

"I need to get close…" murmured Ami.

"Understood," came Faith's voice. "Activating Hyperion System."

Meanwhile, Minako assailed the Impulse from all directions with the Takusan. Aleksi grit her teeth, evading one only for another to strike from a new angle. It was taking everything she had to stay ahead.

Then, the assault from the Takusan let up as Minako charged in, recalling her DRAGOONs, and attacked with the Haretsu Suru. Aleksi attempted to block with her shield, but the mega sword smashed through it, crushing the Impulse's left arm in the process.

"Damn," cursed Aleksi, pulling back and firing her rifle desperately. The Astarte's mega sword lifted into position to shield it from the attacks as Minako dropped the Daini beam cannon into place and opened up with that. "I don't understand! How can you people fight to protect someone like Djibril?"

"_This isn't about Djibril,_" answered the Astarte's pilot. "_It's about Orb!_" She continued to fire the Daini cannon as Aleksi punched the Impulse's thrust up. It was taking everything she had to evade. This was someone who'd gone toe-to-toe with Suiren on several occasions. Aleksi was actually more amazed she was still alive at all as she fired back, only for the Astarte to easily evade.

Then, Minako snatched up her rifle and snapped off a single shot, piercing the Impulse's beam rifle.

"Damn!"

That wasn't the end, though, as a pair of Takusan shot off and attacked the Force Silhouette, destroying it. As Aleksi cried out, Minako rushed forward and struck with the mega sword. Only the blonde's quick reflexes, ejecting the Chest Flyer, saved her life.

When the _Minerva_ opened its central catapult in preparation for launching new flyers for Aleksi, Neo saw his opportunity and didn't miss it, charging his borrowed mobile armor directly at the central catapult from dead ahead.

"What is he doing?" gasped Murrue.

The _Minerva_'s CIWS turned and tried to open fire on the M3, but Neo had chosen the direction of his charge because the vulcans were all facing the wrong direction, and so he only had the Isolde triple cannon to worry about, but that weapon was built for hitting enemy warships, not fast moving mobile weapons, and Neo dropped a few grenades as he passed over it, then fired both rifles into the central catapult as he pulled away.

The effect was pretty much instantaneous, the grenades destroying the Isolde and the rifle shots blowing up the Chest Flyer that had just been loaded, destroying the central catapult and sending explosions down towards the hangar, completely obliterating the lift and all of the remaining flyers. Neo pulled straight up, shooting into the sky over the bridge, still outside the firing arc of the CIWS, smirking slightly.

As if that weren't enough, Ami closed to melee range using the tremendous speed granted by the Hyperion, and as Heine shifted back to mobile suit mode to try and defend, the Sincerity struck, too quickly for her opponent to react, and the Saviour's right arm was sliced off, and as she shot towards the water, Ami flipped over, shifting her sword to rifle mode, and fired.

Heine tried to bring his shield in place to defend, but he was just a second too slow, and the beam blasted off the Saviour's left arm at the shoulder. Heine grit his teeth in frustration.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Tristan glanced at one of his monitors, displaying the battle at Onogoro in the distance, but didn't change his course.

After contact with all units at the mainland had been cutoff, he'd been ordered to launch and approach the mainland, with strict orders to avoid combat. They needed to know what was going on over there, since there was a possibility Djibril might still be there, and he'd been elected for the job.

These days… Tristan really wasn't sure what he was fighting for anymore. He'd been aloof ever since Ayaka's death only a few days prior, hardly speaking to anyone if he didn't have too. Aleksi had expressed some concern for him, but had seemed more focused on Shinn, and when he'd spoken briefly with his family, he'd put on a cheerful mask to hide how he was feeling.

Things seemed to be going steadily downhill for him recently. He was the _Minerva_'s only Greencoat pilot, and everyone, even Tristan, seemed to silently acknowledge that he didn't really belong with the rest of the elite pilots aboard the battleship, even if nobody actually said it.

It was part of the reason Tristan hadn't gone into combat the way the others had. Despite the importance of his mission, the skills of the Redcoats, including Aleksi, were far more valuable in actual combat. With any luck, Tristan wouldn't actually get into a fight—because they knew that, if he did, alone near Orb's mainland, he was a dead man.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The sabers of the Freedom and Destiny crashed together, the two pilots struggling briefly before Kira broke the lock, delivering a vicious kick to the Destiny's torso.

"_Damn it!_" cursed Shinn, righting himself as the Strike Freedom charged down at him. He managed to block one saber with his own, and the other with his solid shield. However, Kira next head butted the Destiny, once again knocking Shinn away. "_ARGH!_"

The Destiny activated its Wings of Light to pull away before Kira could attack again, and once Shinn felt he had the advantage, he charged the Freedom again. Kira intercepted both attacks, then used the Freedom's leg to block Shinn's attempt to kick the Freedom. When Shinn tried head butting him, he responded in kind, crashing the heads of their machines together.

Shinn, growling in frustration, punched up the Wings of Light and began to force Kira back, but he responded by spreading the Freedom's wings and increasing the power to his own Voiture Lumiere, countering the push somewhat. The Destiny's thrust was still somewhat greater than the Strike Freedom's, but the contest was much more even now.

"_Shinn!_" cried Rey suddenly, charging forward in the Legend, beam rifle blazing, forcing the Strike Freedom to break away from the Destiny. Once the two had separated, Rey tossed a spare Arondight to Shinn.

"_Rey!_" exclaimed Shinn, storing his Flash Edge 2 as he caught the Arondight and activated it.

"_Come on, we'll deal this guy, once and for all!_" said Rey, firing his DRAGOONs on the Strike Freedom, but Kira danced away easily using the HiMAT mode. Shinn growled, activating the Wings of Light, and shot into close-range with Kira, palm outstretched, trying to take him out with the Palma Fiocina, but Kira kicked the Destiny's arm away before shooting up, storing his sabers and redrawing his rifles. He aimed one at the Destiny immediately, but the Legend fired its rifle at him again. Kira blocked with his shield, but the distraction gave Shinn enough time to recover.

"_You bastard, why won't you just die already?_" demanded Shinn, charging forward to attack with the Arondight. Kira almost answered with a taunt, but was more focused on the Legend and its pilot.

"The machine is just like his…" muttered Kira, dodging Shinn's attack and delivering a kick to the Destiny's back as it shot past, before quickly ascending to dodge an attack by the Legend's DRAGOONs. "And so is the pilot."

"_DIE!_" roared Shinn, this time closing in to actually attack rather than just charging recklessly. Kira blocked the swing with his left beam shield, then blocked fire from the Legend with his other shield, before snapping his Xiphias 3 into position and firing. Shinn had anticipated that, and dodged away before Kira pulled the trigger, but actually hitting hadn't been Kira's goal, merely to drive Shinn back momentarily as Kira fired his rifle at the Legend. Rey blocked with his shield, then fired back with everything he had. Kira easily danced through this attack as well, and saw Shinn aiming the Destiny's beam cannon out of the corner of his eye.

That was when a new voice cried out over the radio.

"_Stop it!_" cried Athrun, drawing Shinn's attention with his thrown Shining Edge beam boomerang. Though surprised, Shinn managed to knock the boomerang away with his beam shield, but then a red mobile suit was on top of him, slamming its shield into the Destiny's chest and knocking him off-balance.

"Athrun…" murmured Kira.

In the Destiny, Shinn's eyes were wide as he stared at the comm. screen.

"_Don't do this Shinn!_" said Athrun. "_Stop it!_"

"That's Athrun…" muttered Shinn in shock, remembering the incident outside Gibraltar. "But I… killed you…"

"_That's enough!_" shouted Athrun, ignoring Shinn's words. "_Do you understand what it is you're trying to destroy here? I mean __**really**__ understand what you're doing._"

"Huh?"

"_To end war forever, you have to destroy Logos,_" said Athrun. "_And destroy Orb as well. Is that really what you want? They won't listen, so they have to be destroyed? Is attacking this country really supposed to be the answer?_"

Shinn's eyes widened as memories flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook them off. No matter… no matter what… he had to believe in the Chairman! And Orb had offered refuge to Djibril! Orb hadn't just sacrificed his parents for their precious, self-centered ideals, but thrown his sister to Blue Cosmos and now protected the man who'd turned her into an Extended, the man responsible for making Stella what she was!

Tuning out what Athrun was saying, Shinn readied the Arondight, storing his cannon.

"Shut up," he said icily, feeling rage overtaking his veins as he focused on what he needed to maintain his sanity, to know that he hadn't become what he was fighting against. "SHUT UP!"

The Destiny shot forward.

"_Shinn!_" cried Athrun, pulling back and combining his Super Lacerta into a beam staff. "_You're not going to attack Orb! I won't let you!_"

**

* * *

**

Outside Onogoro Shelter N-5-1

"I-I really don't like this place," said Yuna to the Orb soldiers escorting him. "I'd rather go to the Seiran shelter on the main island."

"Please sir," said the lieutenant in charge gently. "Just get in there. It's too dangerous to take you to the main island right now."

Suddenly, a GOUF flew by overhead, trying to escape the M3 Guardian pursuing it. Yuna took the opportunity to shoulder one of the guards aside, all he could do with his hands tied behind his back, and ran for it.

"Lord Yuna!" cried the lieutenant.

"Shut up!" shouted Yuna, not looking back as he continued to run. "Leave me!"

At that moment, the M3 Guardian shifted to mobile suit mode and struck the GOUF with both of its beam sabers, cutting off the backpack and slicing it in half at the waist, expertly avoiding hitting anything that would cause an explosion, both sparing the life of the pilot and avoiding any potential damage to the area.

However, Yuna was standing right where the pieces of the GOUF were falling.

"Ahhh!" screamed Yuna as the bisected mobile suit crushed him.

"_Um… Yoshinaka? I think that GOUF just fell on Yuna Seiran,_" said Kelly Para dryly as he caught up with his wingman.

"Really? Ah shit," muttered Yoshinaka Ieyoshi. "Lady Makoto's gonna kill me."

"_Actually, I think she might give you a medal._"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

The Serenity dodged fire from the Avenger's four cannons as Nabiki charged forward with her powerful Voiture Lumiere. Her beam saber crashed against Makoto's Exia II, the two women gritting their teeth.

"Nabiki!" cried Makoto.

"_You will fall, Michiru!_" shouted Nabiki, charging her Terminus Kai. Teeth grit, Makoto swung her second Exia II at the Avenger, but Nabiki pulled back, then fired her chest-mounted cannon, only for Makoto to vanish as she fired up the Serenity's god-like thrusters.

"You're after me specifically," said Makoto. "You're taunting me with what your machine can do. Why? What is it that you want from me?"

"_Isn't it obvious?_" roared Nabiki, firing her beam bazooka, but Makoto danced away. Nabiki stored her beam saber and gripped the Praemium 2 in both hands, connecting it to the Terminus Kai as the Occultus Armo moved into position and the Gundam-like face on the backpack opened up, releasing the stored energy as Nabiki activated the Avenger's hyper burst mode. "_This is for my brother!_"

The Avenger's charged blast released, a massive stream of energy that streaked towards the Serenity. She shot away from it, but the stream continued, and Nabiki dragged its path back towards the Serenity, determined to slay her brother's murderer.

But the Serenity kept ahead of the beam. The same fortune didn't befall everything else in the path of the hyper burst, as the blast consumed a DINN, two BABIs, three M2s, five Murasames and four M3s. Makoto saw all this, and grit her teeth as the hyper burst died down and Nabiki split the Praemium 2, opening fire with all seven of her weapons. The Serenity continued to weave through the fire, and Makoto returned fire with her sword-rifles.

"Nabiki!" she shouted. "Do you think I wanted to kill Erik? He was my friend! I cared about him too!"

"_SHUT UP!_"

As Nabiki attacked Makoto, Zane turned to retreat. He hadn't taken any real damage, yet, but Makoto _had_ taken out almost all of his weapons, and he hadn't had a place to store the Coma, a design flaw he'd make sure didn't crop up in the future.

But as he started back towards the _Minerva_, his danger sense went off, alerting him to an approaching threat, and he pulled up as a mobile suit shot past him swinging its beam saber.

"Treize," said Zane through grit teeth. The machine floating before him wasn't one that he recognized, but he could feel who the pilot was. He readied himself for a fight.

"_Why?_" questioned Treize softly, surprising Zane. "_Why have you supported Durandal? He's responsible for all of this! He didn't need to go this far to deal with Logos!_"

"To show the world…"

"_What?_"

"To show the world the truth," said Zane. "And forge the path to enlightenment and a peace that will last for eternity!" The Reckoning charged forward, beam sabers crashing against the Redemption's beam saber and beam carry shield.

"_What are you talking about?_" demanded Treize, activated one of his knee-mounted beam blades and lashing out with a kick that Zane dodged, pulling away.

"Haven't you paid any attention to what has gone on?" questioned Zane. "Look at how quickly the masses were whipped back into a war-feeding frenzy! With this new war, the tragedy has extended to the world! Logos will fall when Djibril dies, and with all of humanity recognizing the evils of our own heart that gives rise to conflict, the world shall unite and walk the true path of justice! The Path of Destiny!"

"_You're insane!_" said Treize, lashing out with his heat rod. Zane dodged, and charged forward, his beam saber crashing against Treize's.

"At one time, those words were true!" he said. The Redemption, reacting to Treize's thoughts thought the BIO-Sensor, shifted its wings to HiMAT mode, increasing thrust and pushing the Reckoning back, but Zane didn't seem to care. "But no longer! I fight with the Chairman to save humanity from itself!"

"_Fine, maybe your intent is noble!_" said Treize, swinging his shield around to bludgeon the Reckoning, but Zane grabbed the Redemption's arm and halted the swing. "_But I will still not allow you to destroy Orb!_"

The Redemption's head reared back and slammed into the Reckoning's, knocking Zane away. Teeth grit, Zane raised his beam sabers to defend himself, but the Redemption shot around the Reckoning, attacking from below. He barely spun about in time to block Treize's new attack, and the Redemption pushed him back, the two machines soon falling onto the same plane. Zane lashed out with a kick, knocking the Redemption away… but then, as it fell, the Redemption activated a beam saber in its foot and swung, slicing off the Reckoning's left arm at the elbow, causing Zane to gasp in surprise.

Treize wasn't finished either, lashing out with his Ignis heat rod, coiling it around the Reckoning's leg. Zane grit his teeth as Treize righted himself and pulled the Reckoning down.

The two struck, but the neuro-comm.'s inferiority to the BIO-Sensor became apparent, as the Reckoning's remaining arm exploded.

The Redemption released the Reckoning's leg, backing away. Treize stared at Chris's reflection.

"Alright," he said. "I'll let him go, this time."

"_Thank you."_

"You're too soft," muttered Treize as the Reckoning retreated.

**

* * *

**

The Mainland

Djibril stared coldly down at the Orb soldiers now lying dead at the door to the shuttle. How dare they try to stop him from taking off just because those worthless Seirans hadn't shown up? He had to admit that the EX-Cs had proven their worth, dealing with the soldiers so easily, but that didn't make him any less annoyed at how that one EX-C, the girl, Maia, had just run off and disappeared all of a sudden. Not that the other EX-Cs weren't just as irritated.

Now, while Silber stayed with Djibril to make sure he stayed safe, Rache and Miguel had taken over the cockpit, and were preparing the shuttle for takeoff. He had to get to Daedalus, and play the Requiem of all Coordinators. Then, the world would be his.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Kira dodged another blast from the Legend as Rey grit his teeth. The Freedom… a symbol of the existence that was Kira Yamato. One-half of the ultimate abomination, the ultimate affront to the Destiny Plan. For in the end, there were only two true Children of Divinity: the Dream and the Legacy of Humanity. Shinn had to deal with the traitorous Athrun. Zane was busy with that EX-C. And Nabiki would deal with Makoto.

Leaving Kira to Rey.

"Kira Yamato!" roared the blond, drawing one of his Defiant Kai and charging forward. The Strike Freedom charged as well, Kira storing one of his rifles in order to draw a beam saber, which crashed against the Legend's saber-like javelin.

Kira gave no reply to Rey's cry of fury. Almost all the combatants were too distracted by the battle, winding quickly towards its conclusion, to notice a shuttle taking off from the mainland.

Kira pushed off, firing his Callidus cannon at the Legend, but Rey dodged and returned fire with his rifle and DRAGOONs, Kira blocking the blast with his shield before returning fire with his own rifle and railguns. Rey, in turn, blocked the shot from the rifle, but the railgun rounds smashed into the Legend's waist, and Kira didn't miss the opportunity, charging forward and striking, taking off the Legend's left arm and the beam rifle with it. Rey grit his teeth as he quickly pulled back, keeping the Strike Freedom off him with the DRAGOONs, but the White Angel effortlessly danced through the attacks, switching his saber out for his rifle and letting loose with everything. This time, Rey absorbed all the attacks with his beam shield.

He couldn't understand it. The mobile suits of the Destiny Project were supposed to be the greatest machines of all time. How could anyone have developed machines that not only possessed many of the same technologies—the beam shield being foremost among them—but actually _superior_? The agility and movements of these machines was unbelievable. It was almost like…

No… not 'almost'. It _was_ the same as the Sincerity. Rey's eyes were wide… amongst everything else, they'd overlooked that one, seemingly inconsequential mobile suit, and all the secrets it might possess.

His distraction was all Kira needed, shooting off half of the Legend's backpack-mounted DRAGOONs, snapping Rey back to reality. Teeth grit, he realized what he had to do, combining his drawn javelin with the one still stored, activating both, then tossing them at the Freedom before turning to flee.

Kira knocked the combined javelin away, watching as the Legend fled. That pilot… he needed to talk to one of the others, confirm who it was… then he needed to talk to Makoto and Lacus about the danger Le Creuset once again seemed to pose.

Nearby, the Avenger had stored its Praemium 2 and instead drew both of its Lacerta 4 as Nabiki charged forward, deploying the hidden hands of the Occultus Armos. The Serenity shot forward, Makoto meeting Nabiki's charge.

Sabers crashed with swords, Makoto knocking Nabiki's main hands back. Faster than all but a handful should've been able to follow, the Exia II snapped up at the backpack-mounted Occultus Armo, but they lifted, narrowly dodging the cut, and as the swords came down to slice up the knee-mounted cannon/hands, they shifted out, again narrowly dodging the attacks as Makoto flipped up and over the Avenger, realizing her strike had failed, though Nabiki's counterattack still grazed the Serenity, and would've taken off a leg if the angle had been slightly different.

"You kept track of all six limbs?" questioned Makoto, shocked.

"_What's the matter? I thought you were the __**great**__ Dauntless Angel,_" said Nabiki mockingly as she spun about and swung at Makoto, who pulled away from the attacks. Makoto ignored the sarcastic insult.

"You did what Erik did," said Makoto, horrified to realize the lengths to which Nabiki would go to kill her. "That's not what he wanted!"

"_You don't know what he wanted! YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM!_" screamed Nabiki, charging forward. Teeth grit, Makoto met the charge with one of her own, this time specifically aiming to deflect the sabers.

Unlike the first charge, this time, Makoto managed to knock the beam sabers out of the Avenger's lower hidden hands, while Nabiki quickly withdrew the hidden hands of the backpack Occultus Armo to avoid it happening up there as the Exia II crashed against the remaining Lacerta 4.

Makoto and Nabiki grit their teeth, struggling against one another. Makoto steadily increased the Serenity's thrust, pushing the Avenger back despite its tremendous weight and powerful Voiture Lumiere. As they struggled, Makoto shifted the angle of her swords slightly…

And both of Nabiki's beam sabers were sent flying. As Makoto began to bring the swords back in, the Avenger's hands shot out, grabbing the left wrist and right bicep of the Serenity, halting the attack as the lower Occultus Armo again released their concealed hands and grabbed the Serenity's legs tightly, holding it in place as the Terminus Kai prepared to fire.

Realizing what was about to happen, Makoto twisted the Serenity's right arm and stabbed it in a rough horizontal slash, slicing through the Avenger's outermost chest armor and cutting the emitters of its multi-phase beam cannon, causing it to detonate and badly shake both machines.

But Nabiki relentlessly held on, releasing the right arm for a second in order to change her grip to the wrist and pull it out. Because despite its superior frame, the raw strength of the Serenity was actually _inferior_ to the Avenger's.

"_It isn't over,_" spat Nabiki through grit teeth. Makoto's eyes widened as the top Occultus Armo suddenly flipped back. She didn't see the rest of what happened… but quickly realized that the Avenger's backpack had just detached from the massive war machine.

"What the–? What is this?" cried Makoto, shocked as the backpack's new form became visible as it flipped around to face her: a mobile suit.

"_This… is __**my vengeance**__!_" roared Nabiki.

The Vengeance Gundam moved forward, its Occultus Armo cannons readying to fire on the Serenity point-blank and end this. Makoto couldn't bring her beam shields into place to defend, but Nabiki was underestimating her regardless.

An emerald green jewel seed raced through Makoto's mind and shattered in a nova of pure power.

The Exia II were thrown into the air. The Serenity's palms slapped onto the wrists of the arms that held them, and Makoto fired the Palma Fiocina point-blank, the resulting explosion freeing the Serenity's arms, and the palms slapped onto the knee-mounted Occultus Armo and fired again, freeing the Serenity and knocking the Avenger away as Makoto shot back as Nabiki fired, the shots missing as a result, then the Serenity ascended above the Vengeance, Makoto snatching up both of her Exia II.

"_A palm-mounted beam cannon?_" snarled Nabiki in frustration. "_Just like the Destiny._"

Makoto gave no answer. She was fully into the battle now.

The Vegeance's Occultus Armo opened to reveal their hidden hands, each holding a beam saber. The entire machine glowed with the light of Voiture Lumiere as it shot towards the Serenity at impossible speeds. Nabiki was slammed back into her pilot seat, and could feel the resultant internal injury, but she didn't care. She would have her vengeance!

Makoto blocked the beam saber strikes and lashed out with a kick, sending the lightweight Vengeance flying.

"You can't win Nabiki," she said, voice perfectly calm, serene. "Give up. Erik wouldn't want you wasting your life like this."

"_I don't care!_" roared Nabiki, charging back in, this time firing her Occultus Armo obsessively. The Serenity, wings spread, shot about too quickly to hit though, trailing afterimages from its sheer velocity. Nabiki glanced at her power readouts, and saw that she'd already drained the Vengeance practically into the red zone.

The Avenger ascended, controlled remotely now, and its headcrest glowed briefly before a thin beam shot out of it. Nabiki spun to face that beam, catching it on the headcrest of the Vengeance, and watched with satisfaction as the Deuterion Beam completely refilled her battery with the vast energy stores from the Avenger.

She turned back to the Serenity, which hadn't moved since her attacks ended other than to store its sword-rifles, and she charged forward at blinding speed. The very body of the Vengeance was the Avenger's Voiture Lumiere propulsion. Without that weight, it could achieve speeds rivaling those of the legendary Faith Gundam, though still clearly outmatched by the far superior Serenity Gundam.

As Nabiki charged forward, beam sabers at the ready, the Serenity's Angelus swords shot up from their racks on the mighty mobile suit's back, the right a second and a half before the left, and Makoto caught the first one as it fell, then the second, combining the two together, back-to-back, placing the two into their true, ultimate form.

At that instant, the Vengeance reached the Serenity and struck with both sabers at the seemingly vulnerable mobile suit.

The Serenity's Caelum Angelus composite mega sword crashed against both beam sabers with enough force to send the Vengeance flying through the sky like it had been struck by a boulder.

"What the hell…?" muttered Nabiki, cursing under her breath. This was bad. She recombined the Vengeance and Avenger, retaking direct control of the main body. The Serenity floated above her, majestic, proud, its mighty Caelum Angelus held at its side. Nabiki took hold of her Praemium 2 again—the armor had held up, barely keeping the arms intact after Makoto's earlier assault, and the beam shield generators were fortunately intact—and fired with everything she had.

The Serenity easily dodged, then lifted the Caelum Angelus… and suddenly, an enormous beam sword lit the sky, as though the Dauntless Angel sought to cut the heavens themselves.

The Vesica Caelum, Serenity's ultimate sword, descended towards the Avenger. Most battles had almost ceased entirely as people stared in awe or terror at that enormous weapon. Though it was no greater than the swords of the METEORs, to see a weapon like that wielded by a mobile suit on Earth…

Nabiki attempted to dodge, but Makoto compensated better than Nabiki had earlier with her hyper burst, even avoiding collateral, and soon enough, the Avenger pilot was forced to activate her beam shields and hope for the best as both were raised in defense.

The Vesica Caelum crashed into the Solidus Fulgor, pushing the Avenger down to the ocean. The beam shields overloaded, generators detonating, and the mega beam sword vaporized the Avenger's arms as well.

Then, Makoto released the gigantic sword, and the crippled Avenger crashed into the ocean.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes earlier

The Infinite Justice's beam shield intercepted a strike from the Destiny's Flash Edge 2 in saber form. Athrun had tried to talk Shinn down some more, but the Dark Knight refused to listen to the Crimson Knight's words.

"You don't know anything!" said Shinn. "You're nothing but a damn traitor!"

Athrun swung his combined Super Lacerta, driving the Destiny away. Shinn snatched up his second Flash Edge 2 and tossed both boomerangs at the Justice. Athrun activated his leg-mounted beam blades, knocked one boomerang away with his shield, then flipped over, knocking the other away with his beam blades before reorienting himself in anticipation of Shinn's next attack as the Dark Knight drew his Arondight and charged at the Justice with the Wings of Light active.

Athrun was, truthfully, in no condition to fight—especially not against Shinn with his SEED active. But Athrun had two major advantages here: the mobile assault frame and, more importantly, the support VI of the Infinite Justice. He charged forward, and the two Knights slashed at each other, but evaded and passed one another by. Unlike fighters, though, mobile suits could turn on a dime, and Shinn had taken Kira's earlier warnings about turning to heart and slowed down as he entered melee range, so he was able to spin about and slash again. However, Athrun could spin about just as quickly, and brought his shield up to defend, blocking the Arondight and leaving the two machines pushing up against one another.

"Damn it," cursed Shinn, unable to believe he wasn't able to bring Athrun down.

"_Stop Shinn!_" cried Athrun. Shinn's thoughts flew through everything that had happened—his obvious failure to kill Athrun last time, his inability to save Stella, the Chairman's faith in him, his need to have faith in the Chairman, and Rey's warnings about the weakness of Shinn's kindness.

"Damn it!" he roared, shifting back slightly to gain the space necessary to spin about and deliver a sudden, vicious blow the Justice's shield using his sword, sending Athrun flying back. Spreading the Wings of Light, no longer caring about the earlier warnings of its weaknesses, Shinn charged forward, intent solely on bisecting the Justice and killing Athrun as he should've those weeks ago outside Gibraltar!

Athrun saw Shinn's charge. He didn't know how he was supposed to face it… just that he couldn't die here and allow Shinn to destroy Orb.

A green jewel seed raced through Athrun's mind and shattered in a nova of color.

The Infinite Justice charged forward. Shinn's focus was born of rage and Athrun's of calm. As such, when the gigantic beam sword appeared in the sky to split the heavens just before they struck, Athrun's focus held strong… but Shinn's faltered just as the two struck.

The Arondight took off the Infinite Justice's right arm.

But Athrun's strike took out both of the Destiny's arms. Shinn's eyes were wide, unable to believe he'd taken damage from someone he'd thought of as a weak fool for a long time, and as a traitor.

Athrun, though, ignored the loss of his machine's right arm, spinning about and slicing through one of the Destiny's wings with his Griffon beam blade, snapping Shinn back to reality as the Destiny fled.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Tristan had been maintaining a low profile, as per his orders, since he reached the main island.

He'd also been there less than a minute when a shuttle suddenly took off. He had a bad feeling about it, and soon, he received orders to pursue it, and shoot it down if necessary.

The Greencoat didn't hesitate, shooting off that way. He wasn't the only one (which was probably fortunate, since it meant they weren't going after him), as Orb Murasames also tried to intercept (the Taiyonoha machines were all out at Onogoro now) and shots soared in from the warships, but at that great distance, they had no chance.

Tristan grit his teeth as he continued forward at maximum thrust, passing the Murasames by as he readied his rifle.

"Argh!" he cried, firing repeatedly, desperate to score a hit. But the massive air resistance and speed of the shuttle made it impossible to hit it at this distance, even though it was moving in a straight line.

"Come on," said Tristan though grit teeth. "Come on, come on, come on!"

He fired off two final shots. The first missed. The second looked like it would've grazed the shuttle, but the distance was too great, and the beam dissipated before it made contact.

"No…" whispered Tristan, eyes wide with horror. He'd messed up. He'd failed.

And because of that, Djibril had escaped.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

"God damn it," cursed Andy. "I can't believe that son of a bitch got away."

"_This is the __**Seraphim**__,_" came the voice of Akiko Yano, the Last Archangel's comm. officer. "_The ZAFT fleet isn't retreating. They're continuing the battle._"

"Tch, stubborn bastards," commented Andy. "I'd hoped they'd leave when it became obvious they couldn't win, or when Djibril had apparently made good on his escape. Idiots."

"_This is Admiral Ishida of Izanami's First Defense Fleet,_" came the voice of the First Fleet's commanding officer. "_All forces, please withdraw to the coastline. We don't want anyone getting caught in friendly fire. __**Eternal**__, would you do the honors?_"

Andy picked up the phone on his command chair. "With pleasure, Admiral," he said before putting the phone down. "Bring us about. Target the Nephilim south of the ZAFT fleet, whatever point will get them without hurting our allies."

"Yes sir!"

The _Eternal_ broke away from the rest of the fleet, coming about to face the coast. It dipped forward slightly as a hatch opened on the front of each wing, and a cannon barrel, resembling the Valiants of the _Archangel_-class, extended out.

"Nuclear reactors critical Captain," said the female operations officer. "Charge at one hundred percent." Andy nodded.

"I have the firing solution Captain," said the fire control officer.

"Good," said Andy. "Are our allied forces clear of the danger zone?"

"Yes sir."

"Then fire the Nephilim!"

The Nephilim cannons lit the sky, power dialed back to avoid damage to Orb. The recoil was great enough to knock the entire three hundred meter warship back as the two and a half meter slugs impacted with the water.

The Nephilim were the upgraded _Eternal_'s most powerful weapons, surpassing even its mighty Ragnarök pulse positron cannon. At their core, they were merely large railguns. But each of those hyper-velocity rail cannons, loaded primarily with massive solid slugs a full two-hundred and fifty centimeters in diameter, was powered by its own dedicated hyper-deuterion nuclear reactor, larger than the reactors used on the Knight and Angels, and even with that, the cannons had a recharge cycle of a full three minutes, and it took another two minutes to fully cool the barrel—or, to put it simply, each cannon packed more power than all the weapons of each individual Angel put together. The result was a projectile that could be accelerated to an appreciable fraction of the speed of light.

And the results of _that_ were plain to see as the slugs collided with the water and released enough kinetic energy to rival a nuclear blast, sending a concussive wave through the ocean that had Andy wincing at the environmental impact statement he'd have to file later as marine wildlife was slaughtered and the released energy crushed the ZAFT fleet and buffeted the Orb and Izanami ships, just outside the overall danger zone.

"That… may have been overkill," said Andy dryly. "Definitely not one of my smarter actions."

It became a moot point, though, as the rest of the fleet let loose a rain of missiles that blotted out the sun as they streaked towards the ocean, obliterated the ZAFT forces in the airspace evacuated by the Orb-Izanami forces.

Except for one ship, and its mobile suits, on the peripheral of the fleet and facing off with one of Terminal's most important vessels.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"What was that?" cried Arthur fearfully.

"Captain!" cried Abi. "I'm not getting a signal from the _St. Helens_, or any other ZAFT forces except our mobile suits!"

"Confirmed!" cried Bart fearfully. "All friendly forces have been destroyed! Captain, we're all that's left!"

"That can't be…" gasped Arthur. Talia's eyes were wide, unable to believe it herself.

But she had no choice.

"Fire signal flares!" she ordered. "We have to withdraw, now, and hope they let us get out of here!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The _Minerva_ fired off signal flares, alerting Orb to its intent and recalling its machines—not that it needed to, as only Tristan's remained in any condition to fight, and the others were already retreating anyways.

Fortunately, it seemed Orb and Izanami were fine with letting them go, and a pair of Raptors escorted the GOUF back to the _Minerva_ as the battleship fled.

Operation Fury and the Second Battle of Orb were over. And the result was just the opposite of last time, an overwhelming victory for Orb, thanks to Terminal and Izanami.

As ZAFT retreated, the Redemption turned and headed for where the Strike Noir and Specter waited with Maia, and the Infinite Justice's sabers shut down. The Strike Freedom rushed forward and caught the falling mobile suit, and with the Serenity as its escort, carried its brother unit to the _Archangel_.

* * *

**Disclaimer: All the new machines except the Redemption and I. Justice are mine. The rest we've been over.**

**Author's Notes: Mwuhahahahaha****hahaha****hahaha****hahaha****hahaha****hahaha****hahaha!**

**Okay, evil laugh done. First off, all the aftermath bits will be in the next chapter. There's a lot to cover there, and this was plenty long, so I decided to end it here. For the record, all of that? The time span covered was probably no more than _half an hour_. Pretty much every scene is happening at the same time as almost every other scene. I also pulled out a fair number of surprises on you, but you probably expected a few (the Vengeance seems rather obvious, for one).**

**Also, having spoken with a friend of mine who obsessively studies such things, yes, every last aspect of what I showed you was within the realm of possiblity, _including_ every aspect of the _Eternal_. Some people seem to be bringing up the _Eternal_'s descent into the atmosphere. Arguing that it can't fly: we can make bricks fly. The _Eternal_'s engines are far superior to the _Archangel_'s, and it's more aerodynamic too (design aesthetic is responsible for that one). Arguing that it can't enter the atmosphere: anything can make the descent, it just requires the right systems. The _Eternal_ has been outfitted with these systems, and they would not even need any sort of significant cosmetic change.  
**

**Moving on, ZAFT got summarily curbstomped. Honestly, the hardest part was not killing them too fast, because I wanted to get in Treize's curbstomping of Zane and Athrun's confrontation with Shinn. As far as Kira not needing the SEED to battle Shinn's, it's because even though his reflexes are incredible, Shinn is also very predictable to someone like Kira, and with the Strike Freedom being vastly superior to Destiny, he really doesn't need it. That said, he will use the SEED during the final battle. Regardless, I got tired of the SEED being thrown out for even very minor maneuvers that we know the characters can perform easily without them. That said, Makoto _does_ need the SEED when Nabiki pulls out her trump card. And as for the bit from Rey on the Sincerity: they considered the pilot important, but the mobile suit itself was a non-factor. Or so they believed.**

**Kira doesn't take any damage here, but Makoto does when she underestimates Nabiki. Treize not taking damage is justified, as Zane has lost almost everything by this point. Athrun also takes a hit in his fight with Shinn, unlike in canon. Everyone's gonna take at least a little something, which is also why I featured one of the DOM trio getting damaged after they performed the jet stream attack. On the other hand, the Triad gets by without a scratch****—this is justified, as the suits are arguably the strongest non-nuclear powered machines out there. More about them is detailed below in the mecha stat page.**

**Nicol repeats his entrance from a few years ago, and it is glorious. Unlike back then, this time he already _has_ a reputation as the Grim Reaper, and the true return of the Grim Reaper to the battlefield like that requires some serious courage to deal with; he's considered more or less equal to the Knights, and more terrifying than the Angels. Plus this thing is much more horrifying, so****…**** yeah****…**

**The other Sentinels get to show their thing briefly, but unfortunately, we don't spend much time on them. Like I said, the hard part was not killing ZAFT too quickly. When they don't retreat despite Djibril's apparent escape, the First Fleet decides to intervene directly, rather than acting as mobile suit carriers, and it is glorious, with the _Minerva_ running off, tail between its legs, the only survivor of this ultimate disaster for ZAFT. Even though they tried sending reinforcements, they just couldn't get there in time. I honestly feel sorry for these people, because they're really just getting used by Durandal.**

**Well, I think I've gone on enough. An A/N going over everything in the chapter would be longer than the chapter itself.**

**So, the poll is now posted. It might not show up for a little while, and you can pick five machines to favorite. There's a long list (28, and that's grouping all the Izanami production machines together), so think carefully, and don't forget to check out the data sheets below.**

**Please leave a review! Oh, and before I forget, redwarrioroflight is this story's 600th reviewer, so congratulations to him! And again, _please_ leave a review! I really appreciate all of them, and I'm hoping this chapter will break last chapter's 25 review count!**

**Oh, and if it wasn't clear enough: the mods to Infinite Justice and Strike Freedom were: the assault frame, the cockpit, and the VI system.  
**

**I'm glad I got this out. Hopefully, the next will come soon as well. Hope to see you all soon!**

**Say****ōnara, min'na!**

* * *

**_Dawn of the Angels _mecha stat page**

_"Makoto Taiyonoha… Serenity Gundam, let us take flight and cut open the path to the future!"_ – Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha.  
**Serenity Gundam:**  
Description:  
Originally codenamed Dauntless Faith, the Serenity Gundam is one of the products of the Terminal organization's Angels of Divinity Project, and is the ultimate in mobile suit melee combat. A successor to the Dauntless, Faith and Sincerity Gundams, the Serenity is the fastest mobile weapon in existence, thanks to its unique propulsion system that allows it to easily achieve speeds that leave a visible trail of afterimages in its wake. As a product of the Seven Swords line, the Serenity arms a wide variety of melee weapons, in particular new composite weapons that feature a hyper-compressed beam blade over a solid sword against which there is little defense. The Serenity's most prominent weapons, though, are its powerful DRAGOON system and the Angelus mega swords, the latter of which can combine into a more powerful sword capable of generating a gigantic mega beam sword. Upon completion, this machine was delivered to Earth orbit aboard the _Eternal_, where it was retrieved by its pilot, Makoto Taiyonoha, the legendary Dauntless Angel of Faith.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X26A  
**Code Name:** Serenity Gundam (originally Dauntless Faith Gundam)  
**Unit Type:** Custom Seven Swords Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 17 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.91 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 76.84 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Neutron Jammer Canceller; Mobile Assault Frame; DRAGOON System; 4 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings; Composite "Voiture Lumiere" and Hyper-Velocity Lightwave Burst Propulsion System; Multi-Lock Weapon System ("Full Burst Mode");  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x DFS-ED2 "Exia II" Composite Sword-Rifle, stored on waist, hand-carried in use; 2x DAE-X00 "Angelus" Composite Mega Sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use, can be combined to form "Caelum Angelus", can generate "Vesica Caelum" mega beam sword while combined; 2x MA-M020 "Super Panthera" Hyper Beam Saber, stored in shoulder armor, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M18E "Partis 3" Short-Range Railcannon, folded underneath hips, spread out in use, can be swiveled to rear skirt armor; 2x MMI-X340 "Palma Fiocina" Palm Beam Cannon, mounted on palms; 2x MMI-GAU27D 31mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2200 Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** DFS-ED3 "Exia III" Composite Sword-Rifle, mounted on right arm  
**Optional Fixed Armament (docked with METEOR):** 2x 120cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x 93.7cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x MA-X200 Beam Sword; 77x 60cm "Erinaceus" Anti-Ship Missile Launchers (22 per pod, 12 per arm unit, 9 on tail fin);  
**Optional Hand Armament:** None  
**Remote Weapons:** 4x EQFU-3S Sword DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing: each mounts 5x GDU-X7 Assault Beam Machine Gun; 8x EQFU-3D Dagger DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Unit: each mounts GDU-X5 Assault Beam Machine Gun and 2x MA-E12 Beam Blade;  
**Pilot:** Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha  
**Appearance:** The Serenity looks virtually identical to the Strike Freedom, except that its wings spread out to form a large 'X' rather than the Strike Freedom's 8-winged HiMAT mode. In addition, its head is that of the 00 Gundam. The Angelus swords look like the swords of the 00 XN Raiser. A six-winged dragon-angel crest adorns the left shoulder.  
**Color:** White with a black torso, silver and blue wings, and blue trim. The eyes are blue, the joints are gold, the edges of the swords have a slight violet glow to them, and the beams of its weapons are blue.  
**Notes:** I had some difficulty with this one, mostly because I wanted to present it as the Strike Freedom's twin, just as the Faith had been to the original Freedom. This, sadly, saw a few weapons thrown out the window, but not too much was really lost and, hey, the same could be said for Freedom to Strike Freedom (losing the Balaena). The Serenity Gundam is what could only be described as an order of magnitude faster than its predecessor, thanks to its composite propulsion system, which basically has the Voiture Lumiere 'catching' the energy of the lightwave burst like a sail. This costs it some mobility as it builds up speed, but its frame makes up for that, and its fast enough that all observation would lead one to think it's outrunning its own light (it's not, but that's what it looks like), which was an iconic feature of the Faith. Its Angelus swords are based on the XN Raiser, but feature the ability to produce a giant beam sword similar to the Raiser Sword from 00. Before any of you think of this as overpowered, consider for a moment that the METEOR's each pack two such swords. The Vesica Caelum's only advantage over the METEOR swords is that it's a bit easier to use because it's on the weapons of the mobile suit itself. This has a few drawbacks though, specifically needing two hands to use and needing to forgo some of the secondary systems, which means it can't be used for an extended period, unlike the METEOR swords.

_"Redemption, huh? That's… appropriate, in a way. I've come to understand that much of what I've done can never be forgiven. But perhaps with this, you won't be the one to pay the price for my sins."_ ~ Treize Zabiarov.  
**Redemption Gundam:**  
Description:  
Originally codenamed Midnight Raven, the Redemption Gundam is one of the products of the Terminal organization's Angels of Divinity Project, and is a penultimate example of mobile suit melee combat. Loosely developed from the legendary Faith Gundam, the Redemption's primary weapon is its powerful adjustable beam sword, which is complemented by its shield-mounted heat rod, foot-mounted beam sabers, knee-mounted beam blades and palm-mounted short beam sabers. As an emergency fallback, the Redemption features a folding beam spear in the shield, and the powerful DRAGOON system for ranged combat. For flight and enhanced speed and mobility, the Redemption uses a variation of the Strike Freedom Gundam's HiMAT wings. However, the Redemption's most important technology is its prototype BIO-Sensor, which acts as a type of mind-machine interface with pilots possessing superhuman degrees of spatial awareness. Although originally developed for Flay Allster, this machine would instead be assigned to defected EX-C pilot Treize Zabiarov during the ZAFT invasion of Orb.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X21A  
**Code Name:** Redemption Gundam (originally Midnight Raven Gundam)  
**Unit Type:** Custom Assault Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.9 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 80.08 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; N-Jammer Canceller; Mobile Assault Frame; DRAGOON System; 4 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings w/8-wing High-Mobility Aerial Tactics Mode; "Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System; Brainwave Interface Omega-Sensor (BIO-Sensor);  
**Fixed Armament:** MA-M07X "Gladius" Beam Saber, stored on hip armor, hand-carried in use, beam blade can be adjusted; MX2003 Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, mounts: MA-X666 "Ignis" retractable heat rod, MN-S93A "Militis" folding beam spear; 2x MA-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Saber, mounted in feet; 2x MA-M02S "Preface Lacerta" Short Beam Saber, mounted on palms; 2x MR-Q15A "Griffon" Beam Blade, mounted in knees; 2x MMI-GAU27D 31mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;  
**Optional Fixed Armament (docked with METEOR):** 2x 120cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x 93.7cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x MA-X200 Beam Sword; 77x 60cm "Erinaceus" Anti-Ship Missile Launchers (22 per pod, 12 per arm unit, 9 on tail fin);  
**Optional Hand Armament:** None  
**Remote Weapons:** 4x EQFU-3X Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing: each mounts MA-80V Beam Assault Cannon; 4x EQFU-3CX Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing: each mounts MA-B83S Twin Beam Blade;  
**Pilot:** Treize Zabiarov  
**Appearance:** Its body is a more streamlined version of the Epyon Gundam from Gundam Wing, minus the legs, wings, claws, shield, and that green crystal-circle thing on the chest. It has the same legs and wings as the Strike Freedom, but with beam saber emitters in the toes, and the shield of the Tallgeese III.  
**Color:** Black torso with midnight blue shins and forearms, white faceplate, biceps and thighs, and red trim and headcrest.  
**Notes:** Akatsuki Leader13 designed this machine… mostly. I'm pretty sure I contributed a bit/modified it for my own use here. I know at least one bit I did, but I won't detail it, since I don't know how much of my changes Akatsuki Leader13 is going to use, so I don't want to spoil more than I already am about some of the machines that appear in his story. In any event, unlike the Serenity, the Redemption is able to bring a wide variety of its melee weapons to bear at a single time. A lot of people might think this makes it superior—a lot of people also place too much value on spam attacks. Attacking with a dozen weapons only works if your opponent isn't good enough to handle it. Anyways, the Redemption fails in comparison to the Serenity in terms of speed, but makes up for that by being just as fast and agile as the Strike Freedom, with arguably the best DRAGOON system of the lot, making up for its 'default' inferiority to the Strike Freedom, which is both more versatile and nearly as strong in close-quarters combat (though that probably has a lot to do with Kira as well). Story-wise, the Midnight Raven was a composite between the Strike Freedom and Dauntless Faith; the SF's mobility with the DF's close-combat style. Entirely justified, since Flay couldn't handle multiple weapons as well as Kira and Makoto could, nor could she handle the incredible acceleration of the Dauntless Faith like those two could either. Remember, they didn't develop this with Treize in mind.

_"This… is **my vengeance**!" _~ Nabiki Ombre, unveiling the Vengeance.  
**Vengeance Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Vengeance is a special support unit disguised as the backpack of the Avenger Gundam. Nabiki Ombre designed it with a single purpose in mind: vengeance for the death of her brother. To compensate for Nabiki's inferiority as a pilot compared to the Dauntless Angel, the Vengeance was added to attack enemy mobile suits after being immobilized by the Avenger, as well as to support hyper burst mode, and the entire unit effectively serves as a large "Voiture Lumiere" thruster system.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X25A  
**Code Name:** Vengeance  
**Unit Type:** Prototype Attack Support Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 17.31 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 31.6 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; "Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System; Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, allows for remote recharging of energy with Avenger;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M0120 "Occultus Armo" Beam Cannon, mounted in arms; 2x MA-01G "Lacerta 4" Beam Saber, concealed in arms, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU26 17.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-M666C "Praemium 2" Beam Bazooka, can be separated into two oversized beam cannon-rifles  
**Pilot:** Nabiki Ombre  
**Appearance:** Same as the Seraphim Gundam.  
**Color:** Same as the Seraphim Gundam.  
**Notes:** And here is the evidence that Nabiki _also_ likes to be crazy prepared. I figure a decent chunk of you saw it coming anyways. This woman's obsessive drive for vengeance has caused her to incorporate numerous contingencies into the Avenger, such as this machine in the style of Seraphim Gundam (except, you know, without the Trial Field). As was noted in the chapter, it's _extremely_ fast due to being, well, a big Voiture Lumiere, and without the Avenger's tremendous mass to deal with. However, they couldn't get a nuclear reactor onto it, so it has a battery and uses the deuterion beam to recharge from the Avenger, since its systems are ridiculously power-intensive (they were built for use with the nuclear-powered Avenger, after all). That serves as the primary weakness of the Vengeance, as it can't last very long, especially with the ultra power-intensive Voiture Lumiere. It doesn't do Nabiki any good against Makoto, though, which isn't to say that Nabiki isn't gonna try again. You'll see the Vengeance again, I promise you that.

_"It's amazing. Now I really understand what you see in these machines. This… this is the power of a Gundam."_ ~ Shiho Hahnenfuss.  
**Sentinel Gundam:**  
Description:  
The lead mobile suit in the Terminal organization's Sentinel Project, after which this machine was named. Designed as a general-purpose mobile suit loosely developed from the ZAKU Duel Arms, the Sentinel Gundam is an extremely versatile mobile suit, capable of handling virtually any type of combat with its wide variety of weapons. For ranged combat, the Sentinel is armed with a pair of Laurus 2 beam cannons that mount beam shields for added protection, as well as a pair of Signum 2 railguns that can also be utilized at close range, and a pair of beam submachine guns that can likewise be utilized effectively in close-quarters combat. In addition, the Sentinel is armed with two beam sabers and two anti-ship swords for melee combat, and a pair of beam shield generators is mounted on each forearm for defense. This unique and powerful mobile suit is assigned to ZAFT and Terminal ace pilot Shiho Hahnenfuss.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X100S  
**Code Name:** Sentinel Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom General-Purpose Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.87 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 67.14 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Large Twin Mobile Assault Wings;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-712 "Galatine" Anti-Ship Sword, stored on wings, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M29C "Signum 2" Railgun, folded underneath hips, spread out in use; 2x M300C "Laurus 2" Beam Cannon, each mounts MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" beam shield generator on outer side, mounted on shoulders, hand-operated in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** 2x MMI-MSG511 Beam Submachine Gun  
**Pilot:** Shiho Hahnenfuss  
**Appearance:** The Sentinel closely resembles the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud, but with the headcrest and V spikes of the Astray series, wings resembling the Destiny's, railguns like the Strike Freedom, and cannons similar to those of the CGUE DEEP Arms on the shoulders. The beam submachine guns resemble the modern TDI Vector SMG.  
**Color:** The same as the Duel Assault Shroud, but with the orange portions replaced with red (and the one on the left shoulder removed entirely) and the eyes are violet.  
**Notes:** The description says it all, really. I honestly don't think you need a lengthy notes entry here, do you? You're all smart boys and girls after all. Sorry, I'm tired.

_"Oh man. I think I'm in love all over again." _~ Saul Kessel.  
**Hyper Surge Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Surge Gundam was one of only two of the original G-series prototype mobile suits developed at Heliopolis to survive the Bloody Valentine War, and although indirect, the role it played through its high-speed propulsion systems that would give the Faith Gundam it's legendary speed cannot be ignored, nor can ace pilot Saul Kessel. A new, more powerful version of the famed mobile suit was developed as part of the Sentinel Project, using data from the Surge and ZAKU Surge. In terms of weapons, the Hyper Surge Gundam replaces its predecessor's anti-armor sword with more powerful beam sabers, and its beam revolvers equip beam bayonets similar to the Cerebus revolvers of the Specter Gundam, and for defense, the Hyper Surge equips a pair of beam shield generators. However, the Hyper Surge truly shines with its massively improved thrusters and mobility, making it one of the fastest mobile suits to see action in the Second Bloody Valentine War, and in the hands of Saul Kessel, it becomes a nearly unstoppable force on the battlefield.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X204S  
**Code Name:** Hyper Surge Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom High-Speed Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.83 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 73.12 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; High-Maneuver Winged Flightpack w/"Voiture Lumiere" Custom Burst Propulsion System;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M800R Beam Revolver w/Bayonet, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MR-Q15A "Griffon" Beam Blade, mounted in knees; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR89G High-Energy Beam Rifle  
**Pilot:** Saul Kessel  
**Appearance:** Like its predecessor, the Hyper Surge resembles the Blitz without the armed shield or grappler on the arms, and mounts a winged flightpack that spreads out to resemble the Double X.  
**Color:** Dark green head, torso, shins, shoulders and skirt armor, white abdomen, arms and thighs, white faceplate, blue trim and black wings.  
**Notes:** Sadly, we don't get to see much of this machine during its introduction. Next time, I'll be free to give the Hyper Surge plenty of screen time (along with everything else). However, since it's primarily here for the sequel story, which it will stick around for I assure you, the late introduction and sadly minimal screen time isn't a huge concern. This is one of four or five mobile suits used by Terminal that equip knee-mounted beam blades; soon, people are gonna get distracted checking to see if their enemies have them, and while they do that, their going to get a face full of beam spam. Mwuhahaha!

_"I guess I must enjoy being the Grim Reaper. There's no other explanation for why I keep coming back to this. Well then… Blackfire Blitz! Let's **show** them the power of a real demon!"_ ~ Nicol Amalfi.  
**Blackfire Blitz Gundam:**  
Description:  
The Hellfire Blitz Gundam, a redesign of the destroyed Blitz Gundam, is commonly considered one of the most terrifying mobile suits of its time, provoking reactions as fierce as the legendary Knights and Angels. The Sentinel Project of Terminal sought to not only resurrect that fearsome reputation for a new generation, but to improve on it. The result was the Blackfire Blitz Gundam, a mobile suit founded on not only being able to strike terror into its enemies with its very presence, but to back it up with a tremendous power reserve. Its primary weapon is the Shinigami mega beam scythe, which generates a huge blade capable of slicing through several enemy mobile suits simultaneously, and its antipersonnel hyper flamethrowers are powerful enough to damage even Phase Shift armor, making it dangerous to utilize more than a handful of them at a time. Upon completion, the Blackfire Blitz is quickly delivered to former Blitz and Hellfire Blitz pilot Nicol Amalfi, more commonly known as the legendary—and feared—Grim Reaper.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X207S  
**Code Name:** Blackfire Blitz Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Melee Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January C.E. 74  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.87 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 72.13 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Powerplant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Mirage Colloid Cloaking System; Mirage Colloid Beam Dispersion Armor; Twin Assault Cloak Wings;  
**Fixed Armament:** MCQ-R07 "Shinigami" Mega Beam Scythe, stored on back, hand-carried in use; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MDI-C03 "Naraku no Hashi" Beam Cannon, fire-linked, mounted on "stinger tail" on backpack; 18x MDI-F01 "Kuroihi" Hyper Flamethrower, 2 mounted in each wrist, 2 mounted in each wing, 1 mounted in each foot, 2 mounted in torso, 2 mounted on hips, 4 mounted on back; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** None  
**Pilot:** Nicol Amalfi  
**Appearance:** The Blackfire Blitz appears similar to the original Blitz, with somewhat thicker armor on the arms and legs, and "devil wings" like those of the Deathscythe Hell from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. The armor appears severely scratched and damaged all over the place, including what looks like sections of exposed circuitry, giving it the appearance of being severely battle-scarred. Similarly, the wings appear tattered and filled with holes. The head, which is that of the Astray Gold Frame Amatsu, is also 'battle-scarred' on the right side, while the left side looks completely unmarked. The horn-like V crest is broken about halfway up on the right side, with what's left filled with visible fractures, a gash that seems to expose circuitry runs from the headcrest through the right eye, which seems like the camera is exposed and glows red instead of blue as a result (imagine the Exia Repair). The gash continues into the right jaw,  
which appears severely fractured, and again seems to expose bits of circuitry.  
**Color:** Almost entirely black with red trimming, except for the left half of the face, which uses the dark gray of the original Blitz, and the 'scarred' sections, which either expose circuitry or appear gray-white. The left eye is white with a blue spiral while the 'exposed' right eye is red. The beams of its weapons are red, and the fire from its flamethrowers is a very, _very_ dark purple, such that it actually looks black.  
**Notes:** ! Oh, I do _so_ adore this machine. I adore Nicol as the Grim Reaper, and I just reinforce that every time. There's a reason at least one pilot piddled himself, and even Nicol's _allies_ were scared. This machine is basically the Hellfire Blitz taken "Up to Eleven"… and it is glorious. One thing I do want to note about the Blackfire Blitz is that it has a unique Hyperion System. The changes are purely cosmetic, but special modifications have been made so that it glows blood red instead of blue—which just furthers the whole 'demon' image. *evil grin*

_"Stormblade… this Gundam is incredible!"_ ~ Lunamaria Hawke, upon studying the Stormblade's systems.  
**Stormblade Gundam:**  
Description:  
In late C.E. 73, Terminal began a series of mobile suit development projects. The last of these was the Triad Project, based on observational data of the mercenary Astarte Gundam, though development difficulties forced the systems to be divided amongst several machines instead of one. The first of these is the Stormblade Gundam, based on the Astarte's artillery systems. Employing the latest technology from Terminal, the Stormblade's primary weapons are its powerful hyper beam cannon and rifle, complemented by hip-mounted railguns and a defensive beam shield. To enhance its mobility, the Stormblade is equipped with assault wings derived from the Freedom Gundam, and it mounts a beam cannon in the tip of each HiMAT wing, providing impressive rear-firing coverage. The Stormblade's ultimate weapon, though, is the mega beam launcher, formed from docking with the Sunblade or Moonblade. Initially without a pilot, the Stormblade was assigned to former _Minerva_ pilot Lunamaria Hawke when she defected to Terminal with the Kessel Team.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X01T  
**Code Name:** Stormblade Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Long-Range Artillery Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.71 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 61.4 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; 2 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings/w 8-wing High Mobility Aerial Tactics Mode;  
**Fixed Armament:** MMI-X1300 "Exigo" Hyper Beam Cannon, can combine with rifle and dock with Sunblade or Moonblade to form Mega Beam Launcher, mounted on right shoulder; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-M29C "Signum 2" Railgun, folded underneath hips, spread out in use; 8x MA-M27G Light Beam Cannon, mounted on wingtips; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on left forearm;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR01XLT High-Energy Beam Rifle  
**Pilot:** Lunamaria Hawke  
**Appearance:** The Stormblade closely resembles the Strike, but with the torso of Throne Eins. It has wings like the Freedom that deploy into eight wings instead of ten, railguns like the Strike Freedom's on the hips, and a cannon like the Throne Eins on the right shoulder. Its head resembles Throne Eins, but with headcrest spikes like the Strike's in place of the large antenna object of the Throne Eins.  
**Color:** Black torso and skirt armor with white limbs and head, violet trimming and V crest, red headcrest and golden headcrest spikes. The eyes are violet.  
**Notes: **Surprised to see Luna in this? Good. ^_^ Anyways, as is fitting for the SEED universe, they don't let much go to waste, giving it a few extra tricks and weapons that the original Throne Eins didn't have, and it's arguably the most agile artillery suit ever deployed, and what would you expect? Though a cut down version, it has the _Freedom's_ wings, and the fancy new assault frame. Yeah, it's gonna be agile, and since it'll be focused on dodging, it can really use that agility. When they started the Triad Project, it was originally supposed to be one unit, which probably would've been given to Flay. The difficulties in development were a fortunate turn for Luna, and now she has one of the strongest mobile suits out there, and it even has the wings of her long-time crush's signature unit. How fun. Though, to be honest, I was somewhat uncertain what to do with this. It didn't conveniently exist for Luna, so much as Luna conveniently came along and presented the perfect pilot for it. Hope you like this SEED-version of Throne Eins.

_"Alright girls, let's see what these new Gundams can do!"_ ~ Flay Allster.  
**Sunblade Gundam:**  
Description:  
In late C.E. 73, Terminal began a series of mobile suit development projects. The last of these was the Triad Project, based on observational data of the mercenary Astarte Gundam, though development difficulties forced the systems to be divided amongst several machines instead of one. The second of these is the Sunblade Gundam, based on the Astarte's melee combat systems. Employing the latest technology from Terminal, the Sunblade's primary weapons are its powerful mega sword and Libertas-00 backpack, based on the Fatum-00 backpack of the Justice Gundam. It also features a specialized DRAGOON system for atmospheric use, derived from the fearsome Takusan of the Astarte, beam blades mounted in the knees for surprise attacks, a beam handgun on the left arm and optional rifle for long-range combat, and a beam shield for defense. Upon deployment, the Sunblade is given to Flay Allster, whose original machine, the Midnight Raven, was reassigned to the defected EX-C Treize Zabiarov.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X02T  
**Code Name:** Sunblade Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Close Combat Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 18.71 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 61.7 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; DRAGOON System; Libertas-00 Backpack/Subflight Lifter;  
**Fixed Armament:** MMI-D001 "Exitium" Mega Sword, stored on right shoulder dock, hand-carried in use; MA-BAH52X Beam Handgun, mounted on left forearm, hand-operated in use; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MR-Q15A "Griffon" Beam Blade, mounted in knees; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; Libertas-00 Backpack/Subflight Lifter: 2x MA-M989E "Novo Caelum" beam cannon/saber, 2x MR-Q18Z "Griffon 3" beam blade; MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on left forearm;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR02XLT High-Energy Beam Rifle  
**Remote Weapons:** 8x EQFU-2E "Yume" Winged DRAGOON Blade: Beam Gun, Beam Blade, stored on hips;  
**Pilot:** Flay Allster  
**Appearance:** The Sunblade closely resembles the Strike, but with the torso of Throne Zwei, the legs of the I. Justice, and hip armor like that of the Throne Zwei as well. It mounts a backpack similar in appearance to the I. Justice's Fatum-01. Its head resembles Throne Eins, but with headcrest spikes like the Strike's in place of the large antenna object of the Throne Eins.  
**Color:** Red torso and skirt armor with white limbs and head, golden trimming, V crest and headcrest spikes, and red headcrest. The eyes are yellow.  
**Notes:** And Flay gets a close-combat machine. The Sunblade combines aspects of the Infinite Justice and Throne Zwei, so it's a formidable close-combat machine. The rifle is an option intended to make it somewhat more versatile, but it doesn't change its intended combat role. The backpack makes it somewhat faster than the Stormblade, even though it's less agile in exchange. That's okay though, because the Sunblade is intended to get in its opponent's face, where the mobility would be less useful anyway. I don't think I need to go into this one too much, but if you're curious as to why it was given to Flay, well… of the three Triad Gundams, this one is actually the closest to the Midnight Raven, and she's the most developed Newtype among the three Triad pilots, making her the best choice for handling the DRAGOON system. Regardless, this is an all-in-all formidable and well-rounded close combat machine.

_"This machine is amazing."_ ~ Asagi Caldwell, piloting the Moonblade for the first time.  
**Moonblade Gundam:**  
Description:  
In late C.E. 73, Terminal began a series of mobile suit development projects. The last of these was the Triad Project, based on observational data of the mercenary Astarte Gundam, though development difficulties forced the systems to be divided amongst several machines instead of one. The last of these is the Moonblade Gundam, developed as a support unit for the Stormblade and Sunblade. Employing the latest technology from Terminal, the Moonblade has a limited range of armaments, so as to better fulfill its role of supporting its sister units and utilizing its powerful Mirage Stealth Field technology, which allows it to deploy an enormous field of Mirage Colloid particles for an unknown myriad of offensive, defensive and support techniques. The Mirage Stealth Field is controlled via the Moonblade's wings, which also grant it atmospheric flight, and it can dock with the Stormblade to help charge the latter's mega beam launcher. Upon deployment, the Moonblade is given to Asagi Caldwell, the primary test pilot of the M1 Astray, M2 Angelus, M3 Guardian and M4 Yamato.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-X03T  
**Code Name:** Moonblade Gundam  
**Unit Type:** Custom Stealth Support Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.32 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 59.8 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; Mirage Stealth Field Wings;  
**Fixed Armament:** MA-BAH52X Beam Handgun, mounted on right forearm, hand-operated in use; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on left forearm;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MA-BAR03XLT High-Energy Beam Rifle  
**Pilot:** Asagi Caldwell  
**Appearance:** The Moonblade closely resembles the Strike, but with the torso of Throne Drei and wings similar to the Destiny. Its head resembles Throne Eins, but with headcrest spikes like the Strike's in place of the large antenna object of the Throne Eins.  
**Color:** Blue torso and skirt armor with white limbs and head, silver trimming and V crest, red headcrest and golden headcrest spikes. The eyes are blue.  
**Notes:** At first glance, this unit seems radically underpowered compared to its companions, right? Hehehe… _wrong!_ The Moonblade is, arguably, the most powerful of all the Triad Gundams, because that stealth field technology is, as mentioned above, extremely versatile. Here are a few of the things that can be accomplished with it: afterimages in the style of Destiny's Wings of Light… for itself _and_ any suits close enough that it cares to lend this to. Blanketing a wide area to disrupt sensors and visibility en masse or creating a 'sphere' in which objects are rendered wholly invisible, just large enough for itself and its sister units to sit in comfortably. It can generate a Geschmeidig Panzer shield large enough to cover itself and its companions, infect enemy systems with the particles like a virus, even focus them into what is basically _invisible_ _beam blades_. It may not look it, but the Moonblade is one of the _most_ overpowered units I've _ever_ designed. And just for the record… it was _mostly_ accidental. I was gonna put on more weapons until I realized just how massively versatile and powerful the stealth field could really be.

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ ~ battlecry of the Kessel Team.  
**Raptor "Tengu":**  
Description:  
The primary development of the Terminal organization's Tengu Project, the Raptor, nicknamed Tengu so as to distinguish it from the other machines in the series, is based on the high-maneuver type mobile suits of ZAFT, but incorporating technology of the Orb Union and Morgenroete developments, resulting in a supremely agile mobile suit far superior to the machines of ZAFT. The Raptor's base armaments are extremely limited; however, the model's focus on speed, agility and ease of use makes excess equipment a detriment rather than a strength, and as a mobile suit, it can be easily outfitted with a wide variety of optional hand equipment. The Raptors were developed specifically for the Kessel Team, and the bulk of the pilots in the elite ZAFT unit are assigned Raptors by Terminal after the project's completion.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-XX01T  
**Code Name:** Raptor  
**Unit Type:** High-Mobility General-Purpose Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.71 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 70.81 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters; Atmospheric Flight Backpack;  
**Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; ME203 Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, includes EEQ8 Grapple Stinger and MMI-M837 Beam Gatling Cannon;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M672 Beam Assault Rifle  
**Appearance:** The Raptor "Tengu" resembles the Strike Gundam, but with the head of the M1 Astray, backpack of the GOUF Ignited, and a shield similar to the CGUE.  
**Color:** Varies with the pilot; default colors match the M1 Astray.  
**Notes:** The base model for the rest of the Raptors. It's nothing especially notable, and again doesn't use very many basic armaments. I've noticed a fixation amongst most CE fans for wanting to overload machines with as many weapons as possible. I understand this, to an extent, but number and variety of weapons aren't everything.

_"Never falter. Never waver. Always victorious."_ ~ Diana Kessel.  
**Raptor Command:**  
Description:  
A powerful mobile suit for commanders developed as part of the Terminal organization's Tengu Project. The Raptor Command, in relation to the Raptor Tengu, is roughly analogous to the ZAKU Phantom in relation to the ZAKU Warrior, armed with the same base equipment, but mounting improved thrusters, armor and sensors. The shield of the Raptor Command also mounts a heat rod for close-quarters combat in place of the Raptor Tengu's beam gatling, and also features a powerful beam railcannon loosely derived from the main weapon of the Specter Gundam. The Tengu Project produced roughly half a dozen of these powerful machines, with units 001 and 002 assigned to Diana Kessel and her lieutenant, Lucius Raveshaw.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-XX02T  
**Code Name:** Raptor Command  
**Unit Type:** High-Mobility Commander Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 20.32 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 73.4 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters; Atmospheric Flight Unit;  
**Fixed Armament:** MXE-BR31 Beam Railcannon, mounted on right shoulder, hand-operated in use; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; ME81D Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, includes MA-M803 "Lightning Blade" Heat Rod and 2x EEQ8 Grapple Stinger;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M672 Beam Assault Rifle;  
**Pilots:** Diana Kessel, Lucius Raveshaw,  
**Appearance:** The Raptor Command resembles the Strike Gundam, but with the head of the M1 Astray, backpack of the GOUF Ignited, a cannon on the shoulder resembling the mega beam cannon of the Tallgeese III, and a shield similar to that of the Infinite Justice, but with a heat rod attached to it.  
**Color:** Varies with the pilot; default colors match the M1 Astray.  
**Notes:** I think the basis for this should be obvious—the heat rod and beam railcannon should tell you a lot, even though it retains most of the equipment of the base model. While there isn't much change in terms of weapons, again, that's less important than other things, like armor, mobility and sensors; _especially_ the sensors, since it's supposed to be a command suit, and the commander needs to be aware of what's going on around the battlefield.

_"Come on girls… let's **earn** the name 'valkyrie'."_ ~ Lisa DaCosta.  
**Raptor Valkyrie:**  
Description:  
The final mobile suit of the Terminal organization's Tengu Project, the Raptor Valkyrie was specifically developed for the use of the Kessel Team pilots operating under the command of Lisa DaCosta aboard the destroyer _Valkyrie_. It is the only transforming model of the Raptor series, and is perhaps the most odd with its specialized combat systems that adapt it to close-quarters or high-speed long-range combat depending on whether it is in mobile suit or mobile armor mode. The most notable feature of the Raptor Valkyrie is its mobile stealth system, a technology intended to mask it from enemy sensors similar to Mirage Colloid, but without a time limit. This makes it incredibly difficult to detect the Raptor Valkyries except at extremely close-range, unless visually searching for them, which allows these machines to easily slip into an opponent's blind spot and destroy them before being detected.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-XX04T  
**Code Name:** Raptor Valkyrie  
**Unit Type:** High-Mobility Transformable Stealth Mobile Suit  
**Manufacturer:** Terminal  
**Operator(s):** Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**First Deployment:** 20 January 74 C.E.  
**Accommodation:** Pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** Overall height 19.87 meters  
**Weight:** Max gross weight 68.47 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** Unknown  
**Power Plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters; Atmospheric Flight Thrusters; Mobile Armor Mode; Prototype Mobile Stealth System;  
**Fixed Armament:** MMI-X558 "Tempest Kai" Beam Sword, stored in shield, hand-carried in use; Type 72 High-Energy Beam Cannon, mounted on back, operable in mobile armor mode only; 2x MA-M983A "Anser Kai" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam guns in mobile armor mode; 2x MMI-GAU29 "Aquila" 35mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; VE-S13 Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left arm, includes EEQ8 Grapple Stinger;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** MMI-M672 Beam Assault Rifle;  
**Pilots:** Lisa DaCosta, Tania Sabir  
**Appearance:** The Raptor Shadow resembles the Strike Gundam, but with the head of the M1 Astray, wings and backpack(?) of the Murasame, and a shield similar to the GOUF Ignited. It's mobile armor form looks vaguely like the F-22 Raptor.  
**Color:** Varies with the pilot; default colors match the M1 Astray.  
**Notes:** Yes, well… when you've dubbed a mobile suit series "the Raptors", how can you go without a reference to one of the greater air superiority fighters of the modern world? I know I couldn't, and the Valkyries presented me with the perfect opening for it. I think everything's already been sufficiently explained, so let's move on, shall we? (P.S.: also, I'm lazy, nyahahaha!)

* * *

**_Dawn of the Angels_ ship stat page**

**_Eternal_:**  
Description:  
During the Bloody Valentine War, the _Eternal_ was the flagship and one of the primary symbols of the Three Ships Alliance. However, its role as a support ship severely limited its actual combat capabilities, and the ship required almost constant protection. After the war, the Terminal organization's Eternal Project sought to rectify this weakness and increase the strength of the _Eternal_'s symbolism. Two major upgrades were support systems for transatmospheric flight and laminated armor for improved anti-beam defense. However, where the Eternal Project really shined was the massive weapons upgrades; besides the addition of several dozen missile launchers, the _Eternal_'s main cannon was modified into a powerful pulse positron cannon, its CIWS were replaced by somewhat larger beam cannons, over three dozen improved CIWS were placed at strategic locations across the hull, two large beam cannons were mounted on its wingtips, and a pair of powerful hyper-velocity cannons were mounted inside the wingtips. To power its METEORs and Nephilim, the _Eternal_ also features four hyper-deuterion nuclear reactors. Taken with upgrades to sensors, thrusters and other general systems, these new systems make the _Eternal_ the most powerful warship of its time.

**Class:** _Eternal_  
**Name:** FFMH-Y101 _Eternal_  
**Unit type:** Transatmospheric Mobile Flagship  
**Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)  
**Operator(s):** ZAFT; Three Ships Alliance; Terminal; Izanami Defense Force  
**Launched:** 1 July C.E. 71  
**Dimensions:** Overall length 300 meters; overall height unknown  
**Wingspan:** Unknown  
**Weight:** Unknown  
**Propulsion:** 10 Thermonuclear Pulse Thrusters; 16 Small Thermonuclear Pulse Thrusters  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; METEOR System; Anti-Beam Depth Charges; Laminated Armor; Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactors;  
**Fixed Armament:** "Rangarök" Pulse Positron Blaster Cannon; 2x "Nephilim" 250cm Hyper-Velocity Rail Cannon; 2x "Valhalla" 120cm Dual High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x "Asgard" 250mm Dual High-Energy Beam Cannon; 12x "Fenrir" 125mm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 8x Multipurpose Launch Tube; 40x "Æsir" 40mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS; 120x Interceptor Missile Launcher;  
**Optional Fixed Armament:** 2x METEOR (2x 120cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x 93.7cm High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x Beam Sword; 77x "Erinaceus" Anti-Ship Missile Launchers)  
**Mobile Weapons:** ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam; ZGMF-X21A Redemption Gundam; ZGMF-X26A Serenity Gundam; ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam; ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam; MRA-X01 Astarte Gundam; MAF-X01 Sincerity Gundam;  
**Launch Catapults:** 1  
**Captain:** Andrew Waltfeld  
**Notes:** Now how is _this_ for proving how evil I am? The _Eternal_ has undergone a _massive_ upgrade. Its Valhalla cannons are basically like the Gottfrieds or Tristans, mounted on the wingtip sections. In regards to the number of missile launchers: I've counted simultaneous launches—the ship, canonically, has _at least_ _seventy-seven_ missile launchers. I've merely taken this to the logical extreme, and the small size of the missiles allows for a very large store of them; after all, they don't have to be very big to intercept incoming missiles. The Asgard and the Fenrir are basically its original CIWS guns turned into beam cannons, while it's new Æsir are mounted all across the hull, dramatically improving its defensive capabilities. With regards to the Ragnarök, if the Blue Frame Second L can wield a positron bazooka, I think the _Eternal_'s main cannon could be a type of small positron cannon. Finally, the _Eternal_'s ultimate weapons: the Nephilim. I'm pretty sure I detailed it in chapter, but to make it clear, at full power, these things really _can_ strike with the destructive force of a small nuke (but without all the pesky radiation). At full power, the rounds move at around one percent of the speed of light—meaning that, if you're, say, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two miles away, you have about a second to dodge. Fortunately, they can only aim in the direction the _Eternal_ is facing. Unfortunately, that also means it merely has to point itself in a general direction, and, well… hehe. The major weakness, though, is that long charge cycle and cool down. It can be fired at a considerable decrease in power and still take a while to cool down. And yes, they've addressed the structural issue as well—it'll take a _lot_ break the wings off of the _Eternal_'s main body. Other precautions are taken as well, but those are boring, so let's move on.

**_Athena_-class:**  
Description:  
Loosely developed from the _Archangel_-class and visual data of ZAFT's _Minerva_-class, the _Athena_-class transatmospheric battleship is fast, versatile, and well armed, and its large hangar allows it to carry close to a dozen mobile weapons at any given time, making it the strongest standardized warship in the world. Standard deployment for the _Athena_-class is a single battleship alongside a pair of _Yomi_-class cruisers, a unit formation that radically surpasses standard ZAFT team formations.

**Ships of the Line:** _Pallas Athena_, _Aphrodite_, _Zeus_, _Ares_, _Artemis_, _Demeter_, _Hera_, _Hephaestus_, _Hermes_, _Poseidon_, _Dionysus_, _Hestia_,  
**Unit type:** Transatmospheric Battleship  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Izanami Defense Force  
**Launched:** Unknown  
**Dimensions:** Overall length 300 meters; overall height unknown  
**Wingspan:** Unknown  
**Weight:** Unknown  
**Propulsion:** 8 Thermonuclear Pulse Thrusters  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Anti-Beam Depth Charges;  
**Fixed Armament:** "Lohengrin" Positron Blaster Cannon; 2x "Gottfried Mk.71" 225cm Dual High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x "Valiant Mk.8" 110cm Linear Cannon; 12x 40mm Multi-Barrel CIWS; 24x Large Missile Launcher; 4x Multipurpose Launch Tube;  
**Mobile Weapons:** 10x MBF-M2 Angelus/MVF-M3 Guardian/MBF-M4 Yamato  
**Launch Catapults:** 2  
**Appearance:** The _Athena_-class mostly looks like the _Minerva_, but with the _Archangel_'s rear "tail fins" (but not the ring that ran under it) attached to the sides at the rear, where the catapults are, and no central catapult.  
**Notes:** The description is pretty self-explanatory. The reasons for this design basically come out to my aesthetic love for the _Minerva_, but also my recognition that the actual design is costly for very heavy production. So basically, the _Athena_ is a cheaper _Minerva_, which is funny, since its overall armaments are actually slightly superior. It is smaller, slower, and weaker in the anti-beam defense department, but is nevertheless a very formidable battleship that most ship captains, frankly, would rather not tangle with.

**_Yomi_-class:**  
Description:  
The primary vessel of Izanami's powerful defense fleet, the _Yomi_-class cruisers are among the most advanced and powerful model of warship in production. Developed from the _Izumo_-class battleship, these cruisers are formidable vessels with firepower surpassing the standard warships of both ZAFT and the Alliance, and its large hangar in combination with its transatmospheric systems make it a versatile warship as well, with speed surpassing that of ZAFT's _Nazca_-class destroyers.

**Ships of the Line:** _Yomi_  
**Unit type:** Transatmospheric Cruiser  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Izanami Defense Force  
**Launched:** Unknown  
**Dimensions:** Overall length 300 meters; overall height 67 meters  
**Wingspan:** Unknown  
**Weight:** Unknown  
**Propulsion:** 10 Thermonuclear Pulse Thrusters  
**Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Anti-Beam Depth Charges;  
**Fixed Armament:** "Shizukesa" 200cm Triple High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x "Gottfried Mk.71" 225cm Dual High-Energy Beam Cannon; 2x 102cm Dual Railgun; 18x 40mm Multi-Barrel CIWS; 20x Heavy Missile Launcher; 4x Multipurpose Launch Tube;  
**Mobile Weapons:** 8x MBF-M2 Angelus/MVF-M3 Guardian/MBF-M4 Yamato  
**Launch Catapults:** 2  
**Appearance:** Similar to the _Argama_ from Zeta Gundam, but with a wider centerline, and the catapults are mostly covered, with the Gottfrieds mounted in the same section as the main cannons (just aft of the catapults, but retracting like the _Archangel_'s do).  
**Notes:** Even though I had the _Athena_-class, I needed to give Izanami another vessel to utilize as their primary warship. Basically, for a first war comparison, the _Yomi_ would be the _Nelson_ or _Laurasia_ to the _Athena_'s _Nazca_ or _Agamemnon_. I chose to use the _Argama_ as the base design, hence referencing the appearance as similar to the _Minerva_. It's firepower is inferior to the _Athena_, and it has a smaller hangar, but makes up for it by being much quicker. All told, a pretty solid design in my opinion that surpasses the standard warships of pretty much every other side (except for the _Izumo_-class battleships still under Orb).


	42. Phase 42: To Lift the Veil

**I'm pleased with the positive reactions to last chapter. Unfortunately, some of the constructive criticism ended up feeling a little negative to me, but last chapter still accrued a massive _thirty-two_ reviews. I hope I can keep this up for the eight or so chapters after this one I believe I have remaining (that counter may be high or low). Another positive note is that, with another one to three chapters, this story will be in the top five longest Gundam SEED stories on Fanfiction dot net.**

**That said, there are a few things I'd like to address:**

**To anonymous reviewer Yellow Flash: While I'd love to provide evidence that Makoto isn't a Mary Sue, at this point, that's up to each readers interpretation; I've already said my part. The fact is that, as noted later in this chapter, Makoto hardly ever used Faith when piloting. The reason Makoto adapted to her new machine and frame faster than Kira is because _she's been piloting the prototype that originally had the frame in question_. Frankly, when characters can easily come across as God Mode Sue, it's not something I want to push by having Kira master the frame despite only using it _twice_. Makoto took awhile to adapt fully to the frame, and she and Kira had several mock battles while they were out.**

**To anonymous reviewer deathwalker626: Treize's involvement in Divinity isn't a significant point just yet (or rather, it's not apparent); that particular section of Divinity focused on awareness expansion and mental enhancements, as opposed to Kira, intended to be an Ultimate Coordinator with every facet perfectly controlled and taken beyond what was normally possible (and more importantly, countering infertility), and Makoto, intended to unlock the potential and secrets of the SEED, with a "leak effect" that brought her abilities above Coordinator norm. The two are considered the only true successes of the Divinity Projects, and even though Treize/Chris, Suiren/Misuumi and Minako are all considered "Children", they were also considered "failures". And even though Kira and Makoto got more fighting in last chapter, Treize got more focus on his actual character, and I think the characters themselves, regardless of true plot significance in the plans of the other characters, is far more important than them getting into a bunch of fights. Cool battles are a bonus; that is all, and it's why I've never concerned myself too much with whether or not certain characters seemed overpowered in a fight and instead focused on the characters personalities and development.**

**Moving on****…**

**This chapter, as the title suggests, begins to bring things to light. Shinn only gets two scenes here; one looks like canon to me, but the other one looks like it should've been in canon. I've done away with Shinn's ego problems, which pretty much vanished after his battle with Kira, and I've looked more into his desperate mental state. I'm hoping I've managed to get some people to at least feel more sympathetic with him; he's a damn good character who simply got mishandled, so most people never saw middle ground on the issue.**

**Anyways, I've still got a few twists for you. I'm working on a one-shot that goes into further detail on Mariemeia's decision to abandon Djibril and save Treize, but it's kind of hard getting it right. Also, just to let you know, some things will be exaggerated or flat-out _wrong_ in this chapter, but the character who's providing the POV doesn't_ realize_ that. Make of that statement what you will.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own any characters associated with MGLN.  
**

* * *

Phase Forty-Two: To Lift the Veil

January 20th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

The Orb Union

As Treize flew to pick up Maia, he glanced up at the First Fleet to see the ships steadily descending now, all but the _Eternal_ moving towards the ocean. He had to admit to being _extremely_ impressed. He'd never seen ships like this, and only two classes of warship had previously been known to be capable of transatmospheric flight—the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_. Not only had Izanami introduced two new classes that, unlike the other two were fully mass-produced (as warships went, anyway), but they'd also obtained a _Minerva_ for themselves and given the _Eternal_ transatmospheric flight systems, on top of producing several more _Archangel_s and giving the _Eternal_ a _very_ obvious overhaul, even if it couldn't be seen cosmetically.

Treize landed the Redemption, kneeling down and opening the cockpit, causing the seat to lift up through a hole that opened up in the top of the panoramic monitor. Once he was out, Treize grabbed the zipline and descended. Maia smiled at him.

"Big brother, you're back," she said, rushing up to him. Treize took off his helmet, giving her a slight smile.

"I'm still surprised," he said. "Maia… what about your hatred? Do you remember all those times…?"

"I don't care anymore," said Maia, surprising him. "I… I am a Coordinator. And she… she helps me… comforts me… she…"

"She…" echoed Treize. So that was it—Maia was free, truly free, because she was no longer fighting the person she'd been. It was the fight with who they truly were that forced the EX-Cs to wear masks; Treize had become his own person to 'win' the fight, such as the victory was, but Maia and her old self had… he wasn't sure. It sounded like they'd reached a consensus, living together; sharing their body… he really wasn't certain.

"Alright," he said, kneeling down slightly and patting her head in an affectionate manner that shocked her—now, he really was acting like her brother. He smiled at her. "Let's go… to the _Archangel_."

"Okay."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

Serenity watched as the surviving T1s headed back for their hangars, the surviving A1s headed to their carriers, and the surviving M2s, M3s and M4s headed for the First Fleet vessels as they touched down in the water.

Orb Murasames and M1s landed primarily on Onogoro, some heading off for the main island, and knew Orb was rushing out damage control. The _Eternal_ moved into the sky over the Commander Tower, moving towards the airfield, extending its new landing gear as it continued to descend, its smaller, secondary thrusters shifting so that it could be perform a vertical landing.

Meanwhile, the M3 Dante Custom, Sentinels, Templars, Triad, DOMs and Raptors set down near the beach, while the Sincerity and Astarte headed to the _Archangel_, now surrounded by its sister ships, the _Dominion_, _Yukihime_ and _Seraphim_.

Serenity let out a soft sigh, turning to face Meer.

"We'll stay here a little longer," she said to the faux diva. "We'll head over to the _Archangel_ in a bit… and you'll get to meet Lacus."

Meer gasped in surprise, looking away.

Meet Lacus? But that would…

Well, maybe it would help her.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Luna dropped on her rear, exhaling in exhaustion as Flay settled down nearby and downed a bottle of water. Asagi, far more exhausted then the other two, downed half her own bottle… then dumped the rest on her head, something she vaguely recalled Mayura doing after their first real battle, when the Earth Forces had struck Orb. Asagi winced slightly, a faint pain cutting across her as she remembered her lost friends before glancing at the two redheads who piloted the companions to her new machine.

She'd met both of them before, though Lunamaria only briefly a few months ago. Luna pulled out her own water bottle and started guzzling it as Asagi watched them.

Perhaps it had been the VI, but the three of them had worked well together. Though the fact that the Triads were intended to work in conjunction probably helped—she'd overheard some of the other Terminal pilots talking about the Triads and knew that they'd originally been a single unit.

"Asagi?" questioned Flay, drawing the blonde's attention. She gave a tired smile.

"Sorry, just thinking about everything," she said.

"I see," murmured Lunamaria, leaning forward slightly. "I have to admit, I've never flown like that before. Even in formations, I was always following the orders of a superior…"

"We seemed to fall in line together pretty quickly," agreed Flay.

"Hmmm… I felt like I was flying with Juri and Mayura again," said Asagi honestly, sadness in her tone. Flay and Lunamaria glanced at each other with some concern; even though Luna didn't know who these two actually were, she could tell that they were two of Asagi's comrades who had died.

"Was that… painful?" questioned Luna softly.

"No… actually, it was nice," said Asagi with a slight smile. "Even if it was only for a little while."

"Then I'm glad we could give you that," said Flay.

"Thanks."

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

Kira had pulled Athrun from the Infinite Justice's cockpit, and heard his old friend groaning slightly. Worried, he laid Athrun on the hangar floor of the assault ship, surrounded by Meyrin and several mechanics as he removed Athrun's helmet.

Kira gasped at the sight of the blood coming from Athrun's forehead through his bandages, and internally cursed—it must've been when the Destiny damaged the Justice's arm and Athrun delivered that final blow right after. The increased blood flow from his adrenaline along with the various impacts he took must've reopened some of his wounds.

"Athrun!" cried Meyrin fearfully as Kira opened the pilot suit up to reveal more blood soaking through Athrun's shirt from other injuries.

"K-Kira," murmured Athrun.

"Get a stretcher!" ordered Kira. "Call the medics, hurry!"

"Right!" said Murdoch, running off to carry out the orders. Makoto, having exited the Serenity now, rushed over to see Athrun's injuries.

"Damn," she muttered. "I thought he'd recovered better than this.

"He… um, got worked up when he heard about ZAFT," said Meyrin. "His injuries got worse."

"I see," said Kira, glancing away briefly as the hangar doors opened to admit the Sincerity and Astarte.

As Ami rushed to Kira's side and Minako rushed to Makoto's a moment later, the doctors arrived with a stretcher and loaded Athrun onto it to rush him to the infirmary. Kira straightened up as the hangar door opened and the Redemption stepped inside, moving to settle itself into one of the cradles.

The cockpit opened up, and Treize climbed out with a young girl with black hair and red highlights. Ami and Minako both gasped in surprise as Treize descended with Maia on the zipline.

"Stella?" cried Maia in surprise.

"Maia," gasped Ami as the two reached the floor and Maia immediately rushed over to the blonde.

"You're alive!" said Maia, jumping forward slightly and wrapping her arms around Ami, catching literally _everyone_—even Treize and Minako—completely off-guard.

"M-Maia?"

Maia smiled slightly, looking up at Ami.

"Yeah, I'm here too now," she said. "I can't believe you're alive Stella!"

"Uh, ah… well…" Ami glanced at those around, none of whom seemed to offer anything more than a shrug, and sighed, smiling down at Maia. "Yeah, I'm alive Maia… but my name isn't Stella anymore. My name's Ami."

Maia frowned, looking up at the blonde, vaguely recalling what Minako had said about the blonde.

Ami sighed—this was going to take awhile. She leveled a glare at Treize, making it evident that he had better come along and help her out.

Nearby, Kira smiled slightly, feeling a bit of pride at his sister's quickly developing maturity. She was definitely that same girl from a month ago, but without Blue Cosmos messing with her head, and with her memories given back to her by Makoto, she was able to grow now.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Damn it!" roared Shinn, punching his locker with enough force to dent it. "What the hell was that?"

The others mostly had grit teeth as well, and didn't answer. But by far the worst was…

_BANG!_

A loud crash sounded through the room, drawing everyone's attention to Nabiki, who had just broken off a locker door. There was an insane glint in her wide, furious eyes, and her teeth were grinding together in frustration.

"Damn that _bitch_…" she snarled lowly, not paying attention to the others. Through grit teeth, Rey answered Shinn, turning back to face the Destiny pilot.

"Their machines were stronger than ours," he said. "I don't know how the hell they did it, but they created something that allowed their machines to surpass our own on every level."

"The Sincerity," said Aleksi softly, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"What about it?" questioned Zane.

"She said… that the Sincerity was a technological revolution," said Aleksi. "That it wasn't just a mobile suit, but a Gundam. The first… in a new generation of Knights and Angels in the service of the White Queen."

"Knights and Angels, huh?" muttered Heine.

"Those machines definitely evoked such an image," said Zane.

"Damn it!" shouted Shinn, slamming a fist against his already dented locker. "If they hadn't gotten in the way…"

"There's no guarantee we would've gotten Djibril anyway," said Heine, trying to diffuse the situation. "No one is at fault. Tristan did his best in an impossible situation." Shinn grit his teeth as Tristan slumped, looking defeated, against his locker. Zane looked over the gathered group, eyes soon settling on Nabiki. As close to blowing his top as Shinn seemed at the moment, that was nothing compared to Nabiki, who looked like a nuke with no delay timer and only one button that would disarm it instead of setting it off.

"Everyone is to get some rest," said Zane firmly. "When everyone has cooled off and recovered, we'll examine the battle so that this incident doesn't repeat itself."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

A little while later

After things had been explained to Maia, an order had been sent out for the Triad and Sentinel pilots to meet at the TFCT, along with John, Victor and Diana, as well as orders for Neo Roanoke to be escorted there, while the Templars patrolled the airspace, so there was quite an assembly of mobile suits between the tower and the _Eternal_, resting on its landing gear nearby, as the Angels approached with the Astarte and Sincerity—with a few guests along for the ride.

Within one of the main conference halls, the various pilots all caught up with one another, John talking to Diana for the first time in months, while Luna finally got a formal introduction to Asagi and Liz, and a general welcome to the group as a whole. Meer sat in a corner, trying not to draw attention to herself, which was kind of hard with both Serenity and Shizuka staying near her. Faith had also connected to the mainframe of the Command Tower.

Soon enough, the door to the hall opened and Kira stepped through in his uniform, along with Makoto in the same civilian clothes she'd worn during the time the _Archangel_ had been out playing rogue, followed a moment later by Treize and Ami in their pilot suits, with Maia clinging to Treize's side.

"Maia?" questioned Neo, shocked. Treize, Maia and Ami all gave Neo similar looks of shock.

"Sir? What are you still doing here?" questioned Treize—hadn't he been released and given the Skygrasper?

Neo shook off his surprise at Maia's presence—he'd get an explanation later—and gave Treize a slight grin.

"Well, I had a score to settle with the _Minerva_," he said, before his grin faded. "And I have debts to repay as well. I am responsible for what happened in Eurasia." Ami looked away, feeling guilty before Kira placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Hello everyone," came a new voice suddenly, surprising a lot of people as Lacus, smiling slightly, stepped into the room, followed by Minako. The rosette smiled. "It's been awhile."

"Lacus… Clyne…" murmured Luna, shocked.

"Miss Lacus…" whispered Meer, eyes also wide. Neo also looked rather surprised, glancing briefly at Meer, then back to the real Lacus, as the rest mostly just smiled. Then, a new voice cut in.

"Sis?" cried Meyrin, rushing into the room. Luna's eyes widened, and she rushed forward, wrapping Meyrin in a tight hug as the younger redhead returned the favor. "What are… why are you here?"

Luna smiled slightly—she'd expected to meet Meyrin, though this was perhaps a bit more sudden than she expected.

"I, um… I joined the Kessel Team when they ran off to meet up with the _Eternal_ and Izanami's fleet?" said Luna, sounding uncertain before letting out a breath. "Meyrin… I'm so glad you're safe."

Meyrin pushed herself a little out of Luna's arms. "I'm glad you're here, sis," she said, smiling. Luna returned the smile.

Many of the others gathered gave slight smiles; Treize, Neo and Maia were not among them, though. In the corner, urged by Serenity, Meer stood up and started walking up to Lacus.

Lacus spotted her coming, as did Kira and Makoto, who started to wave people back. Most of those present—the male Sentinels, John and Victor—had slight grins on their faces, while Liz and Shiho both wore amused smirks, Flay, Asagi, Luna and Meyrin looked uncertain, Neo and Maia were confused, Treize seemed interested, Ami, Serenity and Shizuka, like Kira and Makoto, were curious as to how this would play out, and Diana… well, Diana was almost completely impassive.

"Hello Miss Meer," said Lacus with a sweet smile. Meer fidgeted uncertainly, gulping, and gave no reply. "There's no reason to be scared." Lacus took a step towards Meer, who instinctively backed away. Lacus stopped, frowning. "Why are you afraid?"

Why _was_ she afraid? Was it because she wasn't just in the presence of people who knew her to be a fake, but in Lacus's presence on top of that this time? Meer didn't know, and so, she didn't answer.

"I see," murmured Lacus, taking a bit of a wild guess. "I promise, no one here is going to hurt you." Lacus took another step forward, and this time, Meer didn't step back. "Let's try this again." Lacus gave a slight smile, holding her hand out to Meer. "My name is Lacus Clyne. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Meer."

Meer glanced from Lacus's face to her hand, then to her, then back to her hand. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, uncertainly reaching out… and finally took hold of Lacus's hand, causing the rosette's smile to grow just a little as she looked at this girl who was nearly her mirror image.

"I'm… Meer Campbell," said Meer finally. Tension that had unconsciously gathered seemed to seep away, and Meer felt… relieved. She looked at Lacus, feeling some small astonishment on her features, and suddenly blushed as everything suddenly, finally hit her like a ton of bricks.

She wasn't Lacus anymore… and she'd never really been Lacus. But… she had finally gotten to meet her idol. She was standing, in this room, surrounded by veteran pilots many of whom could be described as the stuff of legends, and by admitting her own identity to Lacus's face, she let go of her last delusions of how great Durandal was for everything he'd given her. The Chairman was a good man, she didn't doubt that, but he wasn't infallible, and had other flaws too.

"Would you like to be friends?" asked Lacus.

"Yes… I would," answered Meer, this time completely without hesitation, though her smile was still rather small.

Makoto smiled at Lacus and her double, though neither noticed, before turning her attention to her AI.

"Faith," she said, drawing attention in the room to her. "Call the Templars here. And connect us via videoconference to the _Archangel_, _Dominion_ and to Cagalli. And tell Murrue to rout the conference to the infirmary as well so Athrun can see. Everyone needs to hear this."

"This?" questioned Serenity, confused as Faith nodded, carrying out the order despite not understanding it.

"Makoto, what are you talking about?" asked Minako.

"What all of this is truly about," answered Kira.

"Durandal's goal," said Lacus. "The Destiny Plan."

**

* * *

**

The _Winter Eagle_

"I see," said Suiren calmly, leaning back in her command chair as the three destroyers slid silently through the blackness of space. "So, Izanami intervened at Orb… and annihilated everything but the _Minerva_."

Toshio turned his chair slightly to glance at Suiren.

"And it seems Djibril escaped as well," muttered Suiren, shaking her head. "He'll make his way to the moon, probably Arzachel rather than Daedalus."

"Do you want to try intercepting him?" asked Toshio.

"With all the traffic right now, there's no way to be certain where he is," said Suiren, shaking her head and letting out a sigh. "How long until the rendezvous?"

"We have the _Diana_ on radar ma'am," said the sensor operator. "At current speeds, estimate one hour."

"Understood," said Suiren, standing up. "Thank you. I'm not to be disturbed until then."

"Yes ma'am," said Toshio as the blonde headed for the elevator.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

"Conflict is a result of people who refuse to lower their weapons," started Lacus as soon as the Templars had arrived and the videoconference between the TFCT, Cagalli's office at the Orb Defense Headquarters, _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ was completed. "Someone attacks, and the victim responds, which prompts another attack. It is an endless cycle of meaningless hatred and vengeance."

Lacus swept her eyes over everyone, clutching Sera's journal in her arms.

"Durandal… has good intentions," she said. "He wants to create a world without such conflicts. But he doesn't have faith in people to do it on their own. He believes the only way is if everyone understands their perfect role in society, and fulfills that role. He believes that that would make everyone happy, and it would bring an end to conflict."

"Hold on," said Neo. "Everyone's 'perfect role in society'?"

"The Destiny Plan," said Kira. "Or to strip away the fancy label… ultimate genetic determinism."

"A world where everyone's destiny is determined at their birth," added Makoto, taking over for a moment. "A world where people have no desires, because their only purpose is to fulfill their role under the Destiny Plan… the role for which they are best suited genetically."

"_But that's…_" started Murrue.

"A world without light and darkness," said Lacus. "A world of everlasting peace with no war. A utopian world… of the living dead."

"The living dead…?" echoed Meer fearfully.

"With no free will, only playing out their roles in society, and doing nothing else, for anything else would break the mold and invite strife," said Kira.

"At the time this journal was written detailing what the Destiny Plan was, no one understood how he would achieve this," said Lacus. "To achieve this Destiny Plan, Durandal would have to reprogram the minds of over eight billion people. But…"

"But if he hadn't found a way, then why would he cause all of this?" put in Makoto. Kira nodded.

"The evidence has been destroyed," he said. "But we do know that Durandal supplied the terrorists responsible for Break the World."

"_What?_" cried Athrun as many other gasps of shock echoed.

"Not only Break the World," said Makoto. "But also the Armory One Theft… and the only reason I can think of for that… is you Athrun." As she spoke, the redhead turned to the screen displaying the _Archangel_'s infirmary, drawing attention there and causing more surprise, but Athrun, still lying down, nodded.

"_Actually… that makes sense,_" he said. "_When I think about everything he said to me… but why me?_"

"_Isn't it obvious?_" said Natarle. "_Four months ago, if you asked anyone, they would've said that you were the only one who stood any chance of defeating Kira and Makoto._"

"And they'll always stand in the way of such things," said Minako softly.

"I could never live in such a world," agreed Makoto.

"_None of us could,_" said Samuel.

"In a world such as that…" Makoto turned to face the White Angel and the White Queen. "Kira and Lacus would never have met." She next turned to Liz and Louisa, sitting side-by-side. "Liz would've been killed as an unnecessary element with nothing to contribute. I would never have met Louisa. Lacus, or maybe Meer, would've led a meaningless life singing for a society that didn't care. There would be no hatred or sorrow… but there would no love or happiness either."

"As cruel as this world we live in is… escaping it isn't worth that price," said Flay. Lacus sighed.

"No, it isn't," she said. "I haven't given up on this world. I still have faith that people can choose the right path… but to do so, they must have the freedom to choose the right path." She looked at Kira and Makoto. "The Angels… are the representation of everything the Chairman and his Destiny Plan stand against. Kira, Makoto…"

Makoto sighed.

"Hoist this off on your boyfriend, please?" said the redhead, though it was clear she was at least half-joking, and turned to the display screens. "Cagalli, please don't spread this about right now. Everyone here needed to know about this, but right now, the only hard evidence we have is the sixteen-year-old journal of a dead woman. If we say anything before Durandal does…"

"_I know,_" assured Cagalli. "_I need to get ready. I need to make a statement about this attack soon._"

"Okay," said Kira. "See you later Cagalli."

"_Later._"

The videoconference ended, and everyone in the conference hall glanced at each other. Makoto, remembering a detail about Lunamaria, walked over to the defected Redcoat.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Nabiki hadn't waited to calm down—she'd immediately gone to work determining how to defeat her enemy.

The new Faith… it obviously used many of the same technologies as the Destiny Project mobile suits, but far outclassed them in several arenas, most notably its speed, mobility and reaction time. Even the Vengeance hadn't been able to keep up. The crazed woman entrusted by Durandal with destroying the Dauntless Angel sought out any possible weakness she could exploit…

And found, to her horror, absolutely none at all. Not even the close-combat orientation was a weakness with that unbelievable speed that seemed to outstrip light itself.

"Hehe… ehehehehahaha!" cackled Nabiki in mad despair, pounding a fist on her desk. Her entire being was coming unraveled—she existed only to avenge her brother, but it seemed impossible. Still… there was still one last thing she could do. Eyes wide, Nabiki didn't care if anyone heard her as the voices whispered in her ear. "We'll go together into the embrace of death, _Michiru…_"

In the reflection of the mirror behind her, Nabiki's image shifted in her mind to Erica, but she didn't notice as what may have been the last truly sane remnant of her mind looked at her sadly.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Zane let out a faint sigh as the water pouring on him from the showerhead washed away his sweat. He glanced down at a scar running from his right shoulder to right hip, a reminder of the reasons for everything.

He hadn't been lying to Athrun about Suiren approaching him. He'd told his past commander almost nothing but the truth… however, he had lied about what happened to him after the war. The man who had rescued him hadn't sent him on his merry way, but had instead simply talked to him about the world.

There was nothing coincidental about Armory One or Zane's involvement. He'd been there, acting as Durandal's agent in leading the Extended straight to the new machines in an elaborate scheme intended to turn Athrun into a willing pawn. Zane hadn't known if Athrun could be convinced to join the Chairman so easily, but he carried out the orders regardless, and today, he'd recklessly revealed himself to Treize.

That didn't matter though. Because Zane didn't want power for himself; his only desire was to help bring about a world of peace, no matter the sacrifices that must be made, so that down the line, no one else would have to suffer. It was a simple question between an overwhelming price paid only once for eternal peace, and a small, 'acceptable' price for brief periods of peace that would be paid unto eternity. In the end, the price for eternal peace was far cheaper.

A small smirk slid over Zane's features.

Treize mocked Junius Seven with all that he was, a Blue Cosmos dog wearing Chris's face. He failed to understand that he would never be able to change that. And the Extended had no place in the world of the Destiny Plan. So he would settle things and strike Treize from the world.

And the EX-C had made a terrible mistake today. It was the same mistake Zane himself had once made, and though he'd repeated it, he'd always known it wouldn't work, knew that Treize would, instinctively, realize the Reckoning had extra arms with beam sabers. So he didn't mind revealing them.

But Treize had shown Zane more of his new machine's weapons than the former Black Specter had needed too… and that meant that it would be Zane who had the advantage next time.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Makoto had talked to both Kira and Luna, and the two now stood alone in one of the lounges of the Command Tower. The redhead had also informed Lacus of what was going on, and Faith was watching the two, just as she watched everything in the tower.

"You're Lunamaria Hawke, right?" said Kira, smiling at her, not really noticing Luna's twitching as he held a hand out to her. "I'm Kira Yamato. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Luna turned the color of her hair. It had been easy when there were all those people around providing a distraction, but now she was alone with this man for whom she barely grasped her feelings.

"Uh, yes, I'm Lunamaria Hawke," she answered, bowing quickly rather than taking his hand. "It's an honor to meet you!"

Kira gave her an odd, quizzical look.

"There's, uh, really no need to stand on ceremony with me," said Kira.

"Um…" Luna's blush deepened, which just served to confuse Kira further.

"Is something the matter?" he questioned uncertainly.

"Um, no, it's just…" Luna sighed. Makoto had told her to take this opportunity… and…

"_You need to find it. Some opportunity. Don't let yourself suffer from my regrets. Even if he really is the enemy, and already taken, you should tell this Kira Yamato how you feel."_

"I…" Luna took another breath. "Please just listen to what I have to say."

"Okay…?"

Luna knew that she had to say something. She was acting uncharacteristically nervous, and that was probably understandable. But she really knew of only one way to truly face a situation, and that meant it was time to just barrel forward.

"I've always admired you," said Luna. "You're called a pilot with only one possible equal. You're legendary for fighting so as to spare as many people as possible. I don't know why that is… and I really don't care. I admire that. More than a great pilot, you're a good person who doesn't let go of his convictions if there's any other choice."

Luna sighed while Kira remained silent, grasping where she was starting to go with this.

"When you met Athrun that day a few months ago… I was following him," she continued. "I overheard everything. I've… well, watched you, as much as I can, and I know about your relationship with Miss Lacus. I don't mean to burden you, but…" Luna took another breath, and barreled straight to the end of the road. "I just want you to know, no matter what you think of me, even if we were to never meet again… I like you. I can't say if it's actual love, but I definitely care about you. I just wanted to tell you that."

Kira stared at Lunamaria uncertainly, surprised by this. He'd literally never experienced anything like it—it seemed like something straight out of a high school drama. He let out a sigh.

"I'm… glad you told me," he said finally, which caused her to sigh in relief that he wasn't angry or anything. "You're right about Lacus, though, and even if you weren't, this is the first time we've really met. So…"

"Yeah, I understand," said Luna, giving him a slight smile. "I already accepted that this would happen. But a friend told me about his own regrets, and that I shouldn't let myself make his mistakes."

"I see," said Kira, giving her a smile and holding his hand out to her again. "As long as you understand, then it seems fine. Friends?"

"I'd like that," said Luna, accepting his hand and shaking it, blushing at the contact. She doubted she'd ever stop loving him in some form, but maybe now, she could finally move on.

**

* * *

**

The _Diana_

Suiren glanced around at the crewman and soldiers gathered in the hangar as they all stood at attention while she descended from the cockpit of the Rose, the rest of the pilots already on the ground and standing at attention with the rest.

Suiren's feet lightly touched down on the deck, and she glanced around at her team before returning the salute.

"At ease," she ordered, and all of them did so—or rather, all of them except the one who'd never been standing at attention in the first place as Sakura Noriega stepped forward.

Sakura was something of a strange person and was probably Suiren's closest friend. Ignoring all military regulation, her lustrous pink-tinted red hair fell almost all the way down to her knees, and like Suiren, she generally preferred not to wear the actual uniform. But she was the best damned tactician and strategist Suiren had ever met, though very reclusive, despite the warmth that shined in her ocean blue eyes.

Sakura wrapped her arms around Suiren with a smile, which the blonde returned.

"Welcome back, Suiren," said Sakura as they broke the hug.

"Good to see you again too, Sakura," replied Suiren. "What do you think of the ship?"

"She's not a bad vessel at all," said Sakura, closing her eyes as she smiled lightly, ignoring the gathered group. "Here, come with me."

"Hmm?"

A few minutes later, Suiren, Sakura and the Kyusai Team pilots were gathered on the bridge, and there was a dangerous smirk on Sakura's face.

"Alright, it's time," she said, glancing at the _Diana_'s comm. officer, Emilia Paras.

"Sakura…" There was a very dangerous note in Suiren's tone, which the redhead ignored completely. "What are you doing?"

"_This is the __**Winter Lily**__, registration change from __**Winter Eagle**__ complete._"

"_This is the __**Summer Dahlia**__, registration change from __**Summer Hawk**__ complete._"

"_This is the __**Storm Saffron**__, registration change from __**Storm Crow**__ complete._"

"Roger that, registration change from _Diana_ to _Autumn Rose_ is also complete," said Emilia, turning in her seat slightly to smirk at her commander along with Sakura as Suiren stood there, looking completely dumbfounded.

"You're the leader of this team, Suiren," said Sakura. "And yes, I did go over your head on this one, but you'd never have given these ships the names they truly need if I'd tried going to you."

Suiren buried her face in her hands as the crew and pilots all started clapping, and she _knew_ the bridge crews of the destroyers were doing the same.

"I'm going to kill you," she growled out, but Sakura's only acknowledgement of the threat was a smirk that said 'I'd like to see you try'.

"In the meantime, I believe there are a few issues that need to be addressed," commented Sakura rather idly.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Several hours later

Durandal sighed, leaning back in his seat. He'd feared the possibility that Izanami really was going to reinforce Orb, but what they'd unleashed had been so far beyond his expectations…

He shook his head slightly, glancing at the chessboard. He was down to a handful of pieces, the remaining White Bishop had eluded him, and there were now _five_ White Knights to deal with. His Gold Knight was safely away from his other pieces, and threatening to turn into a sixth White Knight on any turn, but that was only Durandal's intuition, and he knew he'd never be able to convince others until it was too late. Her inevitable betrayal saddened Durandal greatly, because he _had_ meant that promise to Rey and the death of Rau's daughter was among the last things Durandal wanted.

Still… for Izanami to so easily turn the tide… and for them to have renewed Freedom, Justice and Faith, it was extremely worrisome. Even more so with that other new machine, the one that had been taken by the EX-C once known as Chris. They outmatched the Destiny Project on almost every level, and it was quite troublesome.

And that was to say nothing of the sheer power wielded by Izanami. The reports stated that it had been the inverse of fighting the Earth Forces—it took an estimated two or three machines to take on even one Izanami mobile suit, sometimes more. That put the effectiveness of those pilots, or at least the effectiveness of their machines, on par with a small Earth Forces squadron. With its swiftly growing numbers, this made Izanami arguably the leading world superpower, and a clear enemy of ZAFT.

Perhaps he could turn their intervention at Orb against them, blaming them for Djibril's escape. He knew where Djibril was going, and though it saddened him, the lives that would be lost were a necessary sacrifice, a tragedy that would never be forgotten and show people the necessity of the Destiny Plan, now, in an era where Durandal was here to enact it, rather than later, when there was no Destiny Plan to bring forth.

"Chairman, Orb is making an official statement."

"Thank you," said Durandal, straightening up as he turned to the display screen, wishing he had Meer available to use against Orb right now.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Cagalli took in a breath as the broadcast went live. She, and everyone else now in on Durandal's motives, had been specifically told not to reveal that, and she had no intention of doing so. She had plenty to say without that.

"This is the Chief Representative of the Orb Union, Cagalli Yula Athha," she said in introduction. "Today, I'm using the media of the entire world in order to deliver a message to Chairman Gilbert Durandal of the PLANT Supreme Council, regarding his demand to hand over Lord Djibril and his subsequent decision to invade our country."

Her eyes briefly flickered to a window through which she could see that the Strike Freedom and Serenity had landed outside.

"Chairman Durandal's recent speech denouncing the group known as Logos, along with various pieces of evidence supporting his accusations, had a great impact on all of us," she continued. "The Chairman calls for the destruction of Logos and an end to all war in this world. These were fine sentiments, and I certainly can't deny that I find them appealing, both as a politician dealing with the world's present state of confusion, and as a private individual. However, there seems to be more to this situation than just that, as is indicated by several odd actions on the part of the Chairman."

The door to the office opened and four people walked in.

"Among these is that ZAFT continued to fight a meaningless battle that it could not win even after Djibril appears to have escaped," said Cagalli, her voice perfectly calm. "It was unfortunate, but with ZAFT's refusal to withdraw, the battle did not end until the fleet had been destroyed. However, this was not the first oddity. Another one was Operation Angel Down, a mission with the goal of destroying the _Archangel_, the Freedom and the Sincerity, powerful symbols of the group known as the Three Ships Alliance and of Izanami today. However, the first odd action is with regards to Lacus Clyne."

It was time. Cagalli had asked them to help her drive this nail into the coffin. Lacus stepped into view of the camera, and the blonde had to suppress a smirk at the thought of how many people must be gasping in shock right now.

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Durandal's eyes were wide. No… how had this happened?

"Impossible…"

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"What is this?" cried Arthur in shock. He wasn't the only one—throughout the ship, people seeing this were displaying similar signs of shock, especially several of the pilots.

"Lacus… Clyne…?" questioned Talia in shock. In one of the lounges, Rey's eyes narrowed angrily.

**

* * *

**

Unknown Location

Leon stood as still as if he were carved from ice, surprise evident only in his crystal blue eyes as he watched this new development unfold. Lacus Clyne… in Orb? What was _she_ doing there? And what was Cagalli Yula Athha talking about…?

Suddenly, he whistled appreciatively. "Well… I can honestly say I'm surprised," he said, giving a brief glance to the timer as he waited for the rendezvous with whatever ship Horizon was sending to upgrade the Valiant. "Now… to see how all this is going to play out… this just might be the sort of change that can bring about an end to this whole war…"

He closed his eyes. "Hanako… just a little bit more…" he whispered. "Please… just hang on a little bit more…"

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"Hello everyone," said Lacus. "My name is Lacus Clyne. I'm here to tell you some things about where I've been since the end of the last war."

The rosette knew there would be people questioning what was going on—and that was a good thing. It was what they wanted.

"Chairman Durandal would tell you that I have supported him since before this war began," continued Lacus. "However…"

"However, I was the one who really supported him," said Meer, stepping into sight of the cameras.

**

* * *

**

Unknown Location

Gabriel couldn't help it. He laughed at the absurdity of it all. Oh, this was such _gold_. Not only was Orb able to throw the real Lacus at him, but they were able to throw his _faux Lacus_ at him as well.

"Well my boy… how will you weasel your way out of this one?" questioned Gabriel with a chuckle. "Mmm, but this could be troublesome. When you die, as you inevitably will, what will happen to the world? Those Children will have it at their disposal." Gabriel sighed. "Oh well. Your Destiny Plan… must be stopped. Anyone with half a brain cell would choose their freedom over what you seek."

The founder of Horizon glanced over at the motifs he'd setup.

"Your Dark Knight will fall before the might of the Angels," said Gabriel. He chuckled. "Mmm, but that could _also_ be a problem for me." He pressed a switch on his chair. "Adam, my boy, I have a task for you. I want you to monitor Prophet; he's far too valuable to lose. Just don't forget that Eve still wants Dante alive."

"_Yes, Lord Gabriel,_" replied Adam. "_One thing: how much longer?_"

"Probably a few years before we go back to using our names freely," replied Gabriel. "We don't want the enemy to realize who we are until we have struck."

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"My name is Meer Campbell," said Meer. There was a determination about her, entirely her own this time, as were her words. No one told her what to say, only to keep the Destiny Plan a secret. That plan, these prices… Meer knew she had been used now. And she could not forgive Durandal for using her to exploit someone she had admired so much. "In August of last year, Chairman Durandal approached me and told me that he feared a time of conflict was coming, and because he could not locate the real Lacus Clyne, he asked me, whose voice was the same, to impersonate her in order to try and keep another war from igniting. But… he did not reveal me until he needed Miss Lacus's influence to calm the people of the PLANTs and furthermore, I have reason to believe he knew where Miss Lacus was from the beginning."

"What she says is true," said Lacus. "I am the real daughter of Siegel Clyne. And I was the one who joined forces with the _Archangel_ and fought in the last war, just like I stand united with that ship these days. Along with the Representative of Orb. Meer and I are two completely different people, and it was only today that we finally met each other face-to-face."

Meer closed her eyes, moving her head in a small nod.

"I agree with neither Chairman Durandal's words, nor his actions," continued Lacus. "Those who fight are not to blame, and neither are those who choose not to fight. The ones to blame are the people who make us fight: Logos, the merchants of death. But is what the Chairman saying the whole truth? Is that the real story here? Naturals are not to blame; neither are the Coordinators. Just blame someone else; blame the world itself. He tells you you're not to blame. But please do not become trapped in his web of lies." Lacus closed her eyes, letting out a faint sigh. "Before I am misunderstood, rest assured I am not defending Mr. Djibril. However, while I do not doubt for an instant that Logos is guilty of many crimes, I do not trust the Chairman, nor do I believe we should simply lay all the blame on others, and deny our own responsibility. We must recognize that we are at fault for this fighting, and accept that responsibility."

Finally, Kira and Makoto stepped into sight of the cameras, standing on the other side of the desk from Meer and Lacus.

"I am the Supreme Commander of the Izanami Defense Force, Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, and former pilot of the Faith Gundam," said the redhead. "And this is Kira Yamato, pilot of the Freedom Gundam. We came to assist Orb against ZAFT's attack at the request of nation's sovereign, Cagalli Yula Athha, who is also Kira's twin sister." Makoto closed her eyes, wondering at the reactions of people, before opening them and focusing on the cameras, allowing her force of will to be projected.

"Before the Chairman levels his accusations against us, know that our reasons for coming to Orb, while at the request of Lady Cagalli, were in order to protect the people of this nation, who have already suffered greatly," said Makoto. "That Chairman Durandal did not hesitate to order an all-out attack on Orb rather than trying to continue negotiations when the temporary leader, Yuna Roma Seiran, refused his demands… I must question this action. I do not trust Gilbert Durandal, for this man who claims to desire only peace has readily sent many people into meaningless battle."

"It is true that the man known as Djibril had taken refuge with the Seiran House of Orb, whose remnants now stand accused of treason against the nation," said Cagalli. "However, with our forces and those of Izanami fighting to protect our people from ZAFT, we were unable to dedicate any resources to finding this criminal, and he was able to escape as a result."

"Orb has lost a great deal," said Cagalli sadly. "But now that I have retaken this nation from those who took advantage of my absence to usurp control of the country, I make this new vow: I will do everything in my power to protect Orb. Right now, Chairman Durandal and ZAFT are not our enemy. We may disagree on a great many things, but we all agree that Logos must be stopped. Today, I have given my reasons for distrusting the Chairman so that everyone may understand my position as an individual, and my stance as the Chief Representative of Orb."

A few seconds later, and the broadcast ended. Kira sighed, turning to look at the others as Lacus walked to his side.

"Well, I'd say that caused quite a stir," he commented somewhat dryly.

"You could've spoken up," said Cagalli. The brunet shrugged, giving her a slight smile.

"What, and derail your fabulous performance by bringing a guy into the mess?" he said jokingly, prompting Lacus to poke him lightly in the ribs.

"Really, we just needed people to see the White Angel," commented Makoto, sounding teasing as well. "It's about time we put a real face behind the legend, right?"

"So that's why you told them about you piloting the Faith?" questioned Cagalli as Meer looked them all over.

"Of course," said Makoto, stretching slightly. "Well, I'm gonna go rest. Today's been exhausting."

**

* * *

**

Gibraltar

Durandal's gut was cold, his hand had subconsciously curled into a fist, and his teeth were grit in frustration.

Now he knew what had happened to Meer, but he didn't know how they'd turned her against him in only a week. This situation had gone from simply bad—the failure to destroy Orb—to much, _much_ worse.

The exposure of his greatest deception had the potential to unravel everything. How had this happened? If it was merely Lacus Clyne, he might've been able to salvage everything, but with Meer exposing the truth…!

"No…" whispered Durandal. His eyes shone with absolute determination. He had to succeed, for the sake of everything. To keep people like Rau from being born into suffering, to protect all people and bring an end to war, he had to succeed.

It seemed the time had come for him to tell the truth… or at least, part of it. But no, there was still Djibril. He had to take Requiem first and finish the battle with Logos. He was confident that people would at least trust him to finish that. And then Destiny would come forth, and it wouldn't matter. Not even the influence of Lacus would be able to triumph over the desire for everlasting peace.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Shinn stared at the lounge display screen in complete shock, unable to believe what he'd just seen and heard.

"Shinn?" questioned Aleksi, concern evident in her voice, but Shinn ignored her, heading instead for one of the observation decks. He needed to find somewhere to think, and knew that Rey would be in their quarters.

Aleksi stared after Shinn, a slightly hard look coming into her eyes, before they softened again as she turned her attention back to the display screen, even though the broadcast was over. Letting out a sigh, she decided to talk to Zane and Heine about this.

Meanwhile, Shinn reached his destination, and was relieved to find himself alone as he leaned against the rail.

Part of his shock was the discovery of Lady Setsuna's true identity… well, unless she and the Dauntless Angel were really twins, but somehow, Shinn doubted that.

It wasn't that Lacus had really opposed Durandal from the beginning that bothered him. She was human, and could be wrong as well. No, what bothered Shinn was the evident duplicity.

Shinn could feel everything warring within him once again. He'd placed all his faith in Durandal because it was what he'd _needed_. He needed to know he wasn't becoming that which he hated, he needed to know that there was some hope, he…

Shinn didn't even know _what_ he needed anymore.

He pulled Mayu's cell phone from his pocket, flipping it open, and played the voicemail recording.

"_Hi, Mayu here. Sorry I can't talk to you right now. I'll call you back later. Please leave your name after the beep._"

Shinn felt his eyes watering slightly, and snapped the phone shut. It was all he'd had left of his family… until just recently.

"Please…" he murmured softly, a plea to the goddesses Haumea and Amaterasu. "Please let my faith in the Chairman be right. Please…"

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"Well, it's a shame we can't see just how much of a stir that really caused," commented Sakura, turning in her seat to face Suiren.

"Hmm." Suiren looked over at Sakura. "You're certain of this report?"

"Absolutely," said Sakura. "A friend of mine heard about it from her mother, who is something of an information broker, or at least she could be if she really wanted to."

"I see," murmured Suiren. "We failed once to protect our homeland. I'll never let that happen again." The blonde's mismatched eyes slid back to Sakura. "By the way… why is it that you didn't do more? I'm guessing Zane didn't care for your abilities?"

"It seemed like he was intent on taking everything himself," said Sakura, a dark note entering her voice. "And I've never really approved of Durandal's actions."

"Like his anti-Logos propaganda?"

"Oh, that's just the start," muttered Sakura, leaning back in her seat as she turned to face forward again.

"Sakura… what is it?" questioned Suiren curiously.

"Let's not worry about that now," replied the redhead, letting out a small sigh. Suiren decided to let it go, for now at least.

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

Several hours later

Cagalli had returned to the Athha Estate, and taken Kira, Lacus and Ami along with her, while Athrun was transferred to the Kurama Hospital to complete his recovery, now that there wasn't any concern left. Others to vacate the Taiyonoha Estate included Treize, Flay, Alex and Liz, as Samuel was no longer being monitored by the Seirans, the _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ captains and crews were sticking to their ships, and Meer had been invited to the Athha Estate by Lacus.

In exchange, however, the Taiyonoha Estate was now housing Lunamaria, Nicol, Saul and Shiho, but there were still a lot less people staying there then there had been, something of a relief for Faith.

There was also the matter of Maia. Makoto couldn't be using the Cosmic SEED again so soon, or the strain of it would almost certainly kill her. So, after talking with Treize about it, Maia had been convinced to stay at the Kurama Hospital, as long as Treize stayed with her, which he'd agreed too, in an interesting scenario of, temporarily at least, choosing his own family over Chris's. The doctors were some of the best—if there was a way to save her without resorting to the Cosmic SEED, they'd use it.

Faith also had some serious concerns about the repercussions of recent events, specifically Nicol and Saul's families, but so far, there hadn't been anything, which was actually a surprise. However, it was possible no one realized the Kessel Team had gone turncoat, since the only evidence right now was the presence of the _Yggdrasil_—the Sentinels and Tengu could all be explained away easily enough, so the real threat came from the absence of the Kessel Team.

On the other hand, a great many resources were being dedicated to finding Djibril and readying ZAFT's forces for an attack on Arzachel and Daedalus. But oddly enough, the Kyusai Team seemed to have moved beyond ZAFT's standard defensive zone independently, and no one could explain why. That concerned Faith, who wondered if perhaps this were more string pulling by Sera.

Shaking that off and determining there was nothing new of interest—Durandal's takeoff for Messiah and orders for the _Minerva_ to return to space were hardly a surprise and had already been reported—Faith turned her attention to the VIs.

The VIs—Virtual Intelligences—were developed from Faith using data obtained in what ended up being a very risky manner. The actual goal had been to create full-blown AIs, but even getting the data needed for the VIs had almost irreparably damaged Faith's code, something Faith suspected Sera was responsible for. However, they had gotten enough to create VIs that would start in the so-called mid-development stage rather than from scratch, the way Faith had. That was the 'full version', installed only on the Strike Freedom, Redemption and Blackfire Blitz.

A cut down 'basic version' had been developed that would be able to help adapt the pilots to the new mobile assault frame, along with a few other things. Unlike the full versions, which could make minute corrections on the fly and would eventually develop into AIs comparable to Faith (though there was some debate if Faith would ever have a true equal), these only helped the pilot compensate for the changes, and had no ability to develop or adapt, and would be disengaged soon enough.

Like Makoto, Kira had only used the support for one battle, when he launched the Strike Freedom, much like Makoto had only used Faith's support the first time she flew the Sincerity. After that first fight, Kira had disengaged the VI support the same as Makoto had removed Faith from the Sincerity's systems. Still, the VI would have, at best, minimal trouble with its development, though it wasn't necessarily optimal. She'd talk to Kira—it would develop best if it were able to offer at least some support, and she figured she could at least convince him to let the VI offer system corrections, saving Kira the trouble of doing them himself. The corrections tended to be so minute that they wouldn't be worth the trouble mid-combat, but a VI could do it without trouble.

Faith let out a sigh, checking everything over. Luna and Meyrin were catching up with everything that had happened since Athrun had been forced on the run not quite two weeks ago. On the other hand, Makoto and Shiho had a lot more catching up to do, especially with the need to introduce Minako to the others.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"So, Stella really _was_ Kira's sister, Chris isn't back, the Earth Forces commander turned out to Mr. La Flaga, and Shinn's sister is so attached to Chris… er… Treize… that she went turncoat?" said Saul, leaning back slightly.

"Put simply? Yes," said Minako lightly, drawing the attention of the others to her.

"I see," said Shiho. "So, you're Hotaru Aino, huh?"

"Huh?" Minako looked entirely bewildered.

"Athrun told us about it," said Nicol.

"Oh… um…" The brunette glanced at her cousin for support, but the redhead was obviously not in the business of giving it out right now, focusing instead on Miyuki. Minako sighed. "Actually, I stopped using that name. My real name is Minako Rei Arata."

Makoto _really_ hoped Faith was recording this. The looks on her friends' faces were absolutely _priceless_ (unlike Athrun, who'd become suspicious somewhere along the line).

"Yeah, sorry about not introducing all of you properly," said Makoto lightly.

Shiho let out a sigh.

"So the so-called 'mercenary' was actually your cousin," muttered Shiho. "Can I ask why?"

"Ami," said Minako simply. "I was there to try and recover Ami."

"Okay, but why not just come out and say everything from the start?" questioned Saul, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

The two Izanami Princesses let out small sighs. This… would take awhile.

**

* * *

**

Meyrin's Room

"I see," said Meyrin. "Sounds like you've had it rough."

"Well, probably rougher than you did," said Luna, smiling as she leaned back on her sister's bed. "Aside from… from the recovery. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine," said Meyrin. "It's still kind of hard to move around at times. There was some bone damage as well, but it seems Athrun actually took the brunt of it. I was lucky."

"Hmm, maybe he gave his luck to you?" suggested Luna teasingly, having recognized her sister's crush on the Crimson Knight, prompting a blush from Meyrin.

"Sis, really…" said Meyrin, sounding oddly admonishing. "Well… it doesn't matter. He likes Lady Cagalli, so…"

"Yeah, well, as if that wasn't obvious," murmured Luna, laying back on the bed. "Still, I'm relieved. Somehow, everything's worked out okay. I mean, sure, Djibril is still out there, but he's got no support anymore, right? So once he's out of the way, it's just a matter of stopping the Chairman's Destiny Plan. I hope that can be done peacefully."

"I think the Chairman will back down if enough people oppose it," said Meyrin. She smiled slightly. "So it's just a matter of taking care of Logos."

"Yeah… there are two places he could've fled too up there," said Luna. "Arzachel and Daedalus. Hmm… if ZAFT strikes one and Izanami strikes the other at the same time, he won't have anywhere left to run."

"Hmmm…" Meyrin studied her sister closely before smiling. "So, sis, why don't you tell me more about that Gundam you're piloting now?"

"Heh." Luna smiled, pulling herself into a sitting position, and starting on the details of her new mobile suit… and her new team.

**

* * *

**

Izanami Defense Force _Yomi_-class Cruiser _Mahō_

The violet-eyed brunette let out a tired sigh after downing her glass of water. It had been an exhausting day, her first time seeing real combat, and she was still worn even though the battle had ended hours ago.

"I told you fighting was hard," commented a cerulean-eyed rosette leaning back in her seat in the lounge slightly. "But you stubbornly refused to listen. Really, your lack of concern for your own health is troublesome, Nanoha."

"I know, Signum," replied Nanoha, giving her friend a tired smile.

"Hey, Nanoha's doing better than I am, right?" put in another brunette, this one with shorter hair and blue eyes, laying out on one of the benches in the lounge.

"I told you not to join the military," scolded a violet-eyed blonde woman, though the fondness in her voice was still apparent. She sighed. "Honestly, Hayate, you're as stubborn as Nanoha."

Hayate simply gave her caretaker, Shamal Kawazu, an abashed smile, which prompted another sigh from the blonde.

They were all that was left of the _Mahō_'s pilots after the battle earlier, though they hadn't known any of the others very well—their unit, consisting of a trio of M3s and Signum's M4, had initially been assigned to the Timeless Garden. Reassignment to the _Mahō_ had been a last minute thing for all four of them.

"You did well out there," said Signum. "Still, you shouldn't strain yourselves. Vita's probably having a fit as it is." The mention of Signum's generally childish cousin prompted a small sigh from the others.

"We should give her a call later," commented Shamal. "And also have her pass on our thanks to Commander Harlaown."

"His training wasn't intense enough."

"Nanoha…" Signum's voice didn't hide her exasperation with Nanoha's idea of proper training.

* * *

**Author's Notes: If you're wondering about that last bit****…**** there were several reasons. I won't go into most of them, but maybe the fact that this ship lost half its machines and pilots will make it clearer that last chapter was not a flawless victory for the good guy's. I just put the focus on the characters who happen to be in too advantageous of a position to get shot down easily.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed the meetings between Lacus and Meer, then Kira and Luna. Also hoped you liked Lunamaria and Meyrin's reunion. I'm not going into absolute detail on everything; I'm not a perfect writer, and the content in question could probably end up as a story all on its own. I, frankly, don't have time to go into _that_ level of detail.**

**On a sidenote, I'm going to have _so much fun_ putting Kira firmly into the spotlight. Oops, was I not supposed to spoil that? ^_^**

**Anyways, someone once complained that Makoto was the main character. I suppose that depends on your views on it; she's definitely a predominant POV, because she's easy for me to write, but that doesn't necessarily make her the main character, especially since everyone has their moments. I can certainly tell you that Treize is the character that receives the _absolute most development in this whole damn story_. Shinn gets a fair share as well; he's no longer the whiny, emo, egotistical brat he was at the beginning, and he's starting to mellow out and become desperate. Like I said, I hope that, if you don't like this take on Shinn, you at least feel sympathetic to him. I really feel for the guy (well of course I do. If I was one of those people who just flatout hated him, I wouldn't be giving him all of this). I just felt like bringing up the importance of development; the dominant POV is not necessarily the main character, nor is being central to events (though both tend to contribute greatly).  
**

**Meer learns of the Destiny Plan, and it shatters whatever faith she had left in Durandal, causing her to help Lacus "out him" in a world-wide broadcast. The full-scale of the reactions is something I'll leave up to the readers, but don't forget that outrage at a politician from the citizenry isn't always gonna stop them from pursuing their path. Durandal will present a response at some point; can't say when for sure, but it shouldn't be too long.**

**Oh, and for the record, that bit with Nabiki and the persona referred to as "Erica"? Let's just say its continuing something of a running gag and leave it at that****…**

**In any case, I think I've covered just about everything. Awesome as it was, I didn't enjoy last chapter with its solid battle focus. This chapter still isn't that great; excited as I am to be getting to this point, it's honestly more of wanting to finish this story (and I know dragging it out is my fault, but I still have some things I really want to pull out on you), because I want to start writing the sequel (among other things).**

**Alright then; everyone, _please_ leave a review! If the review numbers continue to be in the region they were last chapter, I'll be able to end this story with over _900_ reviews, which would bring me really close to my goal of 1000. So please, _please_ help me get there! I love knowing that I've managed to create an entertaining story for everyone, and I love hearing about your reactions to it.**

**I hope to see everyone soon! Say****ōnara!**


	43. Phase 43: The Hand of Sorrow

**Edit 7/29/2012: Redid some of the final sections a little to be more in line with what I originally wanted, specifically the resolution of the Kira-Makoto subplot, which had been sort of rushed and difficult to write the first time around.  
**

**Well, to start, I'd like to apologize for not updating for two months. This was a very important chapter though, one that I really needed to get right on as many levels as I could manage. Given all that, I don't think I did too bad, and it's a nice, long chapter****…**** the second longest, in fact, after _Phase 35: The Solstice of Angels_.**

**There's a lot going on here; the main focus is on the protagonists in Orb, though both Leon and Shinn get a modest bit of screentime, and the Kyusai Team plays a pivotal role in events as well. I would also like to assure you all that, yes, pretty much everything here was planned from the beginning. The only aspects that really weren't were Leon's scenes.**

**I'm probably also going to disappoint a lot of you. Word of advice: look up polyamorous if you want to understand some of the things that are talked about towards the end of the chapter.**

**Also, this chapter will feature the last song of this fic, but it is, by _far_, the most important; basically, it's the theme song for the entire damn fic. Here's the "link": ** watch?v=16ttYwm7GEA

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story; and Tellemicus Sundance for serving as a second Beta-reader and reviewer on this chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own all members of the Kyusai Team.**

* * *

Phase Forty-Three: The Hand of Sorrow

January 21st, C.E. 74

* * *

The _Autumn Rose_

"You're confident in these pilots?" questioned Suiren, looking over the roster Sakura had presented her with.

"Yes," confirmed the redhead. "Six are veterans who fought at Jachin Due. The rest have shown exemplary performance, potential or both."

"GENESIS?"

"They abandoned GENESIS," said Sakura rolling her eyes. "Really, would I bring people like _that_ to you?"

"No," murmured Suiren. "I suppose not." She glanced at Sakura. "The ZAKUs are convenient as well… was that you're doing?"

"The option for GOUFs was offered, but I requested the pilots retain their ZAKUs," answered Sakura. "The GOUFs have an inherent flaw not present in the ZAKUs."

"Yeah," muttered Suiren. "Have you checked with anyone who could swap with Max? As good as he is with that GOUF, he's at his best in the sniper arena."

"Of course," said Sakura. "Neil Jansson. As a close-combat specialist, he's the perfect pilot to switch machines with Max."

"Good," said the blonde, frowning as she continued to study the records on the monitor. She brought up two of them, filling the screen. "These two… Ai Serizawa and Allan Isakson… what's their relationship?"

"Oh? You spotted it huh?" said Sakura, clearly amused. "As you probably guessed from the pictures, they attended the same class in the ZAFT Academy, and were assigned to the same unit on graduation. That unit suffered heavy losses in a skirmish two weeks ago, but they managed to make it out okay along with several others. They do seem a bit too concerned with one another. They may work best if teamed up, but if you want to teach them…"

"No, we'll assign Serizawa to Isakson's wing," said Suiren. "We don't have time to weed out bad habits right now."

"Very well," said Sakura lightly. "Now, I want to go into some more detail on a few of them, starting with Avis Miyashiro…"

* * *

Orb Union

"Casualty assessments are complete," said Faith. "There are three hundred and fifty-seven confirmed civilian casualties and another forty-one missing persons. There were also approximately fifty thousand deaths among Orb soldiers, mostly naval crews. Our own casualty assessment is approximately two hundred and fourteen, all pilots."

"Hmm." Makoto sighed, setting down the report on her desk in the Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower. It was actually surprising that there was a higher casualty count among civilians then among the Izanami soldiers. In fact, the civilian casualty count was more than three times the number incurred in the First Battle of Orb.

Well, when one considered the reason, that wasn't surprising. On the surface, what ZAFT had done wasn't anything especially brutal beyond jumping into action, and even though they'd ripped Durandal over that, it wasn't entirely without precedent. There were, remarkably, barely more than two dozen civilian casualties from the main attack, largely servants at the Seiran Estate. Considering that idiot Yuna didn't evacuate anyone, Makoto was surprised there weren't more casualties in the city.

The subterranean attacks, though, were nothing short of sickening to Makoto. Sure, it might've been targeted at Djibril, but even if it were, there would be no way to confirm if they'd gotten him in one of the shelters. They'd destroyed three civilian shelters and the Seiran shelter with their Geo-GOOhNs, and Makoto was sorely tempted to rip Durandal a new one over it. Even the Earth Forces hadn't targeted shelters, though they had hit the city areas hard and would've incurred a huge casualty count if not for the evacuation.

The Seiran House was almost completely wiped out as well; there were only two survivors, a brother and sister, both members of a branch house, who'd been out in the city when the attack began and took refuge in a civilian shelter.

But the First Fleet's combat debut was impressive—relatively speaking, they'd come away unscathed. Most of the casualties had been incurred by the forces from the Kairi Fleet and those stationed to defend Morgenroete.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being in charge?" questioned Makoto.

"Occasionally," answered Faith. The redhead sighed.

She'd been commanding pretty much since she formally entered a military service, back when she enlisted in the Earth Forces in order to keep close to the Dauntless. Back then, she'd been so uncertain of her own ability to lead that she'd messed up constantly whenever she'd tried, and it had usually been Kira who kept bailing her ass out of the fire. The exception was planning prior to a battle, but the one major time she helped in that, the plan had fallen apart pretty quickly. Not that it had been a bad thing in the long run, but even still…

Then, of course, while she'd been seen a bit informally as the leader among the Gundams of the Three Ships Alliance, she'd never actually done anything of the sort. It wasn't until after the war, when she became heavily embroiled in politics and command of the Taiyonoha Fleet, that she really started coming into her own as a commander… and also got her first taste of the real nightmare faced by commanders.

"Where's Kira?" she muttered.

"The Athha Estate, of course."

"Well tell him to get his ass over here! He's an admiral of Izanami as well, so he's gonna help me with all of this! And get Admiral Ishida in here too!"

* * *

Kurama Hospital

"How are you feeling, Mr. Zala?" questioned Dr. Asano.

"I'm fine," answered Athrun, which drew a chuckle from Asano.

"You'll forgive me if I don't entirely believe you," he said. "Lord Kira was rather adamant about the question being pointless, because you'd always answer exactly as you just did."

"Uh…" Athrun really had no answer to that as the doctor checked his condition.

"Well, either way, I think you're good enough for visitors," continued Asano.

"Visitors?"

"Yes," answered Asano, walking over the door. "Lady Cagalli is still busy with state matters; Lady Makoto and Lord Kira are busy handling the fleet, but you do have a few visitors." He opened the door and stepped outside. "You can see him now."

Athrun struggled to get a better view of the door, but before he could so, his visitors walked through.

"Oh, calm down Athrun, would it kill you to wait a few seconds?" questioned Saul as he walked in, Nicol, Shiho and Lunamaria behind him. "Tch, just like you, always struggling and getting yourself into trouble."

"Nice to see you guys too," said Athrun. "Care to tell me what exactly happened?" He'd known they were here since yesterday, when he saw them on the screen as Kira, Lacus and Makoto explained the Destiny Plan, but hadn't had the chance to speak to them.

"The Kessel Team defected to Terminal," said Saul casually. "Well, more like we were always agents of the Terminal." Saul threw a glare at Nicol. "Mr. Grim Reaper over there, though, turned out to be working for Makoto the entire time. He's the one who's been getting all the information to the _Archangel_ and he _never told us_."

Athrun blinked in surprise as Nicol returned Saul's glare.

"I've told you not to call me that!"

"Um, I agree with Nicol," said Luna, drawing attention to herself. Saul stared at her disbelievingly, and Athrun was about to voice a question before Shiho beat him with one of her own.

"Why is that?" asked the brunette mildly.

"Because 'Grim Reaper' doesn't _begin_ to describe it."

Nicol scowled, which prompted a laugh from Saul.

"Lunamaria… sorry about getting Meyrin involved," said Athrun. Luna shook her head.

"No, its fine," she said. "Meyrin told me everything."

"I see," he murmured. "So, what about you? How'd you end up here?"

"Um… I joined the Kessel Team for their defection?" answered Luna, biting down on Suiren's involvement again.

"And got one of the Triad Gundams for her trouble," added Saul lightly. "Too bad I missed seeing them in work."

"The Triad?" questioned Athrun.

"One of Terminal's mobile suit projects," said Nicol, pulling a seat out from the desk. "Pretty impressive too, from what I've heard."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

After Makoto called Kira to the Command Tower, Lacus had taken Ami and headed for the Taiyonoha Estate to talk to Liz, Louisa and Minako. Upon arriving, she discussed the long-term issue, and her idea of how to solve it.

"You're crazy, you know that?" muttered Liz. "Where the hell did you think up that?"

"It makes sense to me," commented Louisa, idly leaning back in her seat. "The problem isn't how they feel—it's that they won't face it."

"Ami and I are new to all of this," commented Minako, rubbing her temples slightly. "Alright, let me see if I've got this right: Kira and Makoto have… some kind of a relationship beyond simple friendship or anything sibling-like… but they refuse to resolve it. So you're going to take advantage of the time it will take for Durandal or Djibril to reach any place of actual importance to setup circumstances so that you can force them to resolve their issues… okay, I've got all that… so how the hell is fruit punch supposed to help with this?"

Lacus, Liz and Louisa all shared an amused glance, and Minako _swore _she saw at least one of them twitch from the urge to burst out laughing.

Ami, on the other hand, simply looked at the others uncertainly, not really understanding why she was here.

"I guess Makoto's refrained from showing Miss Minako her greatest passion?" asked Lacus, giggling slightly.

"Mmm, well, to summarize: I once saw Makoto drain half a bowl of punch in about twenty seconds," said Liz. Minako was fairly certain her jaw had just hit the floor.

"But after the incident at the _Kusanagi_ launch ceremony, she's been rather guarded," added Louisa. "That's where you two come in."

"Let me guess: you want me to spike the punch," said Minako.

"I'm… a decoy?" guessed Ami. Lacus nodded, smiling at Ami.

"Kira and Makoto are probably guarded with us," she said. "But not with Ami. And Minako, you're the only one who could possibly get by unnoticed."

"Not 'get by'," said Minako, frowning. "But spike the punch, probably." She turned a scornful eye on the three women. "But I promise you that you're signing all our death warrants."

"Well, it would be best to get it dealt with, now," said Lacus softly, glancing at her hands and stroking Kira's gift to her.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Shinn's eyes narrowed as he replayed the footage of Athrun's new machine as it knocked away his boomerangs once again. He'd watched the footage of the battle several times now, trying to discern everything he could.

The Dark Knight had chosen his path—he would continue to support the Chairman. And that meant that Athrun was still his enemy. He needed to know how to beat the Crimson Knight the next time they met.

Aleksi sat on the other side of the lounge, the only other occupant, silent so as not to interrupt Shinn's thoughts. He seemed to be closing others, even herself and Rey, off more and more, and she was growing increasingly concerned.

After awhile, Aleksi decided to disregard her orders to leave Shinn alone, standing up and walking over to stand in front of him.

"Shinn," she said softly, breaking his reverie and drawing his eyes up to her. "Can we talk?"

"Yes, of course," said Shinn quickly, setting aside the laptop.

"Thanks," said Aleksi, sitting down next to the younger Recoat.

"So, what's up?" asked Shinn.

"I'm worried about you," admitted Aleksi.

"Worried?"

"Shinn, you've been distant ever since Operation Fury," said the blonde. "You're being too hard on yourself. Not every mission can end in success."

"I know that!" said Shinn, turning to face her. "I know that… but still… because we failed, that son of a bitch got away, and now he can keep killing more people!"

"Just killing him won't stop it, you know," said Aleksi softly, bringing Shinn up short. "It'll only slow things down. War has become second nature to humans… we fight over territory, we fight over resources, we fight those who are different from us… that's just what humans are, and it's been that way for millennia now. Most people can't be bothered about it anymore, and others refuse to coexist. Not many people in positions of power actually care about peace."

"The Chairman does," countered Shinn.

"Yes, but he's the exception, not the rule," said Aleksi. "And you know… you're the same way."

"What?"

Aleksi turned to face Shinn, meeting his eyes, and he almost recoiled at the look in them, one that he couldn't define on any level. The blonde placed a hand on the boy's cheek, her eyes shining ever so slightly with warmth as she smiled at him.

"You have power, and you want peace," said Aleksi. "And I believe in you."

With that, Aleksi did something totally unexpected, leaning forward and pressing her lips against Shinn's. His eyes widened as he froze in shock, unable to believe what happened. He didn't respond in any way, neither sinking into the kiss, nor pushing her away, and after a moment, Aleksi pulled back, giving him a small smile that seemed, for once, a little shy.

"W-w-wha… what was that?" cried Shinn, taken completely off-guard.

"What? Still at the age where it's embarrassing to kiss a girl?" questioned Aleksi.

"No, that's not it!" said Shinn. "What's with you all of a sudden? You were like this back at Heaven's Base too!" Aleksi's face hardened so fast that Shinn actually did recoil this time.

"Did you ever think that maybe I liked you Shinn?" cried Aleksi angrily, jumping forward slightly and slamming him down on the bench, laying on top of him as his laptop was knocked aside. "Don't ask me when it was, but somewhere along the line, I really started to care about you more than I should have! But I've been a soldier for years… I told myself you could die at any time, like so many of my friends in the past! The only thing that's changed is that I stopped caring about that!"

"Aleksi…" breathed Shinn, staring up at her with wide eyes… which only widened further when he saw tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Damn it Shinn… I'm scared," said Aleksi. "I'm scared that you'll become so obsessed with this that you'll lose sight of yourself and what you're fighting for. I've seen so many people do that, even in times of peace…"

Gently, Shinn reached up and pushed Aleksi off of him, sitting up straight, staring into her eyes with a strange calm as he began to understand the situation for her.

"Alright," he said. "I promise that I won't lose sight of what I'm fighting for."

"Shinn…"

The Destiny pilot reached out, pulling Aleksi into a gentle hug. He didn't return her feelings, but he wasn't about to let that ruin the friendship he had with her.

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Lacus let out a sigh as she sent Liz and Louisa off to prepare for the night, leaving the rosette alone with Ami and Minako, neither of whom she'd really gotten the chance to speak to.

"Um… well…" started Lacus.

"Heh… this is a lot more awkward than it should be," said Minako, smiling slightly with her eyes closed as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, it really is," said Lacus, shaking her head with a small smile. "Well… let's start with a proper introduction." She held out a hand. "My name is Lacus Clyne."

"Heh… Minako Rei Arata," replied the brunette, returning Lacus's smile.

"Uh… Ami… Ami Hibiki," added the blonde uncertainly.

Lacus giggled slightly, realizing that hadn't done much to dispel the awkwardness.

"Mmm, okay, why don't you two tell me a bit about yourselves?" suggested Lacus.

"That would probably be easiest," agreed Minako. "Hmm… I'll start."

* * *

Stealth Ship _Lydia_

Leon let out a small sigh, running a hand through his gold-brown hair as he watched the mechanics work on the Valiant at lightning speed. He'd been told it would be done by tomorrow morning, and he was to head off to Daedalus and help defend it from a ZAFT attack once it was discovered that Djibril was there.

Thus far, he hadn't been allowed anywhere but the hangar and the guest quarters he'd been given yesterday. The security personnel who enforced this had been tightlipped on the subject, and he hadn't seen Raphael or Hanako just yet, which was more than a little annoying.

Letting out a sigh, Leon stared down at the mechanics, wondering how many of them knew the true extent of Horizon's goals.

"Leon," cut in a voice suddenly, causing Leon to spin about.

Gabriel's right hand man, Raphael, stood before him with a slight frown on his face.

"Raphael," replied Leon coolly. "Can I ask why I've been under such strict surveillance?"

"Honestly? You can blame the captain for that one," said Raphael lightly, motioning for Leon to follow him as he left the hangar. "She's called Noah, and she's one of Gabriel's biggest aces. She doesn't trust you, and is touchy about being ordered to command the _Lydia_ for this mission."

"I expected you to be in command," commented Leon, surprised. "Though I suppose I'd be rather touchy about barge driver duty…"

"Yes, well, Gabriel forced me to stick around, delaying my departure," explained Raphael, shooing away a few of the guards that had kept Leon's travels in the ship limited. "We couldn't delay if we wanted the Valiant's upgrades completed."

"I see."

"That's also why you weren't able to see Hanako sooner," said Raphael. "These days, I try to keep a close eye on her, so she came here with me."

"In her condition?" questioned Leon, worried as they arrived at an unassuming door. Raphael pushed his glasses a bit more firmly onto his face.

"Her physical condition is fine," he said, pressing the door switch, opening it. "But her mental condition… well…"

Leon looked at the sole occupant of the room on the other side of the door, floating in the air, legs under her and to the side as though sitting, staring out the window at the stars.

"Hhuuu."

"Hanako…" he breathed softly.

* * *

Orb Union

Lunamaria sat at an outdoor table of the Cat's Eye Café, watching as another vessel of the First Fleet disappeared into the sky.

The deployment of the First Fleet wasn't really permanent. Half of it had been given a partial resupply by Orb as repayment for their assistance, and was now heading into space. The plan, as she understood it, was that once the Second Fleet arrived, the First Fleet would return to Izanami.

The reasons for this weren't public, but of course, Luna had been present when Kira, Lacus and Makoto had detailed the Destiny Plan, so she knew it was in preparation to fight against that, and possibly to go after Djibril as well. Despite her new position, that wasn't entirely clear to her.

Lunamaria herself had been officially recognized as a soldier of Izanami—rather funny since she still hadn't even been to one of those three massive cylinders—and not even as a regular soldier, but as part of an elite unit known as the Shugotenshi, a special forces group that acted under the direct authority of the Supreme Commander, and was comprised solely of Gundam pilots.

"I think that was the seventeenth ship," commented Asagi, shifting the straw in her milkshake slightly. "That means… seven more, right?"

"I think they're sending up another nine, actually," said Flay. Lunamaria lowered her eyes from the sky to focus on her new teammates instead.

Coming to the Cat's Eye had been Flay's suggestion, since the three of them would be working together for the immediate future. Getting to know each other had seemed like a good idea, and Flay figured this café was best, for various reasons—including the interesting tidbit that it had now been through two separate invasions with little more than a scratch from some flying debris, even with several buildings around it utterly annihilated.

"Still, it's amazing, isn't it?" commented Lunamaria.

"Hmm?"

"Izanami… I… never really realized how strong they were," she explained. "How… how did they manage all of this without anyone noticing?"

"I'm… really not sure," admitted Flay. "Asagi?"

"I haven't been there either," replied the blonde. "I mean… well, of course, I knew how powerful the mobile suits were, but production is much higher than I thought it was… and those ships…"

"That's right, you were a test pilot for the prototypes, weren't you?" said Luna.

"Well, the production ones anyways," said Asagi. "We lost the original Astray prototypes in the attack on Heliopolis. Three of them fell into the hands of the Junk Guild, Serpent Tail and the Sahaku House, and the wreckage of a fourth was found in Heliopolis during a recent search, but we never found out what happened to the last one."

"They're searching the Heliopolis debris field again?" questioned Flay, surprised.

"Well, Izanami is close to there, isn't it?" commented Luna, taking a quick sip of her soda. "Why wouldn't they?"

"Well, I've heard about recent activity that seemed… unusual," said Flay. Asagi nodded.

"It was about three weeks ago that it got started," she said. She'd been more highly placed in the IDF than Flay, so she knew more about it, but… "There have been rumors that Makoto ordered the search. She seems to be looking for a mobile suit, but…"

"A mobile suit… I don't know how any machine could've survived this long in those ruins," murmured Flay. "At least, not without being found long ago."

"Yeah, but the searches have only been intensifying," said Asagi. "It's the strangest thing…"

"Well, maybe that's just a rumor," suggested Luna, surprising the other two.

"A rumor?"

"Well, yeah…" Luna glanced between them, feeling a bit uncomfortable being the focus of their curious eyes. "I mean, even if you're public with everything, rumors get started, so if you want to hide something, why not start a different rumor… right?"

"Mmm… maybe," commented Asagi. "I really don't know."

"Well, that's probably not a topic we should be too worried about," said Flay, deciding to change the subject. She smiled, focusing on Luna. "So, tell us a bit more about yourself… Ensign Hawke."

"Uh…" Luna didn't answer at first, but after a moment, she started giggling. "Huh… never had an actual rank attachment before. Alright then…"

* * *

The _Lydia_

Leon knew he should be sad or heartbroken. That he should be raging at Horizon for doing this to his sister, to the only family he had left.

But…

"Hhuuu…"

He felt warm.

"Believe me, I know how you feel," said Raphael softly, nudging Leon inside. Hanako didn't take notice. "It's impossible to be angry or sad around her. I've seen the worst kinds of criminals brought into a room with her and watched as they broke down with guilt and tears for what they had done, then watched as that evaporated and they became happy."

Raphael sighed… or rather, he tried too, but he found himself smiling slightly instead.

"In spite of what those… what Horizon did to her…" Leon could tell Raphael was trying to be disgusted and failing miserably; Leon himself felt the same way as he approached his sister. "Her mind may have fallen into this state, but her powers are beyond anything I've ever seen."

Hanako shifted, twisting slightly to face her two visitors. Her big, innocent blue eyes focused on Leon, and she smiled cutely. Leon found himself returning the smile, unable to feel much besides happiness as he reached out and pulled his sister into a gentle hug, confusing her, as she no longer had any understanding of what it was.

The tears that came to his face should've been ones of anger or sorrow… but what few tears were shed came from pure joy.

"Hhuuu…?"

"It'd be sickening to be this happy all the time if she didn't wipe even that away," commented Raphael. "Li…" He cut himself off, apparently about to let something slip, but Leon didn't pay it any mind. "Some people like to spend time with her simply because she can chase away the sorrow. Her very presence is like a drug, and it's only gotten stronger since you last saw her."

"I noticed," said Leon, letting go of his mind broken little sister, who gave that sweet, childish smile.

"Hhuuu…"

She never spoke anymore. The only sound he'd heard from her in… well, in longer than he could remember… was that light, sigh-like sound.

"She doesn't really respond to words," said Raphael, walking over to a wall and opening a poorly hidden panel—not that Hanako would've paid it much mind. She was like a child, though generally lacking normal child-like curiosity. "But she does reply to some visual stimulus, and of course, the presence of others as well."

Raphael flipped a switch, and Leon saw small objects pouring out into space around the window.

"Those look like…"

"Yes," said Raphael. "DRAGOON pods. You know, not even our strongest Newtypes can control these through the Neuro-comm. we attained from ZAFT; and even with all the best technology we can produce for the more conventional use, they can't control more than twenty or so effectively, and only around thirty all total."

"That's… a lot more than thirty," commented Leon, staring out the window. Raphael nodded.

"Hhuuu…"

The sigh from Hanako, this time, seemed to be one of pure joy.

"This entire room is a Neuro-comm.," explained Raphael. "You see, Hanako _can_ control the DRAGOON system with just that."

To Leon's surprise, the DRAGOONs all seemed to come alive at once. He watched as more and more continued to deploy before they eventually stopped coming out, but still leaving the area outside the window filled with DRAGOONs that seemed to be… dancing?

"How many…?"

"We've seen her control over three hundred units at once," answered Raphael.

"Three hundred?" gasped Leon softly in disbelief.

"Yes," said Raphael softly. "It's a good thing she has this strange effect on people and won't fight, or Gabriel might've tried sending her out to the battlefield."

Anger flared in Leon at those words, but Hanako sapped it away as she let out another contented sigh, watching her 'toys' dance through the void of space, firing their weapons occasionally to create beautiful patterns like flowers that lit up the void for a few brief seconds.

"Absolute control," murmured Raphael. "Perfect coordination across two hundred DRAGOON units. The coordination starts to fall a bit past that point, but it's still far beyond the known realm of possibility. Even our quantum computers can't manage that in simulations, and most certainly not in physical tests." He chuckled. "Of course, even Gabriel can't bear to send her out." His smile faded. "There is one person she can't seem to get to, though."

"Huh?"

"Michael… or rather, Mikhail Andras," explained Raphael. "He's valuable to Gabriel, but after seeing him with Hanako, I'm starting to doubt that he's even human. No remorse, only glee… he wanted to experiment on her. Everyone else, from Gabriel to Eve to Noah, nearly killed him for even thinking of such a thing."

Leon's hand nearly curled into a fist, but his anger was sapped away by Hanako before he was even halfway done.

Raphael managed to get out a small sigh, which impressed Leon at this point, as he hit a switch and recalled the DRAGOONs.

"Hhuuu…"

Hanako looked down, obviously sad, but the sorrow faded almost as quickly as it had come.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Raphael softly, walking out of the room and closing it behind him.

Leon focused on Hanako, who returned his gaze, smiling cutely.

"Hhuuu…"

Leon had thought of this moment for a month now. What he wanted to say, but all of that…

It all relied on emotions he couldn't even feel around her.

"Hey… Hanako…" he started, smiling at his sister, deciding to improvise. "It'll be over soon, so… well…"

* * *

The _Minerva_

After leaving Aleksi in the lounge, Shinn had started a search for another individual who he needed to talk to. The problem, of course, was actually trying to find Tristan when he wasn't in his room.

He'd also checked the cafeteria, the other lounges, even the hangar. He'd run into every other pilot except for Rey, but still no sign of Tristan.

Letting out a faint sigh, Shinn headed for one of the observation decks… and to his surprise, he found Tristan already there, staring out at the stars. The blond glanced back over his shoulder at Shinn, eyes widening slightly in surprise. Shinn let out a small sigh, moving forward to stand next to Tristan.

"If you're going to apologize again, save it," said Tristan, surprising Shinn. "It's… ugh…"

"I'm not gonna apologize for saving your life," replied Shinn after a moment, staring out the window. "But I am sorry that… that she had to die."

"That wasn't your fault," said Tristan.

"I told you, I'll always be the guy that pulled the trigger," said Shinn, turning to Tristan. "Listen, I'll understand if you hate me, but…" Shinn sighed. "Can I count on you, to watch my back until Logos is gone? If not, then… well, I'll understand."

Tristan was quiet for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

Since things got started at Armory One… Tristan had started to truly learn the meaning of what it was to hate. He hated the enemy, he hated Logos… and yes, part of him also hated Shinn for what the Redcoat had done.

But…

"I'll watch your back," he said. "You can count on it." He turned to face Shinn. "Because I don't have the power to destroy Logos. So I'll use what power I have to make sure you can."

"Thanks."

* * *

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

"Ah, you're here, Commander," said the receptionist, seeing Treize enter the building, fingering the IDF commander's rank insignia he'd been given somewhat uncomfortably. He still wore his black Earth Forces uniform, and he wasn't unique in this; the defected ZAFT forces still wore the uniforms of that organization. The former EX-C tore his eyes from the insignia to look at the receptionist, giving a slight nod.

"I'm here to see the Supreme Commander," he said.

"I see," said the man lightly. "She's been expecting you." He hit a switch on the desk, and the door behind him on the right opened up. "You'll find her in her office. If you need help finding it, then I'm sure that… uh… 'Faith'… can help you out."

It was clear the man was uncertain, perhaps even outright uncomfortable, with the AI that had no doubt taken up temporary residence in the Tower computer systems. Treize gave him a slight nod before heading through the opened door. Once it was closed, he let out a small sigh.

"The elevators are directly ahead," came Faith's voice. "Makoto's office is on the fifth floor."

"Thank you," he replied, heading towards the elevators.

After taking the time to check Mariemeia over completely, the doctors had determined that it actually _was_ possible to 'free her' from being an EX-C… given enough time. However, they couldn't say what sort of effect that might have on her: would she remain as she was now, or would her original personality reassert itself? That was the big unknown, particularly given her poor mental condition.

Which had just made it more shocking when she seemed completely unconcerned by the possibility. She seemed increasingly stable, increasingly at peace, and Treize couldn't help but wonder as to how that had happened.

But that wasn't why Treize was here now. Maia's clinginess had let up a little, and having now sorted through things a bit more himself, Treize needed to tell Kira and Makoto about Zane.

The one occasion so far where Treize had the chance to 'speak' to Chris, such as the interaction could be called, his other self had expressed confusion over Zane's present actions, but perhaps that was simply a result of Chris not being entirely aware … or even present, for that matter.

As he rode the elevator, Treize looked at the metal door and saw his own mismatched eyes faintly reflected back at him.

For his own part, Treize didn't find it all that surprising, once he came to understand Zane's history. His past was just the sort of thing that would drive a person to support the Destiny Plan. Still, he needed to tell Kira and Makoto; as Lacus had said, they were the ultimate leaders in the fight against the Destiny Plan.

The elevator stopped, door opening, and Treize stepped out, glancing both ways down the hallway.

"Left, an immediate right, and at the end of the hall," came Faith's voice. Treize nodded.

"Thanks," he repeated, following the directions.

Within Makoto's office, she handed Ishida's report back to him, throwing a glare at the commander of the First Fleet.

"You could've cut that down you know," she said acidly.

"Now, now, you may be my superior, but I've been in the military since you were in diapers," replied Ishida calmly. "I understand how things work better than you do, and in fact, that whole report was necessary." Makoto saw Kira smirking lightly out of the corner of her eye, and turned her glare on him.

Fortunately, that was when a knock came, alerting them to Treize's arrival.

* * *

Meanwhile

In one of the Command Tower's lounges, Saki leaned back, letting out a small sigh after finishing her report as commander of the Kairi Fleet.

Being put in command of the fleet had been a huge surprise for her—but then, so had been getting put in command of the _Suijin_.

Of course, Saki had been a soldier for a long time—in fact, she'd fought as part of the naval forces of the Republic of East Asia throughout the Eleven Month Conflict of the Bloody Valentine War. But when anti-Coordinator sentiments started to spread and become more vicious, she'd been forced to take her younger sister, a First Generation Coordinator, and flee the country, first to the Equatorial Union, then to Copernicus City. Eventually, when Izanami started quietly bringing in emigrants as the first stage of the planned secession from Orb, she'd gone there with her sister, and enlisted in the military, becoming a soldier of the Taiyonoha Fleet. When the _Suijin_ was launched, she was put in charge of it.

"Sis? You here?" came a voice suddenly. Saki straightened in her seat, spinning about to see a young woman wearing an Izanami uniform walk into the lounge. "Ah, there you are."

"Setsuka?" gasped Saki. "What are you…?"

"Obviously I joined the military as well, Saki," answered Setsuka mildly, brushing a strand of her long black hair away from her light brown eyes. Saki spotted the rank insignia.

"Lieutenant?" she questioned with a raised brow.

"Uh… yeah…" Setsuka looked a little uncertain suddenly. "I heard it was something of a joke about Captain Ramius and when she took command of the _Archangel_. You see… I'm uh… I've been made captain of that new flagship, the _Seraphim_."

"What?"

* * *

The _Minerva_

"Are you really going to try this?"

"Not try," replied Nabiki, staring coldly at her reflection. "I'm going to succeed."

"So you'll continue to ignore me in favor of Umbra? Even though you only created me to try and keep him alive?" Erica's expression was infuriating—identical to one Erik would sometimes use when he dealt with Umbra.

"This choice is my own," snarled Nabiki, growing increasingly frustrated with this part of her dangerously fractured mind that had been created in, more or less, the image of her brother. "I _will have my vengeance_."

"You'll render everything he fought for worthless!"

"Fine then!" snarled Nabiki. "He abandoned me so that he could go out and die for that bitch! And I know what you think, so shut up!"

Nabiki's fist lashed out, shattering the mirror. The crazed FAITH agent didn't even notice the pain and glass in her hand.

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

Minako had a lot to tell the other girls. Stories of how she grew up in the Marshall Islands, secretly meeting her parents from time to time. Of being schooled by Sera Takara, having only Sera's daughter for a friend, and admiring Makoto from afar. Being taught Shinsei Tsurugi by her mother, mechanics by her father, and then occasionally visiting famous locales on Earth and visiting various colonies. Minako's life was… dully exciting, really.

Ami, of course, hadn't had much to tell; after all, she'd been part of the Extended program for as long as she could remember, the only things prior to that being found only in nightmares, and the time after leaving Lodonia like a nightmare itself to her. Still, sharing her thoughts on what she'd seen and learned in this time had been pleasant enough.

Lacus herself had some interesting tales to relate, from both before and after the first war. A few of them had involved, entertainingly enough, her swarm of Haros—the top of that list was the time she and Kira set them loose in the Taiyonoha Command Tower. According to Lacus, Makoto had nearly throttled Kira for that one, and locked every single Haro she caught in a deep, dark place from which she swore 'they would never return'.

Evidently, Lacus had found them, and set them loose throughout the Taiyonoha Estate a week later.

The laughter, of course, also made it easy to figure out where they were, and Shizuka walked in to find the laughter dying down to giggles. She looked the three over with an amused expression.

"I hate to be breaking up the fun," she said idly, drawing their attention. "But I need to borrow Minako and Ami. We finished work on the Exia III, and wanted to have everyone practice with the new machines."

"You mean to adapt to that frame, right?" asked Minako. "So why are you asking me to come?"

"Because you're one of less than a dozen pilots we know of worldwide capable of keeping up with Makoto and Kira," answered Shizuka softly.

* * *

Meanwhile

"So, Zane really has been working with Durandal," commented Kira after Treize and Ishida had left. He looked at Makoto, curious as to her thoughts.

"We had our suspicions," commented the redhead, sighing slightly. "The reassignment orders just before Heaven's Base… probably cleared out everyone who wasn't loyal to Durandal. As valuable as having those pieces under constant watch was, he could no longer afford the threat they posed to his favored pawns."

"Misuumi?"

"I hope so," murmured Makoto. "Faith said she's moved her team beyond the standard defensive zone. They've been moving towards the moon at a fairly leisurely pace. There's also been some strange activity at L1."

"Strange activity?" questioned Kira, frowning. "But there's nothing at L1 but a bunch of wrecked colony cylinders, too unstable to be used anymore."

"I know," said Makoto. "You might not have heard, but there were negotiations planned regarding so-called salvage rights for the raw materials they could produce."

"Izanami collected a few of those for raw materials," the brunet recalled. "But material collection isn't odd. So what is it?"

"Over a dozen cylinders have begun to move out of the debris field," explained the redhead. "Most of them are simply in free flight. But a few seem more controlled than that. Three are set to slingshot around the moon, two on the L4 side and one on L5, another in the general direction of L5, and the last is moving freely towards the orbital line between L3 and L5. The first three are odd because they're the only ones set to slingshot, and the last two made very slight correctional burns. It looks like a simple diversionary tactic, but ZAFT can simply ignore them as they are now. The only reason we noticed something odd, something that seems to be more than a mild diversion, was because of our work at Catharina."

"Hmmm…" Kira frowned, going over everything in his head. They were missing something… "Daedalus, maybe?"

"Daedalus has less than half the forces Arzachel does," said Makoto. "And it's on the dark side of the moon. There's nothing but stars out there. It was only built at the time because of our own activity at L2."

"So maybe they repurposed it when Izanami moved practically before their work began?" suggested Kira.

"Possible," said Makoto. "Faith, could you look into this?"

"Yes, of course," replied the AI. "By the way, your presence has been requested at the proving grounds. Both of you."

"Huh? But why?" questioned Makoto.

"They finished the Exia III. You need to test it."

* * *

A little while later

The Angels, the Sentinels, the Templars, the Triad, the Astarte and the Sincerity; it was, to say the least, an impressive gathering of many of the most powerful mobile suits currently in existence, all equipping a variety of advanced technology that was largely exclusive to these machines.

There was a noticeable change to one of them from yesterday, though: on the Serenity's right arm, there was now a weapon similar in appearance to the Sincerity's Murakumo sword-rifle, though larger and wrapping completely over the forearm.

"_Alright, we've triple-checked the area, and it's clear,_" came Shizuka's voice. "_Now remember, the Sentinels comprise team one, the Templars are team two, the Triad are team three, Redemption, Astarte and Sincerity are team four, and the Serenity and Freedom are on their own. Weapons power has been throttled back and redirected to armor so no one gets hurt; that means no going out of your way to tear one another's suits to pieces, got it Makoto?_"

"Why am I always singled out?" complained the redhead, running over the Serenity's systems again.

"_Because if anyone would be literally tearing a mobile suit limb from limb, it's you! Don't think I forgot what you did to that black ops team!_"

Makoto sighed. She always got singled out over these things…

"_Begin!_"

Immediately, sixteen mobile suits took to the skies, and almost immediately, the bulk of the participants seemed to gravitate towards an opponent predesignated in their own minds.

Nicol and the Blackfire Blitz clashed, scythe against scythe, with Shani and the Forbidden Templar. The Sacred Guardian fired its combined rifles at the Twilight Crusader, but Louisa twisted up and over the blast, zipping into Liz's face in the blink of an eye.

Of course, even as Nicol and Liz went head-to-head with Shani and Louisa, the remaining three Sentinels, Tolle in the Shadow Strike, Shiho in the Sentinel and Saul in the Hyper Surge, attempted to isolate each member of the Triad—which was easier said than done, as Asagi had studied her mobile suit a bit more closely to better understand what it was capable of.

Ami and the Sincerity went after the only really viable target left: Clotho and the Phantom Raider, lashing out with her heat rod immediately, but her opponent was simply too fast.

This left Minako and Treize with the two deadliest pilots present, as the Redemption's beam sword crashed against the Strike Freedom's beam saber and the Astarte's Takusan attempted to swarm the Serenity, only to find the target beyond their range.

"All right Serenity, let's give this new sword a try!" said Makoto, firing a full power blast from the Exia III. Minako intercepted with her Haretsu Suru, but even with the power level reduced, she was knocked back somewhat. "Full power matches the Callidus… alright, let's try close combat!"

Faster than anyone could blink, the Serenity was on top of the Astarte, swinging its new sword. Minako immediately raised the Haretsu Suru to parry… and to the shock of both girls, the Exia III sliced through the mega sword with the ease of cutting air.

"What the…? I thought you said the settings were turned down!" exclaimed Makoto, pulling back.

"_They are,_" retorted Shizuka. "_We turned down the Exia III just as much as the others. The composite blades and neo titanium are doing better than we expected them too. Grant Faith access to your systems real quick, she'll scale the power settings back further._"

"Got it," replied the redhead. "Sorry about that Minako."

"_Its fine,_" replied the brunette, drawing her Sashikizu beam sabers. "_But I'm not giving up that easily!_"

"I'd be disappointed if you did," said Makoto.

Meanwhile, Treize attempted to get in an attack with his Griffon beam blades, but Kira had apparently already anticipated that, and intercepted the Redemption's knee just above the blades using the Freedom's own leg. Treize grit his teeth, struggling to push the Freedom back, but the two machines used an identical thruster layout and system, meaning the two machines were evenly matched in that arena.

Suddenly, Kira broke the lock, the Freedom shooting back just enough to spin about and deliver a vicious kick. The BIO-Sensor kicked in, drawing a wince of pain from Treize as the Redemption reacted to Treize's instinctive block, raising its shield, but it was still knocked horribly off-balance.

Nor did Kira let up: the Xiphias 3 immediately snapped into position and fired, the two high-velocity rounds slamming into the Redemption with an iron fury as Kira drew his rifles, combined them, and fired on the Redemption. Treize managed to tumble aside, barely evading the shot, but Kira had already anticipated that, and fired several more shots, keeping Treize constantly on his toes until he managed to bring his shield to bear, deploying the beam shield generator mounted in it to block the next two shots.

Kira remained unfazed, though, uncoupling and storing the rifles and drawing his Super Lacerta, charging forward again. Treize spotted the White Angel's charge, and readied his Gladius, eyes narrowing as the Freedom approached.

The moment the two were within striking distance, Treize attacked… and the Freedom seemed to almost literally _roll_ over the beam blade, drawing a gasp of shock from the former EX-C… and in the next instant, one beam saber was at the Redemption's neck, another ready to strike the cockpit.

"What the hell was that?" muttered Treize in disbelief.

The initial spars didn't last long with any group—Nicol had beaten Shani, Louisa had beaten Liz, Flay, Asagi, Tolle and Saul were taken out of the Sentinel-Triad fight leaving it to Lunamaria and Shiho, Clotho and Ami had ended up with a 'double knockout', and Makoto, like Kira, had defeated her opponent rather handily, the Astarte too badly outmatched by the Serenity.

Things progressed even more quickly from there, with Kira, Makoto and Shiho easily bringing down Nicol, Louisa and Luna… not that Shiho lasted much longer at that point.

Leaving it down to a fight that many, _many_ people had anticipated for years.

"_This will be the first time, huh Kira?_" commented Makoto as the Strike Freedom and Serenity faced each other.

"Yeah," replied the brunet with a small nod. "Even last time, it just came out to us against Athrun and Erik."

"_Mmm… and then of course, everything was called off,_" said Makoto. "_Freedom and Sincerity doesn't really apply, so…_"

"I guess it's time to find out which of us is really better," said Kira. "Alright… I'm ready to lose."

"_I've told you a thousand times that you're better than me Kira,_" said Makoto. "_This'll be the last time._"

No more words were exchanged. The Angels had always believed in one another's superiority over themselves, and now, they were finally going to find out.

Some unseen signal began the fight, the two Angels moving simultaneously, Kira pulling away while firing all his weapons, Makoto charging in pursuit twice as fast, weaving through his barrages.

Then, the Dauntless Angel was on top of the White Angel. A single blow was struck with the Exia III, but was intercepted by the Super Lacerta before the opponents tumbled away from each other.

Legs locked. Fists locked, heads butted, shots were exchanged; swords and sabers clashed, and still neither could seem to gain the edge.

"Come on Kira, stop holding back!" said Makoto as the two soared over the ocean, exchanging fire and weaving around one another.

"I could say the same to you!" retorted Kira, closing in the blink of an eye for a point-blank blast from the Callidus. The shot passed straight through an after image, and a Super Panthera was swung at the would-be-aggressor's back. The Strike Freedom tumbled away, snapping its Xiphias into position as the Serenity aimed its Partis.

The hyper-velocity shots collided with a thunderous crash that echoed across the sea. Makoto's more powerful attack tore through Kira's, but what was left of the rounds fell apart long before reaching their target.

The Strike Freedom's Callidus cannon fired. The Serenity's Exia III fired at full power. The beams collided, struggling briefly before cancelling each other out. Kira combined his rifles and fired on the Serenity, only for the shot to be blocked by Makoto's beam shield. The redhead then retaliated with the Exia III in auto-fire, dozens upon dozens of rifle-level beam blasts screeching the brunet's way, only to deflect off of his own beam shield.

"What the hell is this?" questioned Neo, watching the battle on a display screen at the Proving Grounds Control Center. "I've never seen a fight at this level."

Composite sword crashed against beam saber, the two Angels gripping one another's hands to keep the other in place, teeth grit as they struggled against one another, the White Angel steadily pushed back by the Dauntless Angel's superior thrust, giving the slight edge needed to inch the Exia III forward at an agonizingly slow pace.

Then, violet and emerald jewel seeds shattered in a nova of blinding light and unimagined power.

Everything from then on was an indistinct blur.

* * *

The _Lydia_

"What happens now?" asked Leon.

After finally leaving Hanako, the Horizon agent found Raphael waiting for him, and had been led to an observation deck where they could talk in private.

"This next mission will be your last," answered Raphael. "No matter the outcome, it shall be your final mission for us."

"Really?" Leon turned to Raphael, and saw a small smile on the other man's face as he stared out at the stars.

"Really," confirmed Raphael. "Defend Daedalus through the coming battles… and no matter what happens, _don't walk away from it_. This may be your last mission, but if you don't succeed, then Gabriel won't release Hanako to you."

"I know," said Leon. "I know."

"What will you do when it's all over and you have Hanako?"

"I want to take her away," said Leon. "Somewhere far, far away from war and tragedy."

"I would advise Copernicus then," said Raphael. "Or maybe the DSSD. They'd probably appreciate someone with your skills."

"There are also hidden colonies in the debris belt," interjected a voice suddenly. The two spun about to see a woman in her mid-thirties standing there, wearing a Horizon Federation uniform—essentially a variation of the Earth Forces black uniforms—staring at them with cold violet eyes, her long, thick brown hair trailing carelessly behind her.

"Ah, Noah," said Raphael, glancing at Leon. "I don't believe you've met our young friend here."

"No," said Noah, settling gently on the deck. "I've never cared too."

Leon nearly shuddered. There was something… off… about this woman.

"We'll be making a pass by Daedalus in thirteen hours," said Noah. "The Valiant's upgrades will be complete. We'll let you off quietly there, then head back to base."

"Got it," said Leon.

"Understood," added Raphael. Noah nodded and left.

"What's with her?" questioned Leon. "There's something…"

"Don't ask," said Raphael. "You're better off not knowing more of Horizon's secrets."

* * *

Orb Union

"What the hell is going… on…?" started Cagalli as she burst into the control center, trailing off as another crash sounded and she spotted just _what the hell was going on_.

Shizuka winced slightly as one of the Angelus embedded itself in the ground.

"They won't stop," she said. "They refuse to listen to us, and Lacus wandered off somewhere. So we just have to hope they snap out of it, because no one's suicidal enough to get between them."

"I can see why!" exclaimed Cagalli as what looked like a railcannon crashed to the ground, practically shattering on impact. She didn't even know which machine it had come from.

The Strike Freedom and Serenity were clashing less like titans or angels and more like a god and goddess. It was little more than an indistinct blur to any of the onlookers. Minako had revisited her comparison of the two to the Divine Protector Hachiman and the Divine Light Amaterasu. And honestly, it seemed apt right now.

"Lesser mobile suits would've shattered," commented Faith, wincing slightly as another thunderous crash echoed. "The assault frame was designed for this sort of thing, but even I'm starting to worry they might push that to its limits as well."

A final thunderous crash echoed… and then silence as everyone stared at the craters where the two mobile suits had crashed.

"Great, now I'm gonna have to put those things back together!" moaned Shizuka.

"I think they decided to give up so you wouldn't have more to put back together," commented Faith dryly. "They're laughing."

As Faith had said, both Kira and Makoto had dissolved into fits of laughter. Neither could win… after all this time of believing the other was stronger, they finally fought each other on equal terms… and it ended in a _draw_.

Well, each had their own interpretation… that still supported the other's superiority. The Serenity's speed kept it to close combat, the Strike Freedom's ranged firepower gave it an edge… etc… etc… etc…

In all likelihood, neither would ever admit to even the possibility of being better than the other Angel, and trying to settle the argument was a bigger headache than it was worth.

* * *

Several hours later

Dusk was approaching; all needed matters had been attended to… except for one.

Makoto had intentionally been putting this off, for a variety of reasons. She'd hoped to at least make it to year three, but it seemed that, after surviving one invasion, it wasn't destined to survive another.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Makoto stepped through the shattered door… and found nothing more than ruins on the other side.

Makoto let out the breath.

She'd known it would be like this, but it was simply one of those things that needed to be seen with one's own eyes. Makoto stepped carefully through the ruins, slipping around debris as she made her way towards her inevitable destination.

The door to the room was completely gone… and inside, the stage was melted and twisted from the fire that had burned, the couches, chairs and tables were completely destroyed, some burnt to a crisp as well, the speakers lay in ruins…

It was all gone.

Tears began to fall as Makoto walked toward the ruined stage, remembering that happy time, that day when she turned sixteen and the war was put aside.

This is where they'd become friends, all of them; when the pilots of the Le Creuset Team and the civilian volunteers of the _Archangel_ met and became loose friends, forgetting the war and becoming the kids that they really were and should've been for years to come.

"Waits for the day… I will let it out," sung Makoto softly. "To give it a reason, to give it its might."

She stepped forward, tears running freely down her face as she knelt next to the stage remains and stroked it softly… remembering the smiles and laughter of her 'sweet sixteenth'.

"I fear who I am becoming, I feel that I'm losing the struggle within," continued Makoto.

"I can no longer restrain it," interjected a voice suddenly, surprising Makoto, who snapped to her feet, spinning about to see Kira standing there. "My strength it is fading… I have to give in."

He paused, meeting Makoto's eyes.

"I didn't know you could sing to save your life, Kira," said Makoto with a sad smile.

"It took awhile," admitted the brunet. "But that song applied to me as well at the time."

"Heh…" Makoto leaned back against one of the walls, knowing it would hold up just fine. "Look at us Kira… aren't we a fine pair of fools?"

"Weren't you the one who first said you'd rather be a fool than a cynic?"

"I guess that's true," said Makoto. "We were just so relieved when it was all over that we let everything go… we can't do that this time though."

"Some people of Izanami can come back to Orb," said Kira. "But you can't. I can't either."

"Why not you? Kira, you're exactly the sort of person the world needs."

"Even if what you say is true, Orb isn't what the world needs." Makoto looked at Kira curiously, wondering what in the world he could be talking about. "Orb has strong ideals, but to preserve those ideals, it has to stay out of almost everything. What the world needs is Izanami."

"Izanami is the same as Orb," said Makoto. "It's just an escape for us Kira."

"Is it really?" questioned Kira, glancing at a window, though it was broken and impossible to see through. "Then why did you come here?"

Makoto gasped slightly, uncertain how to respond.

"You can't tell me that Izanami isn't going to spearhead the fight against the Destiny Plan," said Kira. "And I'd be surprised if you didn't go after Djibril as well soon enough."

"Well…" Makoto sighed. "That doesn't change the rest of the situation though. And Terminal isn't strong enough."

"Then what–?"

"Makoto! Kira!" called a new voice suddenly. The two spun towards the entrance to the room to see Minako step into sight. "Ah, Lacus said I could find you here."

"What is it?" asked Makoto.

"A small celebration on things finally coming together," explained Minako. "A private party at the Taiyonoha Estate. And you two are the guests of honor, so I was told to come and get you, since you both left your cell phones at Morgenroete." The brunette glared at them as they sighed.

"Alright, alright," said Makoto.

"Yeah, we're coming," added Kira.

* * *

The _Archangel_

Murrue let out a small sigh, thinking somewhat distantly of the recordings she'd seen earlier.

"Those two…" she muttered, shaking her head as she headed for the rear upper deck. When the door opened, though, she found someone already there.

Neo Roanoke.

Murrue sighed slightly, walking over to him. She'd been meaning to talk to him since the end of the battle yesterday, but there had been so many other things to worry about that she hadn't.

The brunette looked him over, noting that he was now wearing a Taiyonoha uniform, his blond hair blowing uncontrolled in the wind as he stared at the sunset. She stopped next to him, wondering if she would have to speak up first.

"Neo Roanoke," he said suddenly, drawing a surprised look from her. "Born November 29th, C.E. 42; from North Luba, in the Atlantic Federation. Blood type: O." Neo sighed. "Enlisted in C.E. 60, assigned to 81st Autonomous Mobile Group, also known as Phantom Pain; captain, or so I thought." He looked down uncertainly. "But now… I'm not so sure if that's really who I am." He looked at her. "A part of me knows you."

Murrue gasped.

"I began to notice it more after I decided to stay and help out," continued Neo. "And I began to think that maybe what everyone was saying about me was true. That I had once been someone else; after all, if they can make Coordinators forget and rail against what they are, why couldn't they trick other people in similar ways?"

The blond sighed, turning to face Murrue more fully.

"But that's not why I stayed," he said. "I stayed because the person I am now was finally offered something I'd been seeking for a long time. And in you, I saw the person I could've been. I can't change the past, and I will always bear these sins… but I've been given a second chance. Whether by fate, by the Angels or maybe even by you… and I won't waste this one."

He reached up and fingered the IDF captain's rank insignia he now wore.

"The Admiral accepted me," he said. "And if you'll give me the chance… I'm not Mu, but he might be somewhere within me. I'm not his replacement, but I still want to do what I can for you as well. That's… a more personal desire." He took a step towards her, relieved when she didn't back away. "Will you… give me that chance?"

Murrue hesitated for a moment, then reached out and stroked Neo's cheek, surprising him.

"You're right," she said. "You're not Mu. I want him back, but you're not him. And you're not a replacement. I…" Murrue trailed off before simply answering Neo's question.

"Yes."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

"Alright, everything's ready, right?" asked Lacus.

"I've added a little something," said Shizuka. She held up a small bottle, and Lacus groaned.

"Isn't that a little excessive?"

"You're the one who devised this plan to get your best friend and your boyfriend uproariously drunk in the hopes that they'll finally 'spit it out'," said Shizuka mildly. "You have no right to talk about excessiveness."

Lacus sighed.

The 'celebration' was only loosely called that; truthfully, it wasn't much beyond what one would expect when having friends visit for a weekend when contact was normally difficult. That was fine, though, since there was still a lot to come.

But… there was still a lot to personally celebrate for both Kira and Makoto's families. Minako and Ami were back. Chris, in some form, had returned to them. Orb was back under Cagalli's control. Things would be ending soon, and a new home awaited many of them at Izanami.

Lacus was looking forward to it.

The guest list wasn't long, either; it was limited to the Taiyonoha, Kira, Liz, Louisa, Ami and Lacus herself. Treize and Cagalli had been invited, but the two were visiting Maya and Athrun at Kurama Hospital. Samuel was busy with Orb's military.

Which was fine, really; after all, the true purpose of the celebration was to solve the increasingly irritating drama between Kira and Makoto; considering those involved in the plotting had been frustrated to the breaking point, it was long overdue anyway.

"I'm not gonna protect you from them," said Serenity, lightly. "I'm not stupid enough to stand between them and their targets."

"That's fine," said Lacus. "I've already figured out how to stop them before they even get going."

"For your sake, I hope so."

A few minutes later, the door to the garage opened. Since all the other guests were already here, that meant…

"We're back!" called Minako. "I found them at the Himeji, just like you said."

"Thank you Minako," said Lacus, turning to face them, smiling. "As for you two, I thought we all agreed not to get too caught up in the past?"

"It was something I needed to do," said Makoto calmly. "Still… a celebration?"

"There are many things for which we should be happy," said Lacus, raising her right hand slightly to draw their attention to it for a moment. "We'll be setting out in just a few days, right? We should enjoy ourselves while we can."

"Yeah, you're right," said Kira.

"Just the families and the girlfriends," said Lacus. "Cagalli wanted to see Athrun, so she couldn't make it, but…"

"Yeah, it's fine," said Kira, smiling at the rosette as he took her hand and headed for the tables.

"Jealous?" asked Minako, glancing at her cousin. The redhead shrugged.

"I'd be lying if I said no," she answered. "But I'd be the world's biggest fool before I let that ruin everything. I love Kira and Lacus; I don't know how things would play out, but it's not worth risking everything between the three of us."

"How very mature of you."

Makoto glanced at Minako uncertainly, not understanding the strange note in her voice.

"Minako…?"

The brunette shook her head, as though to clear it. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was jealous of the time you got to spend with mom and dad, and… well, I can only imagine its worse for you, so I'm… surprised, that's all."

"Uh… um… I'm… I'm sorry… to remind you of that," said Makoto uncertainly. Again, Minako shook her head.

"It's not your fault," she said. "But… well… look where my jealousy drove me. I just… I don't want that happen to you. I was in a very dark place, and it's somewhere I don't want to see you fall."

"I… I appreciate that, Minako." Makoto was quiet for a moment before smiling suddenly. "Hey, I'll be back. I'm gonna grab a pen and some paper; I've got an idea."

* * *

Kurama Hospital

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

"Yeah."

"Don't give me one-word answers, or I'll make sure you're stuck in this hospital for the rest of the war," said Cagalli sternly.

"Heh… all right," said Athrun. Cagalli glared at him. "So, what has everyone else been up to?"

"Cleaning up the mess from ZAFT's attack," she answered. "It wasn't anywhere near the disaster of the last invasion, but still messy. And everyone was testing out the new machines earlier as well." She shook her head. "Kira and Makoto finally fought. It could take days to put their machines back together."

Athrun blinked.

"Are you serious?"

Cagalli nodded. "I've never seen a fight so… so intense before," she said. "I heard that Kira beat Treize in only a few minutes, and everyone else went down pretty quickly until they were the only ones left. It was…" She shook her head. "Words can't even begin to describe it. I saw the recordings, and… well, you'll have to watch them for yourself."

"I'll look forward to it," said Athrun. "Those two going at it… it must've been a sight."

"I only caught the tail end of it in person," said Cagalli before shaking her head. "But talking about that isn't why I'm here. I want to here more about the time you were away."

"What? Nicol didn't tell you guys everything?" he asked, confused.

"Nicol? So he was Makoto's spy?" Cagalli shook her head. "We haven't been told everything. I want to hear things from your point of view personally."

"Okay," said Athrun. "Where to start…"

"Maybe when you left for the PLANTs?"

"I suppose."

* * *

Meanwhile

Treize leaned back in his seat, suppressing a small sigh over what it was he had to do now:

Nothing.

For Treize, there were few things that were truly a bigger challenge than waiting and doing nothing. Even during his captivity on the _Minerva_, he'd been subtly building towards his escape, going over potential strategies and mentally mapping the best options with his virtually non-existent knowledge of the ship's interior.

But now, as the doctors checked over Maia again to help determine the best and, hopefully, least painful method of weeding her off the drug addiction, doing nothing but waiting was all Treize could do. They'd already performed several studies on Treize to see the aftereffects of becoming free of the drugs, though they'd been left in the dark as to how he ended up in that position.

"Is waiting really that hard?"

Treize looked up in surprise to see Flay standing in front of him, looking at him curiously.

"Is it really that obvious?" he questioned.

"Yeah," said Flay, sitting down next to him. There was a short pause. "Will you tell me about it?"

"About what?"

"Why waiting is so hard for you?"

"Hmm." Treize leaned back slightly in his seat. "It's something I've never done. I would be put under, I would think, I would strengthen myself, I would fight… but I have never waited before."

"So patience is the one thing you were never taught?"

"One of many things," said Treize. "But probably the only one they might've thought had actual value. Then again, given what the people in charge were like, it's more probable that they didn't."

"I see," murmured Flay. She smiled slightly. "But patience is incredibly important. The number of failures I faced… well, it would've been quicker if I were patient, back when I was being trained."

They were silent for several minutes after that; eventually, though, Flay spoke up again.

"Will you take a chance?" she asked, looking up at him.

"What do you mean?" questioned Treize, glancing at her in confusion.

"I… I want to know… the truth," said Flay, glancing away from him. "Will you… give me a chance to know you… to love you or not love you for who you are… will you give me that chance?"

Treize was quiet, staring at her for a moment before breaking the silence.

"Look at me," he ordered. Reluctantly, Flay did so, staring into Treize's mismatched eyes.

"Yes."

* * *

Taiyonoha Estate

'Celebration' really wasn't the proper term for it, which was probably just as well at a time like this. Really, the fact that it was consistently referred to as such should've set off warning bells in Kira and Makoto's heads.

Fortunately for Lacus and the others, it was too late for either of them.

"Kira, why don't you take little miss lesbian up to her room?" asked Lacus with a slight giggle, concealing a small blush on her cheeks; she'd never, _ever_ kissed a girl before, and wondered if it had been foolish not to realize a drunken Makoto might do just that to her.

Kira nodded, groaning slightly. Unlike the deliriously cheerful and uninhibited Makoto, the brunet had a sort of numb headache from the alcohol. He'd held up better than Makoto had, but they'd gotten him sufficiently far along for their plans.

As Kira picked her up and started up the stairs, Makoto let out a small giggle. When they were out of sight, the others—Ami, Minako, Liz and Louisa—turned their attention to Lacus.

"I honestly expected you to smack her back there," said Liz. Lacus blushed.

"I'm not like that," she mumbled.

"Really? Are you _sure_ you aren't just a little lesbian somewhere deep down?"

"Oh, leave her alone Liz," said Louisa, leaning back and lifting a stand of her pink hair. "You know, since she didn't actually say anything, I'm not sure if she realized she was kissing Lacus or thought she was kissing me."

"That would probably depend on how bad her sight gets when drunk," said Minako dryly. "… which I will never know the answer to, as I don't want to see her in this state _ever_ again."

"Oh, come on, it's not _that_ bad…" said Louisa. Lacus smiled and nodded as the others stared at them in disbelief. "What?"

"Not that bad?" echoed Liz. "How about the part where she tried to grope Ami, strip me and actually tore off my shirt, and seemed just about ready to drag _Minako_ off to bed?"

The rosettes exchanged uncertain looks. Shifting uncomfortably, Ami quickly changed the subject.

"Um… what do we do now?" she asked, drawing attention to herself. "I mean… Makoto's going to go to sleep now, right? So…"

"Oh… _oh_…" The older girls (well, wiser at least) shared an uncertain look. After a moment, however, Minako, easily the closest of them to Ami, turned to the blonde, deciding to explain what they expected to happen.

"Um… you see…" The brunette sighed. "Damn it, I'm nineteen years old, I'm not supposed to be giving 'the talk' to teenage girls for at least two decades!"

* * *

Meanwhile

"Mmm, Kira, I can walk on my own," said Makoto, words slurred slightly. Kira, head pounding slightly, nodded and set the redhead on her feet. She nearly tumbled over, but the brunet held onto her, clutching her body against his own.

"Come on, we're almost there," said Kira, giving her a smile that she returned. He wasn't thinking very clearly, but both of them knew where they were headed, and he held onto her, supporting her down the hallway and into her bedroom.

"Kira… I love you."

They were four words that he hadn't expected to hear; surprisingly, she didn't slur them at all, and she'd spoken quietly, sounding somewhere between shy and afraid.

Later, Kira would be surprised by his own reaction.

"I love you too, Makoto," he answered her as she tumbled onto her bed, still clutching the brunet and dragging him right along with her. The previous energy seemed to return somewhat with those words, Makoto holding Kira close and placing a small kiss on his neck.

"Mmm… do you feel it Kira?" she questioned. "I'm… hot… my body feels like its burning."

"Me too… for a while," he said. Makoto shifted sensuously against him, then giggled slightly as she felt something he'd rather have kept hidden.

"Kira… I want this… I want _you_," she said, kissing him passionately… aggressively.

Kira didn't say anything; he simply returned the kiss, because he felt exactly as she did, and the alcohol had beaten down his inhibitions as well.

He responded in kind when she started to tear off his clothes.

* * *

Elsewhere

A small cry of pleasure reached the ears of the four Coordinators and former Extended. It was a cry that only two of them recognized, though the others could guess at it clearly enough—though the blushing Ami might wish that she couldn't—and Liz and Louisa stared at each other incredulously.

"Wow…" breathed Louisa before giving Lacus a coy look. "Maybe I should've considered including myself. He _must_ be incredible to get her to be loud enough for us to hear down here."

Lacus blushed. "I… um… I wouldn't really know… you know… no comparison?"

"Lacus Clyne thoroughly flustered," murmured Minako, shaking her head. "I never thought I would see the day."

"Well, certainly not _this_ flustered," said Liz, grinning. "You look cute like that."

Lacus buried her blushing face in her hands, as though hoping she might be able to cool her cheeks a little.

"Well, what about Makoto?" put in Minako, coming to Lacus's aid.

"What do you mean?" questioned Liz.

"What's _she_ like in bed?"

Liz and Louisa promptly turned crimson. Ami shifted, keeping quiet. She almost wanted to join in on the teasing, but it was too uncomfortable and embarrassing for her to do more than listen to them.

"T-th-that's none of your business!" protested Louisa, even more flustered than her fellow rosette had been. Lacus and Minako shared a confused look, wondering what was up, as Liz just sat there, blushing furiously. Her hands were even turning a little red.

"Okay, seriously this time, I have to know: what is she like in bed that could fluster you this badly?" said Minako.

"No!"

"What if I tell you what Kira's like?" suggested Lacus, giving into the temptation of her curiosity. What had Makoto done to these two girls… and what would she do to Kira?

"Oh, all right," said Louisa. "You deserve to know what Kira might go through."

"We could just ask Faith what they're up to," suggested Minako coyly. Surprisingly, the person to respond wasn't the AI, Liz or Louisa, but Ami.

"Where is Faith anyway?" asked the blonde. "I haven't seen her since you got back… and where are Shizuka and Serenity?"

The others blinked.

"Um… good question," said Minako before shaking her head. "Well, anyways, Lacus, why don't you start?"

* * *

Meanwhile

"It worked," muttered Serenity in disbelief, shaking her head as she strolled through the moonlit grounds with Shizuka and Faith's projection. "Their crazy scheme actually worked…"

"Well, so far," commented her sister. "They got the two in bed together; hopefully with all the wild sex one could expect." Here, Shizuka threw a brief glare at Faith, who refused to share any details with which the brunette might tease her niece. "But do you think it'll play out right through tomorrow?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that the scheme itself has gone off without a hitch," said Serenity. "The real question is what will the aftermath be like?"

"There's always the polyamorous solution," said Shizuka. "Makoto's all for that, and I doubt Lacus would object. Kira definitely loves both of them; Liz and Louisa were in on this scheme and never objected to each other."

"That is a possibility," agreed Serenity.

"But I don't think that's likely," added Faith. "I won't say that I understand everything perfectly, but the fact they haven't already considered it suggests they won't after this either; they're too scared of the potential consequences." Shizuka snorted.

"Bah! Since when have any of them cared about their public image?"

"Not their own," said Serenity softly. "Everyone else's public image. Makoto worries about Kira and Lacus, they worry about each other and her."

"Argh! How can they all be so perfectly infuriating about this?" demanded Shizuka, looking ready to tear out her own hair.

"Let's try a less frustrating subject," said Serenity suddenly, stopping next to a rose bed and kneeling down to touch the flower petals. "You've been engaged to Victor for six months now; when are you two finally going to set the date?"

Shizuka started sputtering, while Faith openly laughed at the brunette.

* * *

Elsewhere

"So there!" said Lacus, blushing furiously after divulging some details of her and Kira's sex life. "Now you have to share as well!"

Liz and Louisa glanced at each other.

"Kira's… in trouble," said Liz.

"Huh?"

The two blushed, before Louisa reluctantly reached into her pocket… and pulled out a familiar black leather collar with D-rings, one Lacus had seen several times before.

"A collar?" questioned Minako. "What does that have to do…" She trailed off, eyes widening at what she saw.

Liz had pulled out a matching collar, and both girls had then proceeded to clasp the collars around their own necks. Lacus's eyes widened as Ami stared at them, confused.

"You… you're not serious, are you?" cried Lacus. The two nodded meekly.

"Makoto is… _very_ dominant in bed," said Liz, turning redder by the second.

"More than half the time, sexual play turns into this," added Louisa, matching Liz's blush easily as she fingered the collar. "And calling her 'Mistress' or being called 'slave' isn't limited to just the master/slave play itself; it's like that almost every time we have sex. And the collars almost never come off if we're in her bedroom."

"Makoto? _Makoto_ is like that?" Minako looked incredulous.

"Master/slave?" questioned Ami, clearly confused. Her frown was also evident in her tone, and that wasn't surprising, all things considered.

The others all blushed.

"Liz, Louisa, you two explain this time; you've experienced after all!" said Minako.

"I'm, uh… I'm gonna go get a drink," said Lacus, standing up unsteadily.

"I refuse!" said Liz. "No, no, no! I've already said more than I should have! Makoto might punish me if I say anymore!"

"Ugh… as you can see, Liz is a little more conditioned about the collar than I am," said Louisa, but she looked as reluctant to say anymore as the brunette. Minako didn't say anything as Ami continued looking at the others, waiting for an explanation, even knowing that it would likely be embarrassing just to listen to.

* * *

The next morning…

"I. Am. Going. To. Murder. Them."

These were the first entirely comprehensible words out of Makoto's mouth the next morning. She'd woken up naked in bed, itself not unusual, lying next to an equally naked Kira… which most certainly _was_ out of the ordinary.

"I'll help," agreed Kira grimly, pulling on his clothes. He could not _believe_ they had gone and pulled a stunt like this.

"And I'm going to mutilate Shizuka for that aphrodisiac," added Makoto, pulling her own clothes on. Ordinarily, she liked to keep her appearance fairly clean, but right now, she didn't care about the disaster she'd become.

What little hangover the two had suffered from had cleared up already, so they were certainly thinking clearly… well, as clearly as could be expected under the circumstances.

Makoto's door slammed open as the redhead stormed out of her room with Kira on her heels.

Down in the living room, Lacus was waiting calmly for the approaching storm of fury, even as Liz and Louisa shifted nervously on the loveseat. Serenity stood off to the side with Faith and Ami, while Shizuka and Minako sat on the couch.

"What the hell were you thinking?" screamed Makoto as she burst into the living room. Everyone recoiled at the look of twisted fury on Makoto's face, Lacus's words faltering before they'd even reached her lips. "I cannot _believe_ you went and pulled a stunt like that!"

However, Makoto's screaming wasn't what really hurt Lacus; it was the look of disappointment and hurt on Kira's face as he put a hand on the redhead's shoulder to quiet her, staring at Lacus all the time.

"Why did you do that?" he asked softly, not hiding his emotions. Makoto's anger deflated at the tone; she'd focused entirely on her anger in order to avoid going where Kira was now, but hearing him had a profound effect on her.

"Why?" she echoed.

Nobody answered for several minutes as the two waited in silence, expressions becoming more emotionally pained and disappointed by the minute. Finally, Lacus broke the silence.

"Because… you were too scared to take that final step," she murmured softly. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Do you know how much it hurt to watch you two lie to yourselves, living in constant fear of your own emotions… and refusing to hold each other closer while also being unable to let go?"

"That's… don't you trust us?"

"Of course we trust you!" said Minako, catching everyone off-guard. "Listen, I haven't been around that long, but I've heard about everything, and I agree with them."

"This needed to be dealt with," said Louisa.

"_Now_, before we head out to bring an end to this war," added Liz.

"And also…" murmured Ami. "Lacus… um…

"I didn't want to really accept this… not while you were still uncertain about things," said Lacus, stroking the engagement ring on her finger. "Kira… I know how you feel about me. But you and Makoto needed to know how you felt about each other. So… um…"

"Last night, you two got to experience something that few people ever do," said Minako. "There's a bond between you two that is completely unique. In a way, you two could be mirror images." The brunette closed her eyes, uncertain how to continue. The Angels offered no reply to what was being said… and then Serenity finally stepped in.

"The two of you have been dancing around each other for nearly two years now," said Serenity coolly, drawing everyone's attention. Her eyes, as though projecting a force of will that dwarfed even Kira and Makoto's combined, held the two Angels utterly. "At any moment, one or both of you could die; there may not _be_ a tomorrow to solve things. I've been there. I've made that mistake, and many others in my youth, and when my friends tried to help, I rejected it outright. You have _no right_ to be angry with them for caring about you and trying to keep you two from making any more mistakes you'll regret for your entire lives!"

Kira and Makoto winced. Neither of them had ever seen Serenity this angry before, but perhaps the worst thing of all was how ice cold the fury was.

"Mom…"

Serenity's cold glare fell firmly on her daughter, who physically recoiled. What made it worse, though, was the hint of disappointment she saw in her mother's eyes.

"You've shared your bond… emotionally, physically, and maybe otherwise," said Serenity. "So tell me: _is it the bond you want_?"

The two Angels looked at each other… but neither looked away blushing. There wasn't a hint of embarrassment. The look seemed to hold peace in both their eyes.

"I…" Makoto finally looked away. "Liz, Louisa, we need to talk." With those surprising words, she walked out of the living room, and after a quick look around, her two lovers followed. Kira, on the other hand, turned his attention to those still in the room.

"Okay…" he said softly. "I understand your reasons. And… I guess you're right. We haven't been listening, have we?"

"No, you haven't," said Lacus softly, giving Kira a sad smile. "So, will you tell me? What have you chosen?"

Kira shook his head slightly, walking up to her.

"I love Makoto," said Kira. "She really does complete me, but it's in a different way from you." He shook his head again, kneeling down and taking Lacus's hands. "Lacus, I really appreciate that you care this much. But the truth is… as much as I care about her, I don't think it could work out."

"Why?" asked Lacus. "I… honestly, I was hoping it would work out. I love both of you; more than enough to get over any of my own discomfort."

"Try to imagine being in a relationship with yourself," said Kira. "You complete me, but it's different from Makoto; she's like… she's like my other self. It could never work out."

"I see," said Lacus softly. "I'm sorry. I really had hoped that this would all work out."

"I know," said Kira. "I appreciate that. But, um… I hope you'll excuse me if I find it a little absurd that you went out of your way to make me cheat on you _the night after I proposed_."

"Well, let me see, I planned it, and you didn't try to hide it from me…" said Lacus, sounding absentminded. "You're not lying to me. This isn't cheating. Cheating is when you're being dishonest, not when you're sleeping with a person you care about and your partner is well aware and approves of it."

Kira sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose you're right," he said. "It's still a little ridiculous."

"Well, mostly we'd been hoping to get you drunk enough to talk things out, but we took in the possibility that you'd tumble into bed together." Lacus shrugged. "Like I said, I'd pretty much been hoping for that resolution."

"The bed might not have gotten involved if not for Shizuka." Kira turned his attention to Makoto's aunt. "Was the aphrodisiac _really_ necessary?"

"So, she remembered the effects after the last time I slipped her some?" muttered Shizuka with a sigh. "Well, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."

* * *

Elsewhere

Makoto walked out to the garden, kneeling down next to the fountain stream and gently dipping her hand in, feeling the soothing water flowing around it.

"Makoto… um… how do you feel?" asked Liz.

"If you mean about Kira…" The redhead sighed. "I'm really not sure. A part of me wonders if our craving for knowledge fueled our feelings. It's one of the few things that we truly desire entirely for ourselves; and because of that, we both felt the _need_ to know what could've been."

"You don't really think that was all of it, do you?" questioned Liz, surprised. Louisa stepped forward, kneeling down next to Makoto.

"That can't be everything… you're not…"

It wasn't everything. They were right—Makoto really was, well and truly, head over heels for Kira. But she'd realized that a relationship wouldn't work out, no matter how much she wanted it too. The simple truth of the matter was that her feelings for Kira were different from his feelings for her; after last night, she was no longer turning a blind eye to things, and had realized that for Kira, such a relationship would never be truly possible.

It didn't make it less painful for her—she really, _really_ wanted that sort of relationship with Kira. At one time, it might've been possible for her to have it too.

But that time was long passed; Makoto had missed her opportunity months, maybe years before. It wouldn't come again. She'd need to get over it.

But she had to resolve it on her own; she couldn't involve anyone else in that. She understood that now.

"I'm not that flawless Louisa," said Makoto, deciding she didn't want them involved. She'd lie to them, to everyone… except for herself. A time might come where she told others, but that time was not now. "Truthfully, I'm a very flawed person. I've just tried to be strong enough, to charge through hard enough that somehow, I can do my part and settle things." Tears fell from her eyes into the stream. "And I was scared… I _liked_ feeling that way… and I think I always knew, deep down, that it was nothing more than a fantasy. Don't get me wrong, last night was incredible… but that drug that he was to me is gone… and I _want_ that feeling again."

Crap; she'd allowed too much to slip. _Get it together Makoto_, she told herself.

Liz and Louisa looked at each other uncertainly. The rosette decided to try something, pulling out her collar and putting it on, leaning more into Makoto's sight.

"So… can we at least provide a substitute, _Mistress_?" she asked.

Makoto snorted; the humor she found in it helped her to refocus, and she went back into her lie… though perhaps with a hint more of the truth.

"Kira and I strangled ourselves with the red thread," said Makoto, lifting her hand from the water. She pulled a strand of red hair from her head, wrapping it around her pinky. "But we're being pulled away from each other… by the threads we tied ourselves." Makoto shook her head, allowing the somewhat wet strand to fall, landing in the stream where it was swept away as her lovers shared another uncertain look. "Liz, Lou…" Their eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry, but… I'm cutting our threads."

Liz and Louisa gasped in surprise, the rosette snapping to her feet and taking several steps back, stopping beside the brunette.

"I realized this a while ago, but again, I was just too afraid to face it," said Makoto, tears pouring from her eyes. "We rushed into things blindly, driven by euphoria or fear or… well, many things. But when I think about it, rationally, I realize the mistake I made…" She stood up, turning to face them. They were surprised to see her smiling as she wiped away her tears, though they still continued to fall as she walked over to them, grabbing their hands… then clasping their hands together before gently pulling hers away. "But at least this much good has come of that mistake. You two are perfect for each other… and I'm happy, knowing I played some part in that."

"Makoto…" breathed Liz. Louisa gave the redhead a weak smile.

"You know… I've been feeling the same way lately," she said, surprising both of the others. "I loved you… but then we were apart for four years, and the only reason we rushed into things was because we found there was a chance." Louisa's eyes didn't waver in their sudden determination. "But even if it was a mistake… it's one I don't regret making!"

"I don't regret it either!" said Liz, moving closer to Louisa, turning slightly to face the rosette. "I definitely love you Louisa. And Makoto… I wasn't lying about how I felt about you. But if you really…"

"Thank you Liz," said Makoto, reaching out and pulling both of them into a hug.

They stayed like that for several minutes before Kira and Lacus finally joined them.

"Um… are things settled here as well?" asked Kira. Makoto released her ex-girlfriends and turned to face Kira, smiling, no more tears falling, though the streaks were still visible. Fortunately, she was able to hide how she truly felt even from Kira.

"Yeah… everything's gonna be fine," said Makoto. "Thank you Lacus. I'm still gonna have to kill Shizuka-obasan for the aphrodisiac though." Lacus giggled slightly, walking up to Makoto and holding out some paper she was holding. "What's this?"

"You don't want to get blood all over yourself right before the final concert of 'Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha', do you?" asked Lacus. "This is your new song. I took the liberty of filling in the tune, and I was hoping that Meer, Minako and I could join you… meaning we've got only four hours to practice."

"Wait! You filled out all of the sheet music _overnight?_"

As Makoto sputtered, Ami and the Taiyonoha watched from a short distance away.

"Um… so everything's settled now?" questioned Ami uncertainly.

"Yes… at long last, things between all of them are settled," said Serenity. "Now, why don't you and I go get ice cream while the rest of the girls prepare for the concert I set up for later today?"

Ami's eyes seemed to start sparkling instantly. In the month since her 'recovery', she'd grown a lot… and she'd developed an absolute adoration for some things, ice cream being one of them.

* * *

Daedalus Lunar Base

Several hours later

"Twenty minutes before Gounod reaches destination point," announced one of the base operators.

"Requiem generators operating at eighty-five percent," added another. "Numbers twenty-three through fifty-five have achieved critical level."

"Power flow stable, ultra mirror reflector, critical deviation: three-one-two-nine. Activating reserve cooling system, GR connecting bypass."

Djibril smirked as he watched the operators at work. He was in the control center for Daedalus, the control center for the most powerful weapon in existence, one infinitely greater than GENESIS. Now, the world was his.

"Are you serious about firing this weapon?" questioned the base commander, an Admiral Alonzo Loeber.

"Of course I am," answered Djibril with a confident smirk. "After all, that's why I went through all this trouble to get here and why I'm not willing to wait, despite only getting here a short while ago."

"Now _that's_ the kind of answer I like," replied Loeber, mirroring the Blue Cosmos leader's smirk. "I'm extremely glad to hear it. It's good to know our efforts are appreciated even way out here, and that our work won't have been in vain."

"Hmm?"

"There're too many soft politicians who spend fortunes building these things," explained Loeber. "They say they're necessary, but then they don't have the guts to use them when it's time. When that happens, soldiers like me tend to wonder: what are we out here for anyway?"

"Hmph, don't worry," said Djibril. "I'm no coward, like the president is. Nor am I a dreamer, like Durandal. In order to protect, I'll pull the trigger when I have to."

"I see."

From the back of the control center, Leon watched the current activity along with the three EX-Cs.

"What the hell are they talking about?" he questioned himself quietly. However, the EX-Cs heard him.

"The Patchworkers Requiem," said Miguel with a slight sneer.

"The end to this war," said Silber.

"An end to all war," corrected Rache. "Our sole purpose now, it seems, will be ensuring the Requiem will never be silenced."

Leon felt his body turn cold. A requiem for all Coordinators? What the hell was this thing… how many innocents would it kill? Gabriel expected him to defend something like _that_?

* * *

The _Autumn Rose_

"Huh… I never thought I'd see this place again," murmured Suiren.

"Hmm?"

"Gounod… destroying this colony is the action that earned me a nickname," she said. "Never thought I'd see it again. What's left of it certainly looks cleaner than it did after my old team and I were done." She shook her head, standing up from her seat. "Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever it is they're planning with this thing, we'll stop them. It can't be recovered for anything but raw materials at this point anyways."

"Understood," said Sakura. "Order all pilots to launch immediately. Our goal is the destruction of the remains of the O'Neill Cylinder Gounod. Equip the Blaze Wizard pack on the ZAKUs of Ariwara, Morena, Chapel, Watabe, Mckeel, Delkar, Miyashiro, Raub, Hekala and Serizawa. The remaining ZAKUs will be equipped with the Gunner Wizard. Formation Psi-Sigma Seventeen-Three."

"Yes ma'am!"

As the four ships pulled into formation, they began disgorging their mobile suits—ten GOUF Igniteds, seven Blaze ZAKU Warriors, three Blaze ZAKU Phantoms, seven Gunner ZAKU Warriors and a Gunner ZAKU Phantom, the mobile suits moving into their own position screening the vessels of the Kyusai Team as it moved towards the Gounod cylinder and the large Atlantic Federation fleet defending it.

The ships of both sides opened up with their beam cannons, but at this vast distance, the shots were dodged or dissipated by the anti-beam curtains. As they approached the line at which real combat would begin, the Rose launched from the _Autumn Rose_. Windams charged forward to engage the Kyusai Team before they got within proper attack range of the ships.

"All right everyone, listen up!" called Suiren, snapping her cannons into position. She fired a pair of diversionary mortars from her Orca cannons, followed immediately by a pair of slugs from her Signum railguns at the location she anticipated her targets would be after the initial invasion. Her predictions proved spot on as her attack tore straight through a pair of Windams.

"The enemy's goal is the protection of the Gounod cylinder," continued Suiren as the battle really got going. "We don't know how this is supposed to be used in the attack on our homeland, but I'm not interested in waiting to find out. They seem to want it intact, so we'll shatter it. If they don't want it intact, we don't lose anything destroying it out here. Since our intelligence indicates its purpose is for an attack on the PLANTs, our primary objective is to destroy the cylinder, just in case, and our secondary objective is the preservation of the ships. Now, stick close to your wingmen and watch one another's backs; good luck out there, and I expect to see you all again soon."

"_Yes ma'am!_" called the pilots.

"_Let's get going!_" called Murase. "_For the Golden Rose!_"

"_For the Golden Rose!_"

* * *

Orb Union

Makoto sighed as she stood on the stadium stage; three hours of practice was _not enough_ for what she was being called on to do; Meer had opted out when she just couldn't keep up. And frankly, Makoto was surprised to learn that Minako was a capable singer, and that Lacus was at all interested in singing the sort of music that Makoto tended towards.

She didn't have time to prepare for this speech either, and couldn't believe her mother was pulling this off _with less than twenty hours notice_. Given that the stadium was packed, and this was being broadcast live to the world, Copernicus, Izanami and probably the PLANTs, the redhead suspected her mother had actually planned a concert for this time, and just changed things around a little.

She received confirmation that the broadcast had begun, and after a quick glance at her friends in a VIP booth, and Lacus and Minako on the stage, Makoto began.

"You all know me as Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha," she began. "But, as I told the world just a few days ago, my true name is Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha."

* * *

Near Gounod

Suiren's swords quartered another Windam, the pilot far too slow to keep up with her lightning fast reflexes. The Atlantic Federation had numbers going for it, and that was all.

But while many of them were new to the group, this was the Kyusai Team, an elite unit to rival the legendary Alaric/Kessel Team, and with the force multiplication of their tight-knit teamwork, they were tearing the enemy to pieces… in some cases, literally, as demonstrated by the spinning ball of Slayer Whips that Ishimura, Murase and the Trinitys had formed.

* * *

Orb Union

"I realize that now… is probably an inappropriate time for such a thing as this," continued Makoto. "However, we must live in the present. For some of us, there might not be a tomorrow… so we shouldn't force ourselves to suffer the regret of not living today to the fullest. And so… today, I have a new song for all of you. It has many potential meanings to it, but for me, I see a tale about this war, and the suffering brought on by the hands of sorrow. I'll be singing it with the help of my dear friend, Lacus Clyne, and my cousin, Minako Rei Arata."

Makoto took a deep breath… and heard the music begin.

"This will be… the final performance of Setsuna Mizuno Taiyonoha."

* * *

Battle around Gounod

"Damn it, is numbers all you people can devise to fight us with?" demanded Shiori in frustration as she knocked aside a Windam's beam saber with her shield, the Windam's shield with her GOUF's knee, and used the momentum for a quick spin, bisecting the enemy right through the cockpit. "You're pathetic! Get out of our way if you want to live!"

"_That's right!_" came Max's voice as he led the other Gunner Wizard-equipped pilots in long-range sniping from near the ships as they inched steadily closer to Gounod. "_Today, we are…_" Three shots lit up the void. Three Windams detonated from the precise, deadly blows with the normally clumsy Orthros. "_Merciless!_"

* * *

_The child without a name grew up to be the hand  
To watch you, to shield you or kill on demand  
The choice he'd made he could not comprehend  
His blood a grim secret they had to command_

Makoto didn't dance at this point. Lacus and Minako were still quiet, intending to serve as her chorus and let Makoto take the lead in singing, which made sense: Minako wasn't a singer, and Lacus's songs were of an entirely different sort.

This song… in this beginning, it spoke of the Extended as a whole, but perhaps the most pronounced was Ami, at the beginning, before it expanded to include Treize as having a pronounced presence.

* * *

Gounod

"How many times do we have to tell you to run away if you want to live?" demanded Murase, stabbing his sword through a Windam before pummeling another with his beam guns and zipping away as soon a third attempted to open fire on him. "Your performance… isn't even worthy of being remembered!" The GOUF's heat rod sliced the overconfident Windam and pilot in half.

"You're a bunch of fools!" declared Shizuru, slipping 'under' fire from one Windam, grabbing a piece of debris and tossing it at her assailant, who failed to react in time. While not particularly fast by weapon standards, it was enough to send the Windam crashing into the bridge of a _Nelson_ battleship.

* * *

_He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life  
He prayed for both but was denied_

This part of the song probably applied to Treize more than anyone, but it also extended to others: Cagalli, Athrun… even Shinn Asuka from what she knew of him.

Each was faced with their duty, which came into opposition with their feelings. They wanted to have both, but couldn't. Treize and Athrun had settled on the latter—the 'true love of his life' part—while Shinn seemed to have, in essence, settled on the former—his 'honor'.

Cagalli was less applicable for the second line, though—she _had_ gotten both now.

* * *

Meanwhile

Christina smashed her GOUF's shield into the face of a Windam before making sure the job was finished using her sword. She'd taken some minor damage, but was still more than capable of slaughtering these worthless grunts.

"I swear they're using the bodies of their machines like a fucking wall!" she cursed viciously, firing both beam guns at the enemy.

"_Language Christina,_" chided Mai. "_Language._" As she spoke, Mai blocked a trio of shots with her shield—_each from a different angle_. She then returned the favor… with a beam rifle she'd stolen from one of Windam pilots who wouldn't be needing it anymore anyway.

The Windams each took two or three shots, but the pilots reactions seemed pathetically slow.

* * *

_So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?  
Will all our sins be justified?_

Minako and Lacus joined in with their chorus now as Makoto started her dance. This part… it was profound in its importance. It spoke of the losses of this meaningless war, the hopes and dreams it shattered, the worthless sacrifices.

It also spoke of the losses, the prices paid; by those who fought and those who watched their loved ones leave, never to return. Nor did it stop there, speaking of the long years that had passed, of how far humanity had come… yet questioning where all the wisdom and nobility that should've been there had gone?

And, of course, asking the all-important question: would the sins they committed ever be justified? Makoto didn't know… and she didn't care, either.

* * *

Meanwhile

Suiren moved into close range with an _Agamemnon_-class carrier, firing her cannons at it repeatedly until the thing was destroyed. A long-range bombardment lit up space as over a dozen beams crashed into the Atlantic Federation ships, damaging or destroying them.

A Windam fired at the Rose's back… and hit another Windam that had been in front of the Rose as Suiren disappeared… and returned the favor from the portside with her own, much more powerful rifle.

Then, she saw something that worried her a great deal.

"Gounod's stopped moving!" she said. "We don't have anymore time! Sakura, move forward and destroy that thing _now_!"

* * *

_The curse of his powers tormented his life  
Obeying the crown was a sinister price  
His soul was tortured by love and by pain  
He surely would flee but the oath made him stay_

This one was a point of extreme interest, for it went far beyond the Bloody Valentine Wars. This time, it spoke of Kira, of Makoto herself… of all the Children of Divinity. Of the oaths they had taken for themselves, to their nations, to their friends… and going beyond even that at times.

All of them were tortured by love and pain. All of them had paid sinister prices for doing as they were told. All of them had been born cursed by powers that had tormented them throughout life… perhaps not directly, but by way of Divinity as a whole.

* * *

The _Autumn Rose_

"Fire smokescreen spread, five kilometers," ordered Sakura.

"Uh, ma'am, isn't that a little close?"

"Just do it!" snapped Sakura. "Trust me."

"Uh, yes ma'am."

The smoke missiles were fired, creating a smokescreen. The Atlantic Federation soldiers that spotted it fired, expecting the ZAFT ships to burst through… but suddenly, they sprouted from the smoke in four different directions, creating an image like a blooming flower as they brought weapons to bear on enemies oriented on the wrong angle.

Beams, solid slugs and missiles filled space, obliterating dozens of mobile weapons and at least half a dozen warships.

* * *

_He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life  
He prayed for both but was denied_

* * *

Suiren dodged fire from a trio of Windams before returning fire with a pair of full burst barrages. The enemy was proving incredibly frustrating right now, and she didn't know how much time was left.

A massive barrage let loose from the Kyusai Team, simultaneously as though coordinated by their strange awareness, blasting an attack route for the elite unit.

* * *

_So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?  
Will all our sins be justified?_

This time, as they picked up the chorus, Lacus and Minako started dancing along with Makoto, matching her wild movements with their own seemingly uncontrolled motions. Hearing them singing with her, feeling the motions of their bodies through the air… it was profound.

Makoto found that she liked it. Okay, so it was a little crazy, but this concert was going off without a hitch, and she was definitely enjoying herself.

She'd have to thank her mom and Lacus later.

* * *

Gounod

The path was clear. The moment of truth was upon them.

"All GOUF and Blaze ZAKU pilots cover the rest of us!" ordered Suiren, moving into position, covered by the Trinitys. She snapped all of the Rose's weapons into place.

"_Firing solutions all locked!_"

"FIRE!" ordered Suiren.

The Rose's four cannons lit up. The eight Orthros cannons flashed. The _Autumn Rose_'s Isolde and the railguns of the three destroyers spat slugs and smoke. The beam cannons all let loose at once. Missiles blazed free of the bodies of the four warships.

Simultaneously, the three dozen or more blasts collided with Gounod along the entire length of the cylinder, followed seconds later by countless missiles as the Kyusai Team fired another vicious barrage.

* * *

_Please forgive me for the sorrow, for leaving you in fear  
For the dreams we had to silence, that's all they'll ever be  
Still I'll be the hand that serves you  
Though you'll not see that it is me_

An apology… for the people struck with terror by them, the lives they had taken. It spoke of this, and of those who still fought in the shadows, still served their nations, still continued to silence dreams, for the sake of those things they had to protect.

It was, in all ways, a fitting song.

* * *

Daedalus Lunar Base

Djibril smirked as he heard that Requiem's charge was ready. Nothing could defeat his weapon. Nothing could stop it. First, Aprilius. Then, the PLANTs altogether. Then Izanami. And finally, any of those foolish nations on Earth that dared to harbor Coordinators… like Orb.

"And now, Chairman Durandal…" said Djibril, picking up the control trigger. He clicked the index trigger three times, releasing the safety on the real trigger. "I shall play… a Requiem for you and all your kind!"

He pressed the switch, firing Requiem.

Leon's eyes widened, both at the words shouted and at the sight displayed on the monitors.

* * *

_So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?  
Will all our sins be justified?_

The Hand of Sorrow; that was her song, their song, of all that had happened, all that still waited to happen, and all that they would never let happen again if it was at all in their power. It even spoke of the Destiny Plan, in a way, and Makoto's belief that it wasn't worth the price paid, that it couldn't justify their sins.

The only thing that could… was freedom.

"Goodbye everyone," said Makoto as the music began to fade. "This will be my last performance in Orb… probably my last performance ever. Soon, I'll be returning to my new home… amongst the eternal stars."

* * *

Near Gounod

It wasn't quite like anything any of them had ever seen. A massive beam blasted out of the dark side of the moon, passed through a colony cylinder, and bent. It passed through another, and bent again.

And then it passed through Gounod.

The Kyusai Team was far enough away, as were the Atlantic Federation forces, that none of them were lost to that massive beam.

And as it passed through Gounod, the beam continued on, out into the depths of space.

The cylinder had been shattered, the Geschmeidig Panzer had failed, casting Requiem's shot far off course…

…and through the efforts of the Kyusai Team, over two and a half million innocent lives had been spared from meaningless destruction.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, the Kyusai Team just stopped Requiem from hitting even a single PLANT. Canonically, Yzak and the Joule Team could've done the same, but they were focused merely on stopping it, as per their orders, and likely more of Durandal pulling the strings, given that we know he'd sacrifice billions of lives for his Destiny Plan. The Kyusai Team was looking to take out Gounod from the start, which is why they succeeded where the Joule Team should've in canon.**

**As I said with the song, it's extremely appropriate as a "theme" for this story, and I couldn't help but to include it; personally, I'd rather have had Lacus sing it, but even having her there for the chorus seems like a stretch. If I had more things that fit Lacus and worked well, I'd probably have her singing more. Still, it's not like the singing is Lacus's sole defining trait.**

**Then there's the long awaited resolution to Kira and Makoto. I edited it to be more like what I'd originally wanted. There's one aspect about it, in particular, that bugged several reviewers, and it drove me nuts: complaints that I didn't derail Lacus into a clingy jealous girl. Hopefully, this edit helps make things a little clearer.**

**Moving on, Shinn gets some more screentime and development, a closer look is taken at Nabiki, Zane is discussed, hopefully allowing others to see things about him more clearly given that the A/Ns didn't seem to be understood****… and oh yeah, I get an evasive fight thread episode in with Kira and Makoto. I finally pit those two against one another, and end it in a draw. Also probably a missed moment of awesome, but mostly because I think it's best for everyone to fill in the battle with their own imaginations****… because I don't know if words could properly describe what must've happened there.**

**Some moments of heartwarming are shown, and a few chekov's guns have been setup.**

**Last notes: this fic may turn out several chapters longer than originally anticipated. Compiling the chapters into a single document, I have discovered that A): there are about 100,000 words in A/Ns and mecha sheets. And B): the fic proper is about 835 pages of text, enough to qualify for a door stopper.**

**Also, a reminder that the poll for favorite Original Mecha is currently up on my profile, and you can pick up to five choices. I'm not sure when the poll will close.**

**Enough of that! I'm trying to cutdown the A/Ns! Ah! Anyways, everyone, please leave a review, and I hope to see you all soon! Also, for those who haven't, please check out the revised _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Legends_, a project that I am now handling alone.**

**Say****ō****nara, min'na desu!**


	44. Phase 44: A Leap of Faith

**Okay, okay, I know, I know! I should've had this out _weeks_ ago, but I really struggled with some parts of it. I honestly don't know how much longer it's gonna take me to do these final parts, because they're some of the toughest. I _think_ it'll get easier from here, but I really don't know.**

**Okay, one thing I wanted to bring up… to my general surprise, the biggest complaint about last chapter seemed to be the Kira-Makoto subplot resolution. Always the same people, complaining about the same stuff. It's as tiring to hear as it is for them to read, but I bring up the subject a little here. I originally wanted to just leave it lying, with the only long-term repercussion of the subplot being Makoto's relationships, but with the complaints, I felt the need to make the view of the characters on it all clearer.**

**Also, regarding complaints about Makoto's centralness… frankly, I'm not gonna argue this. I admit that she is a beloved character for me, and yes, a bit of a "Wesley" case as well. She's not the most central character of this fic, but yes, she's gotten more spotlight than Kira****… because frankly, Kira's _done_ developing. I can only take the development of canon characters so far before people begin complaining about them, and it's hard to develop such a well-established character. Makoto isn't done with her character development. I try not to let her take over the story completely, and I think I've done a good job, but the ultimate judge of that is my readers.**

**Anyways, sorry to bug you all with this stuff, but I really had to get it out.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; and Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story, as well as the final scene of Leon in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

* * *

Phase Forty-Four: A Leap of Faith

January 22nd, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Ruins of Gounod

Suiren let out a small sigh of relief as the massive beam shot off into the depths of space. She now knew what it was, and was grateful for the information Sakura had brought to her. As the beam finally faded, she turned to face the Earth Forces that still remained.

The Kyusai Team had only lost two pilots in this battle, both of them recent graduates. Honestly, it astounded her, all things considered, but now that the battle was over, she got a sense of relief from many of the soldiers facing her, and suddenly, she began to understand that they'd likely had reservations about all of this, though they did their duty regardless… and for that, she felt the urge to salute them, in spite of what that duty might've meant.

Then, her comm. crackled with a message from the enemy.

"_There are four more colonies such as this,_" said the man, though she wasn't certain where he was. "_This isn't over yet._"

"We know," said Suiren. "But the situation has been slowed greatly. Djibril won't get another shot without dealing with ZAFT and Izanami first."

"_Yes,_" agreed the man. The machines of both sides started pulling back to their motherships before something unexpected happened, and several of the Earth Forces vessels moved forward.

"_This is worse than we'd imagined,_" came a new voice, belonging to a man with a distinct southern American accent. "_We won't support it any longer._"

"I see…" Suiren closed her eyes. "It will be some time before we act, but I intend to destroy all of these stations. We're not with the Chairman anymore." She opened her eyes. "And what of you? How many of you give your duty and loyalty to a cause greater than the hatred of Djibril and Blue Cosmos?"

No answer at first, other than the movements of those four vessels… and then another five started moving forward. And then, the words she had hoped to hear came over the comm. line.

"_For Earth. We're with you._"

Suiren found herself blinking back tears all of a sudden. This… right here was proof to her that she was right… that her father and Durandal were both wrong. She smiled.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry about your comrades."

"_Don't worry; seeing past that is part of our duty._"

The blonde wasn't certain if anyone else noticed, but the guns of a carrier that had slowly begun to track the deserters stopped moving as the remaining Earth Forces vessels began to retreat.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

"WHAT!"

Djibril couldn't believe what he was hearing—this wasn't possible! How in the world could they have failed to hit even a single PLANT, let alone Aprilius?

"The Gounod Relay Station was destroyed just before firing," said one operator, bringing up the image onscreen. Djibril's eyes widened in rage at the sight of the broken relay station, with four ZAFT warships and four times that many Earth Forces warships. Djibril knew there had been a larger fleet before, and the debris from those ships could still be seen, along with the ruins of Gounod. Worse, though, was the sight of seven of those ships turning away, while another nine moved forward, sidling up alongside the departing ZAFT ships.

"They betrayed us…" muttered a stunned Loeber. Djibril let out an enraged roar, slamming his fists down on the console in front of him.

"BASTARDS!"

"How many more times can those patchworkers' escape justice?" snarled Rache furiously. "Dozens of attacks against them and they've evaded each and every one!"

Putting a little distance between himself and the EX-Cs, Leon let out a small sigh of relief.

_Gabriel… I can't believe you… you want me to protect this… __**thing!**_

But… even knowing what he did about what was here at Daedalus, Leon didn't have a choice. He hadn't been lying when he said he'd become evil itself to save Hanako…

Well… if the relay stations were all taken out, then everything would be fine. And it wasn't like that was what he was ordered to defend.

_Come on… please… someone… destroy this thing… and him…_

After all, nothing in Leon's orders said Djibril had to be kept alive…

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Space Fortress Messiah

"What was that?" demanded Durandal.

"I-I'm not sure," replied the sensor operator who'd initially announced the high-energy beam from the far side of the moon. "The beam originated from Daedalus, and it changed paths several times before just shooting off into the middle of nowhere."

"Receiving communiqué from the Defense Headquarters at December," said a comm. officer. "Reports that the beam passed through three colony cylinders, Czerny, Fourier and Gounod. Its path altered when it passed through the first two, but not when it passed through the third."

"Not the third?" questioned an official. "But why?"

Durandal frowned. This wasn't right—Requiem was supposed to have hit at least one PLANT. He didn't like the sacrifice, but the lives, the future of humanity outweighed those relatively small sacrifices. It would've been the final nail in the coffin to ensure the success of Destiny, but like everything else, his plans were coming unraveled at the seams.

"What's the status of Gounod?" asked Durandal. "What happened there?"

"Sir, it was the Kyusai Team," said a female comm. officer. Durandal gasped. Suiren? Again? "They destroyed the Gounod cylinder just before the firing, after moving to intercept it outside the standard defense zone. No one questioned them because their Commander is a FAITH operative, but… there's been no response from attempts to contact them, and the latest images show them moving towards the moon with nine or ten Earth Forces vessels."

Durandal looked away, frowning. Suiren… the Gold Knight was proving an even more devastating wild card then the other pieces had been. And that wild card had firmly allied herself against him.

"Please, continue trying to contact the Kyusai Team," said Durandal. "Who is aware of what just happened?"

"The defense fleets at the PLANTs saw the beam, and Defense Headquarters is continuing to update us with any information they attain," said one operator. "At present, no one else within our forces or on the PLANTs are aware, but it seems likely that the nations of Earth know about what just happened as well."

Durandal nodded.

"I want this kept under wraps for the moment," said Durandal. "Find out how they did it. And transfer this data to the _Minerva_, along with orders to rendezvous with the _Gondwana_."

"Yes sir!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

For all her maturity, all her responsibility and all her ability to showoff a strong, calm and collected appearance to others, Makoto was, at heart, even more hotheaded than Cagalli was, and unlike her mother, she hadn't mellowed out over the years, she'd simply gotten a better lid on it.

So while the others were shocked at what Faith reported, even Cagalli maintained her cool, while Makoto's façade was shattered, leaving her just about ready to flip her lid.

"The Daedalus Lunar Base is the location of a powerful weapon we've identified from intercepted communiqués as the Requiem," repeated Faith. "The intent is to use five different colony cylinders equipped with massive Geschmeidig Panzers—Gounod, Fauré, Czerny, Fourier and Verdi—to redirect the path of the beam, allowing it to strike any location in the Earth Sphere, on the ground or in orbit. They fired it at Aprilius during the concert, but the Kyusai Team destroyed Gounod, the final relay station, just before firing, and the shot didn't hit anything."

Before Makoto could say anything in response, Serenity placed a firm hand on her daughter's shoulder, and her bearing made it obvious that she was taking charge of the situation.

"What about the other colonies?" questioned Serenity. "What are they positioned to target, where are they moving, and what is ZAFT's reaction?"

"Thus far, ZAFT hasn't shown much movement other than to divert the _Minerva_ from its original destination to the _Gondwana_," said Faith. "Czerny, Fourier and Fauré are in lunar orbit, with Czerny over Daedalus and the other two located ninety degrees around the moon. The last, Verdi… is positioned for a strike at Izanami."

"WHAT!"

The reaction this time came from almost everyone. The sole exception was Serenity, as calm as ever.

"Have the remainder of the First Fleet launch," she ordered. "I want them to intercept and destroy Verdi. Send word of this to the Gates of Heaven and the Second Fleet."

"Right away," said Faith before flickering out. Serenity firmly spun Makoto about, placing her hands on both of her daughter's shoulders.

"Makoto, calm down," she said sternly. "This is nothing beyond what we've seen before."

"I know that… but…"

"But you've never been personally powerless to stop it?" questioned Serenity, quirking a brow slightly. "How many times do you have to be told to let yourself rely on others before you actually take the advice to heart?"

Makoto flinched. That was a low blow and almost everyone present knew it. Makoto's biggest weakness had always been her inability to place her faith entirely in others, something she always tried to hide, in varying ways and to varying degrees of success.

Kira stepped forward, placing a hand on Makoto's shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

"They can't fire a weapon of that scale again very quickly," said Kira. "Even if they could, Izanami's armor will hold up to a conventional beam weapon, even on a scale to destroy colonies. You know that."

"Yeah, I know, but…" Makoto looked away before breaking from the grip of the others and running from the room. After a moment's hesitation, Minako ran out after her. Serenity sighed slightly, shaking her head.

"You were right Faith," she said softly, drawing confused looks from the others.

"Lady Serenity?" questioned Kira.

"She's not ready," said Serenity. "What was I thinking putting all this responsibility on her?"

But it was too late. She was half tempted to pull all the kids from the fighting, but she knew they wouldn't stand for it, and they'd all get out there somehow, increasing the chances of getting themselves killed.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later

The two were silent as Kira drove Lacus towards the coast, both thinking about what had just happened.

"Makoto's having a hard time," commented Kira softly.

"She'll recover," assured Lacus. "But her situation is a lot worse than ours; she broke up with Liz and Louisa, the situation between you two came out… well, differently than we expected, she's told the world who she is now, and then this happened, with that thing poised to attack her new home… and all on the same day." Lacus looked at her hands, folded in her lap, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry. Our timing ended up being a mess."

Kira shook his head. "It's not your fault," he said. "You were just taking the first opportunity you had. We're the ones at fault for letting it drag on."

"I know, but…" Lacus shook her head, deciding not to let it bother her. "Do you think Minako will be able to help her?"

"Probably," answered Kira idly. "What do you think of all this?"

"Mmm… is it really any different from what we've seen before?" the rosette questioned. "Nuclear weapons… or GENESIS…" Lacus shook her head. "It would've felt a lot worse if it had hit… like Junius Seven all over again. But that didn't happen, thanks to her."

"Yeah… you're right," murmured Kira before shaking his head. "We'll let Serenity handle it. Soon enough, we won't have any more chances to relax, so we'll take what opportunities we have."

"Mmm, yeah," murmured Lacus before smiling slightly as she turned to Kira. "So, when and where do you want to have the wedding?"

"Not sure about the 'when'," said Kira. "But… I've got a few ideas for 'where'."

"Here in Orb? The Marshall Islands? Or were you thinking of Amaterasu?"

"Orb, Amaterasu… and I was also thinking of the Clyne Residence on Aprilius."

Lacus's smile grew a bit at that.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Cagalli was being driven to the Defense Headquarters where a heli was waiting to take her to the mainland for a meeting of parliament on the matter of Requiem. In the back of the limo next to her was Ami, expression thoughtful, though about what, exactly, Cagalli wasn't certain.

"You know… I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on," said Cagalli softly, shaking Ami from her reverie.

"Huh?"

"Durandal," said Cagalli. "I think I know what his plans are."

"The Destiny Plan," said Ami, confused by Cagalli's words. "We know that."

"No, I mean… obviously, it won't be possible if the world at large rejects it, right?" said Cagalli. "So he has to make sure the world will accept it, or be too weak to stop him. We know he's willing to sacrifice billions of lives for the Destiny Plan, but the war hasn't gone his way at all, so he has to try and make sure everyone sees the horrors of war… right?"

Ami's eyes widened as she suddenly grasped the implications of what Cagalli was saying.

"Y-you don't mean…!"

Cagalli nodded slightly.

"I… I don't want to believe Durandal would go that far," she said softly. "But what if… could he have known about this?" Cagalli looked out the window, thinking of everything that had happened.

All order seemed to have been lost somewhere along the line, the war turning into an even more confusing mess than it should've been. Cagalli's thoughts, primarily, were on how people would react to Requiem, and how they would've reacted if it had hit. She also thought about how the only unit in ZAFT to even investigate was the Kyusai Team; even Izanami, which had the weakest presence of the three current space powers, had spared a few ships to investigate as quietly as they could manage.

"Yes… I think he would do that…" murmured Ami suddenly, drawing the older blonde's attention. Cagalli frowned slightly, before her eyes widened as she realized her sister was recalling the Destroy Incident.

"Uh, Ami, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay," said Ami softly. "I'm not that person… I never will be again. Stella Loussier is dead. That tool of Blue Cosmos is gone."

Cagalli looked away, wincing slightly. There was dead undertone in her sister's voice that she didn't like at all.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_ Captain's Office

Talia leaned back in her seat slightly, letting out a faint sigh as she hit the comm. switch for the bridge.

"Arthur, we've received orders to rendezvous with the _Gondwana_ instead of Messiah," she said. "Please see to it. I'm not to be disturbed until then."

"_Uh, yes ma'am._"

Talia switched the comm. back off, sighing again as she leaned back in her seat, thinking of the information and orders she'd been sent.

A massive beam weapon capable of altering its course? This was even worse than nuclear weapons, for at least those could be shot down. She thanked the world Suiren had been there to stop it at Gounod, for she had no doubt as to what the weapon's final target was, and knew that the Kyusai Team had saved at least a quarter million lives, and probably many, many more.

Still, she wondered what would happen now. Her orders had mentioned that the Kyusai Team was out of contact, and moving towards the moon with Earth Forces warships, and no one could really understand this odd behavior. Talia hoped that Suiren knew what she was doing.

Idly, she opened a drawer of her desk and pulled out the picture within, the last she had of Reine En Creuset, when her 'niece' met her son, Gerard. That was just after the outbreak of the First War, and it was the last time she saw her niece until Break the World.

"Reine… I hope you know what you're doing," she murmured. "And Gil… I hope you know as well."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"Seth's mission has failed," commented Jester, walking down the corridors with Prophet. "We won't get that pawn."

"Adam won't get that pawn," corrected Prophet. "The mission was on his orders, and the other one on Eve's orders. Seth's loyalty is to them, not us."

"Do the others know about that?"

"No," answered Prophet calmly. "But I suspect Void and Harlequin are also loyal to them rather than our 'council'."

"You told me the council is a puppet… are they there to keep watch on you?"

"I'm beginning to believe so," said Prophet. "Listen, watch your back, and don't trust Seth, got it? You may be the only friend I have left, and I don't want to lose you."

"I understand sir," said Jester as the two came to a halt. "But I doubt I'm going to survive this."

Prophet's eyes became downcast at that, for he sensed much the same fate for his friend.

**

* * *

**

Izanami Airspace

Space around Ascendant Justice was something of a flurried, organized mess as the Second Fleet, accompanied by numerous ships and mobile suits from within Izanami's shell, docked with the First Gate of Heaven in preparation for the biggest, grandest and most insane launch in history.

As the Izanami Defense Forces prepared to crush Verdi and the threat it represented to their precious homeland, Admiral Darryl Mustang, aboard Ascendant Justice, had his comm. officer patch him through to all the forces present, as well as the colonies themselves.

"People and soldiers of Izanami," he began. "Today, we have witnessed another act of genocide in a long line of such acts. And this act, this weapon they call the Requiem of all Coordinators, threatens our homeland as well." Darryl closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, knowing that his image had just appeared on all ships and the large television screens in the colonies, adding to the audio that was already being played.

"But even if it did not, we would not sit quietly by as Blue Cosmos commits these acts of terror against all of humanity!" he declared. "This will be the last act of genocide our generation sees, for already we have seen far too many for a thousand lifetimes! We, the people of Izanami, who hold ourselves to be above the petty hatred that has driven these meaningless wars, we who have come here seeking true peace and freedom, will not allow these terrorists to continue to act as they please! Today, we launch to protect our homeland. And once that first step is complete, we will proceed forward to put an end to this needless Requiem."

Darryl paused, letting his eyes sweep back and forth, as though he was looking over the people of Izanami even though he could not see them himself. Then, he uttered the battlecry of Izanami.

"For Izanami! For the Dauntless Angel!"

Over the incoming comm. line, countless voices echoed that cry.

"_For the Dauntless Angel!_"

Darryl gave a slight nod, the motion indicating he was done, and then glanced at a screen displaying the flagship of the Second Fleet, the _Archangel_-class assault ship _Orca_, docking with the last forces they were waiting for, including the _Ortygia_.

"Tell _St. Nicholas_ were ready for them," he ordered, smirking slightly. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to make history by being the first people launching a space fortress into combat!"

Moments later, the rails of the linear driver _St. Nicholas_, a massive, multi-component linear launch system, surrounded Ascendant Justice and automatically attached the launch cradle to the Gate. Once complete, the driver began its charge, preparing the magnetically accelerate Ascendant Justice (the cradle's purpose being allowing it more to hold with the magnetic field) away from Izanami.

"Ascendant Justice, launch now across the starry sky!"

And with that, the asteroid launched away from Izanami. The pace wasn't especially fast, but much faster than heading out conventionally; regardless, it needed to be slow enough for them to be able to stop at the target.

A mistake like that wasn't one the crews of _St. Nicholas_ would make.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Minako had been driving all over Onogoro looking for her cousin when she finally found the redhead's motorcycle parked outside the Taiyonoha Cemetery. Parking her own car, Minako left the vehicle, not even bothering to lock it as she stepped into the cemetery.

The graves were almost all empty, erected in honor of a handful of individuals still held in high esteem by the Taiyonoha. Most of their ancestry was honored with memorials, for which the statues had been destroyed by Break the World.

And some graves that should've contained bodies didn't. Minako found her cousin standing in front of several such graves, which held the remains of Ami Meiou Kamakura, and lacked the remains of Misuumi Taiyonoha, Yushiro Kamakura, Naomi Ten'ou Arata and Ichida Arata.

"How many more empty graves must we dig before we learn?" questioned Makoto softly as Minako approached her.

"That's not what you need to be asking," said Minako just as softly, trying to step into Makoto's view, but the redhead stood up and turned away, carefully avoiding her cousin's face.

"Why can't you place your faith in others?"

Makoto froze, eyes squeezing shut.

"What is it? Please, tell me Makoto. Please… have faith in me." Minako's eyes softened a bit more as she walked up behind her cousin and wrapped the younger girl in her arms, pressing the girl's back into her. "It's destroying you. It's the real reason you've faced that drama lately, the reason there was never any hope with Liz and Louisa… but… you placed your faith in me. Why me and not them?"

"I didn't," murmured Makoto softly. "I really believed you were going to kill me. I didn't place my faith in you, Kira… or even my own mother."

"Why?" asked Minako again. "Please… just tell _me_…"

"Because… because if I place my faith in others, they're the ones held responsible… and no one will ever hold me accountable for my mistakes."

_SMACK!_

It happened so quickly neither girl realized what had happened until Makoto was on the ground, face first in the grass, right cheek burning from the pain.

"Are you crazy?" demanded Minako, voice tinged with fury. "_That's_ your reason? So that the only one who can be considered guilty is _you_?"

"YES!" screamed Makoto in frustration, standing back up, years of anger at her repeated exoneration slipping through. "No one blamed me when my actions nearly got us all killed and costs dozens of innocent lives that wouldn't have been hurt otherwise! No one blamed me when my refusal to just destroy the Resolute nearly resulted in the deaths of everyone aboard the _Archangel_! No one blamed me when my inability to be a true leader kept me from doing what I knew I should've when the Earth Forces invaded Orb! And even you aren't blaming me for getting mom and dad killed anymore!"

"YOU IDIOT!" screeched Minako, rushing forward and punching Makoto; it was eerily reminiscent of the moment she did the same aboard the _Archangel_. "That's got to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

"And the sort of mistake I committed," interjected a new voice suddenly, freezing both girls as Serenity approached them.

"Mom?" "Aunt Serenity?"

"The reason I never told you about Divinity was because I wanted you to hate me," said Serenity. "Because no one held me accountable and of all the people who could, you were the one who would hurt me the most." Serenity's eyes closed, her expression sad. "Like mother… like daughter." She opened her eyes, looking at Makoto for a moment before turning her back. "Makoto… my sweet little angel, my child… please don't make my mistakes."

"Mom…"

"Please… you were never one to live in the past. So please… let it go."

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

_BEEP BEEP BE_

Emilia hit the kill switch on the incoming communiqué again. ZAFT was determined to get in touch, but she'd received strict orders for radio silence with anyone outside of their small fleet.

She glanced out the viewports at the ships gathered around the _Rose_ as they made their way steadily towards the moon, and wondered what her commander was thinking.

In her office, Suiren was talking to the ranking Earth Forces officer, Captain Kevin Lash, and Sakura about their plans as well.

"Judging from known tactics, personalities, intents and capabilities, as well as other observations, we have nothing to worry about," said Sakura, immediately taking control of the conversation. While not the leader Suiren was, nor the veteran Lash was, she was most definitely the best tactician/strategist present. "Izanami will not tolerate a threat of this magnitude, so the Verdi station will be destroyed long before Logos can do anything about it." She pointed to the other relay stations on the map. "Czerny will receive a reinforcement fleet from Daedalus, while Arzachel will launch its two largest fleets, the Third and the Eighth, to defend Fourier and Fauré." She next pointed to the location of the _Gondwana_. "Meanwhile, the _Gondwana_ will lead a fleet to attack Fourier. With Fauré on the far side of Luna, there's no way for the cannon to launch another attack at any location of importance. However, the attack on Fourier will be a diversion."

"A diversion? For what?" questioned Lash, bewildered both by the explanation itself and how much sense it seemed to make.

"The _Minerva_… right?" said Suiren. Sakura nodded.

"I'd guess no more than a fifty percent chance they'll receive any reinforcements at all," said Sakura.

"But that's crazy," said Lash, catching on instantly. "What is your Chairman thinking?"

"Even Durandal knows such an attack wouldn't likely succeed," said Sakura. "The _Minerva_'s frontal assault will be yet another diversion. Meanwhile, either the Impulse or the GOUF will launch on a stealth mission to infiltrate Daedalus and destroy Requiem's control center. In this scenario, Djibril flees and is gunned down; with even his pathetic place in the command structure gone, the fleets fall into disarray, and ZAFT captures Daedalus and Requiem at its leisure."

Lash let out a sigh.

"But you don't think it will work, do you?"

"No," cut in Suiren. "The _Minerva_ will be beaten back, and Admiral Loeber will be able to convince Djibril that firing on the PLANTs won't be possible for some time, which will get him to let them fire it at the fleets around Fourier. ZAFT will be forced into retreat."

"By the time the relay stations are positioned for another attack, Izanami's forces will have arrived at Luna," said Sakura. "All we have to do is join up with them then."

Suiren looked down while Lash nodded.

"I must admit, I'm impressed, Captain Noriega," he said. "You're quite observant."

"It's a gift," said Sakura. "Will you be joining us?"

"I believe so," said Lash. "I agree that Requiem cannot be allowed to fire again. My first duty is to my people in the Atlantic Federation, and this weapon does not serve them, but threatens them with more needless conflict. Enough lives have been lost in the last few years."

"Thank you for saying so, Captain," said Suiren, looking up at the other two. "Would you like a tour of the ship, or to get back to your own?"

Lash chuckled. "You really have no desire for me to see more right now," he said. "I appreciate the polite gesture, but I should inform the others of this. Commander, Captain." He gave them a slight nod before heading for the door, where both ZAFT and Earth Forces guards were waiting for him. Even though they all agreed, there still seemed some trust issues present.

"Now… what's wrong Suiren?" asked Sakura, leaning against the wall slightly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Sakura… I won't press you for how you knew," said Suiren softly. "But… I need to face them. I need to face her."

"Makoto wants to bring you home."

"Yes," murmured the blonde.

"I honestly expected you to go for him. Or perhaps the other one. With the Rose, I even thought you might go after the White Angel. But Makoto…"

"She's the one," said Suiren. "Yamato's will and Makoto's will are different things. And vengeance against the Dantes isn't what I need… or even want, anymore. Minako is a vision of… well, of what could've been. But Makoto is a vision of who I was supposed to be."

"She is the sun and you are her moon," replied Sakura. The redhead quirked an eyebrow. "The goddess settles things with her siblings, huh?"

"Don't compare us to them," said Suiren. "Things are far more complex than that. I saw it though; Clyne brings the light of dawn and hope, Yamato is the protector against evil. Minako is the raging storm. Makoto the radiant sun."

"And you the calm and beautiful moon," said Sakura, refusing to let the comparison drop. "Divinity is gathering at Luna." Sakura started to leave. "I'll tell my friends at Copernicus. They'll help arrange everything."

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

Several hours later

With Djibril currently raging over Izanami's swift reaction to Requiem that had destroyed Verdi and removed any chance of hitting L3 in the near future, Leon, and even the EX-Cs, had all retreated to the hangar where their new machines were stored.

The Valiant Kai, as it was rather simply dubbed, was the same machine at its core; the 'upgrades' had largely taken advantage of a mobile suit's versatile nature, something many people tended to forget. Mostly, its backpack and weapons had been replaced, they'd gotten in an upgraded battery, and fine-tuned the beam armor. Some changes were a bit more extreme, and Leon would've liked to have more work done on it, but time constraints prevented that. Still, it was better than what he'd had before.

Leon briefly glanced at where the EX-Cs were working on their own machines, frowning slightly. The Destroy, in the hands of those maniacs? How many recipes for disaster did they have in this base?

Leon sighed slightly, thoughts shifting briefly to the orders he'd received shortly after the firing: defend Requiem until he was contacted again, at which point he was to be free, and they would tell him where to pick up Hanako.

It was almost over.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

All seven pilots were gathered, along with Arthur, in the briefing room, waiting for Talia to arrive with their orders. En route to the _Gondwana_ rendezvous, revised orders had come in, and they were now on course for the moon.

The captain herself stood outside the room, steeling herself for what was to come. Right now, she was the only one on the ship aware of Requiem, and she could imagine how the others would react to the news she was about to deliver.

Zane and Heine would be as calm and collected as ever. Nabiki probably wouldn't care. Rey would push for an immediate attack, likely recommended Shinn as the spearhead, a task Shinn would eagerly fulfill, filled with white-hot fury over the attack. Tristan would probably be like a mix between Shinn and Rey. Aleksi was more difficult to judge, but Talia guessed she would be most like Rey.

Stepping into the briefing room, Talia only absentmindedly noted and returned the salutes of her pilots and XO, walking over to the display screen and turning to face them.

"Information on this is being kept tight, but it will spread soon enough," she started. "We've located Djibril. He's at the Daedalus Lunar Base. Ordinarily, we'd be joining up with the lunar fleet led by the _Gondwana_, however, an incident earlier today has forced us to change our plans."

"An incident?" questioned Zane, eyes narrowing slightly. Talia nodded grimly.

"We've learned that Daedalus houses a gigantic beam cannon, which was fired earlier today."

"But that doesn't make any sense," said Tristan. Shinn nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Daedalus is on the far side of the moon," he said. "There's nothing out there but junk leftover from Izanami."

"Junk… and the central cylinder of the colony Czerny," said Talia. "Its been turned into a gigantic Geschmeidig Panzer, able to redirect the beam from Requiem." The others gasped. "Using different combinations of these relay stations, it is possible for Requiem to strike at any target in the Earth Sphere."

"You mean they attacked the PLANTs?" cried Shinn, jumping to his feet.

"That was the intended target," admitted Talia. "However, the third relay station was destroyed by the Kyusai Team just before firing, and the attack missed. But we don't know how long we have before that weapon can fire again. I don't know if we'll be receiving reinforcements, but the _Minerva_ has been ordered to initiate a terrain-following flight in order to hide ourselves behind the moon's horizon and launch a sneak attack on Daedalus to destroy Requiem's control center in tandem with an attack by the lunar fleet on one of the relay stations."

"How much time do we have?" demanded Zane.

"Like I said, we're not sure when the weapon can be fired again," said Talia. "However, we have reason to believe we may have several days before another attack on the PLANTs."

"Several days?" questioned Aleksi.

"While they could theoretically strike the PLANTs with only two relay stations, they used three instead," explained Talia. "Gounod was destroyed by the Kyusai Team, and another station, Verdi, was destroyed by Izanami less than an hour ago. There are currently only two relays in position for another attack, and the only other relay we've detected is on the far side of the moon."

"But we can't take the chance that we have that much time," added Heine, frowning.

"Exactly," said Talia. "However, the earliest we can reach Daedalus is early morning."

"Early morning?" exclaimed Shinn. "But that's…"

"The best we can do," said Talia sharply, cutting him off.

"We're the closest force to Daedalus right now, aren't we?" questioned Rey. Talia nodded. "Then I guess we just have to hope for the best."

"Yes," said Talia. "I want all of you to rest, and prepare for battle. There's no question: failure is not an option on this mission, so I need you all in top form."

"Yes ma'am."

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Things seemed to be going well. ZAFT was massing it's lunar fleet for a counterattack, and the Verdi relay station had been utterly annihilated by the First, Second and Ascendant Justice Defense Fleets, with almost no losses for Izanami forces, pilots and crew utterly enraged by the weapon that had been deployed and the clear threat it presented not only to the world, but to their homeland personally.

Faith made note of the various performances, picking out a handful of particular high performances that she would present to Makoto later, that is, if the redhead were in any state to assess them any time soon.

There really wasn't much to do for those in command right now. The _Eternal_, _Archangel_, _Seraphim_, _Dominion_,_ Yukihime_ and _Yggdrasil_ were being prepped for launch, and repairs were being administered to the Strike Freedom and Serenity, but…

Well, they were looking at one of the last days they had to relax before a maelstrom as vicious as any of them had ever seen struck the world.

"So they can treat Maia?" questioned Ami, looking between Treize and Flay. The former nodded slightly.

"It'll take months, but they say the human body, especially a Coordinator's, is extremely adaptable," said Treize.

"Good thing too," added Flay. "I don't want to rely on Makoto for that as well. And it'll extend to Yzak and Dearka as well."

Across the room, Kira was having to deal with his friends who had finally caught sight of Lacus's engagement ring.

"You lazy little bastard," said Saul, grinning. "Why did you only just now do that anyway?"

"Shut up," said Kira lightly. "You have no right to call anybody lazy."

"He's right," said Nicol. "Though I have to wonder the same thing, Kira."

The brunet shrugged. "Honestly, it never really crossed my mind much until recently," he admitted.

"Let me guess… Meer?" questioned Saul. Kira nodded.

"I never really cared about whether or not our relationship was considered 'official'," said Kira. "But I got to thinking about it when Meer showed up and started all that stuff with Athrun."

"Ah… jealous Kira?" questioned Saul, grinning.

"Hardly—_I_ don't have to worry about Cagalli turning my body to mush."

"Ugh, good point."

At that moment, Makoto walked into the room, talking to Minako about something. Kira glanced at her, noting that she seemed to be doing better now than she had earlier.

Makoto briefly glanced Kira's way, wondering what he could be talking about with Saul and Nicol, before her eyes shifted to where Lacus was talking to Shiho instead.

After a long talk with her mother and Minako earlier, Makoto had realized the person she needed to talk to most of all was Lacus, and had said as much to Minako.

"I'll deal with Shiho," said her brunette cousin softly, stepping away from Makoto. Minako whispered something to Shiho, but even Makoto's sharp ears couldn't catch it as she approached.

"Ah, excuse me Lacus," said Shiho suddenly, leaving quickly with Minako. Lacus and Makoto looked after the two, confused, before turning to each other.

"That was weird," commented the redhead. Lacus nodded slightly.

"Um… did you need to talk about something?" asked Lacus.

"Ah… yes," answered Makoto softly. "Come on, let's go out to the garden." Lacus nodded, following Makoto out of the room.

A moment later, as the two sat down at a bench in the garden, Lacus turned to her friend.

"So… what's the matter?" she asked. Makoto sighed, staring up at the stars.

"Mom and Minako forced me to do a lot of thinking," she said. "Listen… I understand why you made Kira and I do what we did. Talking hadn't worked, the problems were getting worse…"

"And now they're over," said Lacus. The rosette smiled slightly. "I, uh… I have to admit, I didn't think it would turn out like this."

"Well, _I_ never thought you'd go for polyamory."

"I don't own Kira," replied Lacus firmly. "I may not be interested in anybody else, but that's no reason that he shouldn't be allowed to love anyone else."

"What? So Kira's straight and you're Kira-sexual?" teased Makoto, smirking slightly. Lacus blushed, lightly smacking Makoto's arm before the atmosphere turned serious again. The redhead sighed.

"I'm really not worthy of being called an Angel of Faith," she said softly. "I can't place my faith in others, nor have I ever been able to truly take a leap of faith. I'm not sure if I even have true faith in myself, or am just overconfident in my abilities. There's never a guarantee that we're strong enough to meet the challenges ahead. We just… don't know."

"No, you don't know," said Lacus, turning to face Makoto. "But you _can_. You just need to take a leap of faith."

"I don't…" Makoto closed her eyes. "Lacus, I don't know if I _can_ take a leap of faith."

"We don't know for certain that we're right," said the rosette. "But we're all taking a leap of faith that humans can choose a better path. We're just waiting for you to take that leap as well."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

The next morning

Shinn leaned back in the cockpit of the Destiny, taking slow, deep breaths, trying to center himself for the coming fight. This was going to be, by far, the most important battle of the war to date, eclipsing even the importance of the Battle of Heaven's Base. This was it—this moment would prove to the world that the Chairman meant the best, and with Djibril dead, the war would be over.

He knew that there were those who would fault him for his continued trust in the Chairman, but Shinn truly believed in him, and was willing to take that leap of faith, despite the questionable things he now knew the Chairman had done.

But… he was getting worried about Rey; the blond was starting to act weird, throwing around blame, taking that strange medication of his more often, even brutally criticizing Aleksi.

Aleksi… she'd also been acting weird around him, but that made perfect sense. Honestly, he was still trying to avoid her after her crazed confession, because while he didn't feel the same and had said as much, it was still kind of awkward.

In fact, strangely enough, the only one whose behavior hadn't seemed to change much was Tristan, still somewhat aloof, though the tension between them over Nanai's death had all but evaporated.

Nabiki had become prone to mood swings, often muttering to herself, and she seemed to study the Serenity obsessively, seeking out any possible weakness to it. In comparison, Zane had become more introspective, and seemed more concerned for the other pilots.

Heine hardly spoke anymore, his friendly and open personality becoming more closed, though still friendly whenever someone talked to him.

There was one thing Shinn had come to realize, though, and it worried him: there was a _lot_ more going on than he had realized… and Rey definitely knew, as did Zane and Nabiki… and probably Heine as well.

What were they hiding from him? And why?

Shaking away those doubts, Shinn instead focused on what he was fighting for. Stella's memory… and his sister's future. If there was one big concern he had left about the coming battle, it was the encounter with his sister, who would surely be fighting.

Shinn had never learned that, amidst the chaotic Operation Fury, his sister had joined Orb…

"_The lunar fleet has begun its attack on Fourier,_" announced Abi on the PA. "_All pilots prepare for launch. We begin our attack T-minus two minutes and counting._"

Two minutes… that was like an eternity.

"_Have we received any reinforcements?_" questioned Zane.

"_I'm afraid not,_" replied Abi. "_There are six destroyers currently en route, but they won't arrive for another hundred and thirty seven minutes._"

"_Understood._"

More than two hours… if the battle dragged on that long, then it would likely mean that they'd failed to take out Djibril. But Djibril's death wasn't the primary objective… Shinn thought back on the attack plan, with the _Minerva_ and most of its machines leading a direct assault while Aleksi, using the Core Splendor System, would attempt to sneak into Daedalus, locate Requiem's control center, and destroy it. As long as they accomplished that, they could retreat successful, and then come back with additional forces to capture Daedalus completely.

And if they failed, not only would Requiem continue to threaten the PLANTs, but the lunar fleet around Fourier would be in danger.

Shinn tensed slightly as the Destiny was dropped into the starboard catapult while the Reckoning was dropped into the port catapult.

_This is it_, thought Shinn, grip on the Destiny's controls tightening slightly. _The final battle… today, Djibril will draw his last breath!_

"_Destiny, Reckoning, you are go for launch!_"

"Shinn Asuka, Destiny, launching!"

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"It's begun," commented Sakura softly.

"Yeah," murmured Suiren.

After reaching the moon, the impromptu fleet had split up, the Earth Forces vessels heading for Catharina to contact Izanami while the Kyusai Team hid briefly before gathering at the ruins of the Lorentz Crater Base, which had lain abandoned for the last three and a half years.

"Have you determined how Izanami is moving?" asked Suiren.

"My contacts at Copernicus have informed me of the launch of the First and Second Fleets, as well as an asteroid fortress," said Sakura. "The Angels are currently grounded, but they'll be ready soon. I can't say for certain how they'll move, but I believe the command group will first head to Copernicus, which suits us just fine."

"Mmm." Suiren closed her eyes in thought.

A part of her had wanted to race around and assist in the attack, but she wasn't certain if she could destroy Requiem, and knew that the _Minerva_ wouldn't. As dangerous as Djibril was, she knew that under no circumstances could Durandal be allowed the advantage of holding Daedalus and Requiem. And besides…

Her instincts told her that things would turn out okay. And she'd long since learned to trust those instincts.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

Djibril's expression when the _Minerva_ and six mobile suits appeared over the lunar horizon: priceless… then _extremely_ smug when he learned that the _Minerva_ was alone.

"This place is more heavily defended than Heaven's Base!" cried Tristan, narrowly dodging fire from a Windam and returning the favor, only for his shot to go wide.

"_You think?_" shouted Shinn, diving wildly to and fro with the Wings of Light, slicing apart one Windam after another. They were like lambs to the slaughter against the Destiny's speed, mobility and power combined with his skills, but there were so damn many of them…

"_Get out of my way,_" came a cold voice. The next thing either of them knew, countless beams had lit up space, relentlessly skewering countless Windams, and for a moment, they were clear… and surrounded by rapidly circling DRAGOON units. Zane and Rey recalled theirs as they came to a stop next to Shinn and Tristan, but Nabiki didn't, charging forward, leveling all of the Avenger's weapons and letting loose with the DRAGOONs.

"Unbelievable…" breathed Shinn.

"_Indeed,_" said Zane. "_We've never seen the true firepower of that machine before. But we don't have time to stand around gaping!_"

"Right!"

"I was worried for a minute there," said Arthur. "But it looks like we may be able to pull this off after all."

Talia nodded slightly, though she wasn't as confident as Arthur.

"The airspace is clear," she said. "Launch the Impulse!"

With the Avenger plowing the way and the surprise of the assault itself, the mobile suits drove pretty close to the base.

"Looks like we won't have to rely on Aleksi taking out the control center," commented Nabiki, obliterating another dozen Windams. She wasn't a Newtype, but her other perceptions allowed her to control the DRAGOON system just as effectively.

"_Hey, don't act like she can't do it!_" said Shinn, coming to the blonde's defense as he drew his beam cannon and fired, destroying a Windam that was preparing to attack him.

"_Cut the chatter!_" ordered Zane. "_We have the upper hand, but that's not gonna last!_"

"_He's right!_" said Heine. "_They're coming…_"

"_Who?_" questioned Tristan.

Before anyone could say anything else, the largest gates of Daedalus opened up, freeing warships docked at the base… and a trio of massive mobile weapons.

"What the…? More Destroys?" questioned Shinn.

But the Destroys were only the beginning: Zamza-Zahs, Gells-Ghes and Euclids also started to pour out of Daedalus.

"_Okay… now the situation's taken a turn for the worse,_" said Heine. Shinn gulped slightly.

At Heaven's Base, Suiren had been the only one to go up against one of these things solo—even with the Destiny Project machines, they'd struggled taking them two-on-one, and that was with all the other mobile suits and armors preoccupied by the additional ZAFT forces, and between the _Minerva_'s pilots, they only had two kills on the Destroys.

"_The pilots are them… the EX-Cs…_" murmured Heine.

"_No way…_" gasped Tristan. "_It was tough enough with regular pilots…_"

"Tch, cowards," muttered Nabiki, leveling the Avenger's weapons and DRAGOONs and opening fire with everything she had.

… and could do nothing but watch as the central Destroy blocked the entire assault with its positron reflector.

"I shattered that before, and I'll do so again!" roared Nabiki, preparing to shift to Hyper Burst.

"_Allow us,_" said Zane, moving forward with Rey, the two deploying their DRAGOONs and preparing to pierce the reflectors with the beam spikes.

But before any of them could do anything, a storm of fire let loose that forced them to break away.

And the _Minerva_ wasn't doing much better.

"Target the battleship at blue 19 gamma," ordered Talia as the ship shook under another blow that they couldn't evade. "Fire!"

The Neidhardt missiles streaked away from the _Minerva_… and were blown out of space by a hail of CIWS fire from the mobile suits screening the battleships. Talia grit her teeth.

"Ma'am, we can't keep this up!" said Arthur.

"The mobile suits are being overwhelmed!" added Abi.

"I know!" said Talia. "We just need to buy Aleksi a little more time…"

At that moment, several missiles broke through their CIWS fire and crashed into one of the engine blocks, the hull and obliterated one of the Tristans.

"Heh… so now we see just how pathetic they really are," commented Silber smugly, staring at the struggling ZAFT mobile suits as he deployed his units arms to move in close and help aid the attack. Dozens of explosions showed them where the Windams were being destroyed, but for every one that fell, three more were there to take its place.

Of course, the destruction was kind of inevitable—an advanced machine was bad enough, but when that machine featured nuclear power and the DRAGOON system, it really started to tip the odds. Most nations tended to focus on quantity, with a handful of high-quality 'command' units, and it was those high-quality units that ZAFT had sent out.

But that wouldn't do them any good against these numbers.

"Damn it…" cursed Shinn, blocking shots with his shield and trying to evade. But there were just too many, and the Destiny's armor was getting scorched. "DAMN IT!"

The Avenger's almighty armor was barely even scratched by the heavy fire… but even that would wear down given time. Nabiki fiercely fired one barrage after another—she didn't even need to aim in this chaos, and she was downing dozens of Windams per firing, but…

A third DRAGOON readout flashed red, alerting her to its destruction.

Heine fired the Saviour's cannons, grazing one enemy and hitting another dead on, but not taking out either—the laminated armor would require a direct hit from _both_ cannons to take out. He hefted his shield in front of him in defense, but then his danger sense alerted him to an attack from behind an instant before the alarm went off.

The FAITH agent spun about, lashing out with his saber, slicing the offending machine in half… but several beam rifles took his machine in the back, setting off explosions. If they'd just been a little closer to something vital, he would've been in even bigger trouble than he already was…

… which was pretty big, as a Windam rushed forward and sliced off the Saviour's left arm at the bicep when Heine twisted to avoid being killed outright.

"Ahhh!" screamed Tristan as his machine was slammed against the lunar surface. The Windam pilot shifted to put his rifle into place to finish the job, but the blond recovered his wits first, slamming his machines arm into the Windam's face and drawing a beam saber, slicing his opponent in half.

"Idiot," he panted. "Next time, try using your saber, it's better in close combat."

Zane and Rey were back to back, attempting to screen themselves with their DRAGOONs, but the enemy was so numerous—and worse, had the remote arms of the Destroys aiding them—that it was all they could do to hold it off for even a minute before they were running again, each missing at least two DRAGOONs.

"Come on everyone, we just need to hold out a little–" started Zane before sensing something that caused his sentence to falter. And he wasn't the only one.

"_Everyone, break now! Watch out __**Minerva**__!_" cried Rey.

The _Minerva_ was taking a pounding, surrounded by countless warships with highly competent crewman. While this was where the _Minerva_, a battleship, was supposed to be at its best, with all the mobile suits added to the fray, they were in serious trouble, with several engines completely gone and a quarter of their missiles tubes and CIWS gone.

Then, Rey's warning came over the comm. line. A hole in the enemy formations that had gone unnoticed in the chaos was now easily noticeable, too little, too late, as the three Destroys fired right through it, catching a handful of straggling Alliance mobile weapons in the blast. The Destiny and Avenger easily escaped the blast radius, as did the Reckoning, while Tristan was safe near the surface of the moon.

But despite the warning and their own danger senses, both Heine and Rey barely escaped, with the Legend's leg completely vaporized and the Saviour's cockpit exposed to space, Heine himself unconscious and barely alive after nearly being cooked alive.

And as quickly as Malik reacted, it was only enough to avoid being crippled, the _Minerva_ grazed by the blast and blown to the side, sending anything that wasn't held in place flying.

Then, the worst thing imaginable was heard over the comm. line.

**

* * *

**

Several minutes ago

Aleksi drove the disassembled components of the Impulse close to the lunar surface and into a hangar of Daedalus. Unlike older bases, the current lunar bases were built to allow mobile suits to travel throughout with relative ease—if not at anywhere near full speed. Reasons for this varied, but it was mostly a matter of practicality.

This was useful, as it gave Aleksi somewhere to hide as she closed in on Requiem and, with any luck, its control center.

The blonde's eyes darted back and forth. She could take this obstacle course faster without combining, due to the smaller profile of the individual components, and it would her to slip in places mobile suits normally couldn't to begin with. She had to hurry, too, or Shinn and everyone else would be dead soon.

Taking a breath, she stretched her senses out. She was fairly certain she must be getting close now, and wondered if anyone had noticed her presence in the base when all their attention was focused outside.

Aleksi's danger sense suddenly went off, causing her to jerk the Core Splendor to the side just before she would've been skewered. She glanced out the canopy and saw it: the Valiant.

"It's him…"

But it wasn't the Valiant as she recognized it. It had a shield like the GOUF's on its right arm, with pods resembling those of the Chaos on its back. She could clearly make out the GOUF's beam guns on its forearms, especially the left one, leveled toward her with its rifle, and the anti-ship sword was gone.

"Hmmm…"

Aleksi swiftly formed up the Blast Impulse, knowing her opponent wouldn't attack. She knew—it was honor before reason with him, and it would likely cost him his life one day. Maybe even today.

"All right you bastard!" cried Aleksi, aiming her rifle and opening fire. "You're not gonna stop me here!"

But the Valiant tumbled away, much quicker than she remembered, and fired twice more with its rifle. Aleksi evaded the first shot and easily blocked the second—it was obvious this guy was a close-combat type, which would make this a running battle thanks to the difference in the combat styles of their respective machines, and it was one she didn't have time for.

The Valiant tossed away its rifle, instead drawing the beam sword in its shield.

"Left hand… was he really fighting with a handicap this whole time?" wondered Aleksi, remembering the Valiant's original orientation for someone with a dominant right hand, but shook it off as she dodged the charging Valiant and fired a barrage of Firefly missiles his way, discarding her rifle to draw a javelin.

The Valiant's CIWS swatted the missiles… and then, through the smoke, a barrage of identical missiles was returned, drawing a gasp of surprise from Aleksi.

The Impulse's CIWS similarly lit up, but mounted as they were in the chest, they didn't have the firing coverage or accuracy of the Valiant's, and the missiles were guided by the hands of an expert, weaving in from all sides. She managed to strike one with her javelin as it was about to hit, and blocked another with her shield, but at least two more got through, with at least one impact on the torso and one to the faceplate. The VPS held up, but…

Aleksi grit her teeth, aiming the Kerberos cannons at the Valiant and opening fire. The pilot blocked one with his shield, and twisted out of the path of the other, which struck a support behind him. Then, he retaliated with the cannons built into the pods, forcing Aleksi to dance away.

Momentarily, she lost sight of the Valiant, and focused on her sixth sense… where was he…?

_There!_

No sooner had Aleksi located him then he shot from behind a support to her right, lashing out with his sword. The Impulse spun about, its shield barely blocking the beam sword. She prepared to stab at him with her javelin, but then his shield swung in and smashed into the Impulse's back, sending her tumbling away. The Valiant followed up with fire from both of its Draupnir quadruple guns.

Aleksi bit back a curse as she evaded, attempting to return fire, but unable to get into a stable position to do so. That was the weakness of the Blast Silhouette: it wasn't very effective unless one had a stable firing position. It was not a good pack for one-on-one engagements like this.

Instead, Aleksi tossed her javelin at the Valiant, then sprung both of her Folding Razors and tossed them as well. The pilot responded by tossing his shield at the javelin, knocking it off-course, and sprung two of his own knives, which were thrown directly into hers, the Stilettos detonating on impact.

"What's with this guy?" questioned Aleksi, managing her firing position with everything she had, despite the failure of her thrown weapons. "It's like he's a completely different pilot from what I remember…"

The Valiant twisted from the sights of her Kerberos just as she fired, and she followed up with her Deluge railguns. The pilot seemed to realize he couldn't pull away, instead openly exposing the front of the torso… and then, pink armor sprung up along the Valiant's body, causing her to gasp slightly as the energy of the beam armor disintegrated the rounds she'd fired. She immediately opened up with several missile barrages as the armor was deactivated, and only briefly watched him start running for it before she tried to shoot past him, knowing instinctively where the control center was…

And then, to her shock, a beam javelin pierced the Blast Silhouette, causing it to detonate on the Impulse's back.

"Ahhh!" cried the blonde as her machine was pushed forward and crashed into the ground. A camera showed the Valiant, which had shot down or otherwise evaded the missiles, next to its shield, fresh from throwing the javelin that Aleksi had lost.

Drawing his sword again, the pilot charged forward, ready to finish this. Aleksi couldn't help but smirk slightly. He should've just shot her, but like many others, he placed honor before reason…

And, spinning about, Aleksi ejected the Leg Flyer, sending it at the Valiant. The pilot cut the flyer, but then the Chest Flyer crashed into the Valiant's torso, its VPS gone, and Aleksi fired on it with the Core Splendor's vulcans. She kind of wished she still had missiles, but those were detached when combining with the flyers, so…

The Chest Flyer exploded, knocking the Valiant away and obscuring the pilot's vision as Aleksi fled desperately back the way she'd come, now lacking the firepower to possibly stop Requiem.

Reaching for her comm. panel as she rushed out with all the speed she could muster, she prepared to send the _Minerva_ some very, _very_ bad news.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"_I'm sorry… I couldn't find the controls._" Shinn's gut went cold. "_Tell the lunar fleet to get away from the relay station before they're attacked!_"

Shinn didn't hear anything else, his eyes instead focused on Daedalus and the surrounding enemy forces.

He knew the _Minerva_ had fired signal flares. He knew that the lunar fleet would be desperately trying to do something, _anything_ in the face of the inevitable counterattack.

And he knew that Logos would never let the _Minerva_ escape. Heine and Tristan were out of the fight… Aleksi couldn't be doing much better. Their mothership had been thrashed…

"_But the final component… the most important component… in being the ace of aces… is being ready to give everything to protect those that you love… including your life!"_

"No…" murmured Shinn. "I won't let my friends be hurt!" As he unknowingly echoed the very words once spoken by perhaps his most hated enemy, a crimson jewel seed shattered in the back of Shinn's mind.

"Everyone, please retreat!" called Shinn, rushing forward. "I'll cover you!"

"_Shinn, that's suicide!_" cried Tristan.

"Just trust me!" shouted Shinn, slipping under a shot from a Windam and shooting out its camera with his CIWS, blinding the pilot and allowing him to effortlessly shift aim and send the bullets right through the cockpit.

Windams swarmed in on the Destiny…

_Keep aware of your surroundings…_

Shinn wasn't a Newtype. But he had a pilot's instincts, and in his heightened state of awareness, he could certainly _emulate_ the ability's a true Newtype possessed.

The Destiny dove down towards the surface of the moon, a direction none of his opponents had really expected him to go. A few hit comrades, their tactic of surrounding the enemy and firing all at once as they had almost literally backfiring.

Now… now Shinn understood the words Yamato spoke to him…

_Never take your eyes off the enemy…_

The Destroys were the real threat—Zane and Rey could cover their retreat from mobile suits and Nabiki could cover it from warships… but the Destroys were a problem.

Roaring, Shinn activated the Wings of Light, weaving back and forth, side to side as swiftly as he could, seeking to take advantage of the Mirage Colloid afterimages to confuse his opponents. He drew one Flash Edge 2 as he spun about, letting go, not even worrying about accuracy, so long as it distracted his opponents.

He saw a Destroy about to fire at the _Minerva_.

"I'm over here, you BASTARDS!" roared Shinn, not worrying about who might be in one. His goal wasn't destruction, but diversion as he drew his beam cannon and fired it at all three Destroys in rapid succession before tossing the weapon at a couple of Windams, knocking them away as his Arondight sliced another in half.

It worked—the enemy was focusing on him now, no longer able to resist the precious target he'd presented to them as he dropped the Wings of Light.

_Pay attention and react at just the right moment!_

The Destroys opened fire, and a second before they did so, Shinn fired the Wings of Light back up, shooting out of the line of fire quick as a flash and moving to give sections of Daedalus, the one target he was hopeful they wouldn't dare hurt, as a backdrop to any further attacks.

On the _Minerva_, even as they retreated, the bridge crew was gaping.

"Shinn's on fire…" muttered Arthur in disbelief at what he was seeing, the sudden spike in the performance of the Destiny.

Actually, if there was any friction, Arthur's statement might've ended up a little more literal as Shinn shot about, focusing on evading, as he'd been taught in past battles.

For some reason, as he began to fully understand the lessons of the White Angel, all his other lessons were coming back to him.

_Never underestimate your opponent._

A Windam pilot managed to block the Arondight. Rather than be surprised, as would be normal for him, Shinn simply switched tracks, removing his left hand from the Arondight and smashing the Destiny's palm against the Windam's chest, firing point blank before shooting away as another Windam swung its beam saber at him. Shinn responded by using his momentum to spin about, snatching up his rifle and firing several wild shots—if they hit, great, but his primary goal remained diversion—and finishing his spin, beginning to shoot out away from Daedalus, towards the _Minerva_.

Storing his rifle, Shinn took the Arondight in a two-handed grip, constantly moving about to take full advantage of the Wings of Light (as much as he could moving in a single direction, anyways)… and cut through part of a battleship with the massive sword as he passed by.

Shinn blinked… suddenly… they seemed to be in the clear. He couldn't believe it, but the _Minerva_ was outside the base's defense zone, and gunning desperately for the horizon. Shinn was still in the danger zone, but his opponents seemed to be giving up the pursuit…

_Okay, maybe not_, he thought to himself, diving down low to dodge another blast from the Destroys. Sensing their remote arms behind him, Shinn quickly spun about, shooting back so unexpectedly that, at this distance, the EX-Cs couldn't react in time as he sliced several of the arms apart in quick succession.

"Don't mess with me!" said Shinn. "You've won, you bastards! But that's never enough for you, is it?"

The remaining two arms tried to evade, but the EX-Cs couldn't tell what was going on well enough, and Shinn got both of them, one with his remaining boomerang, the other by tossing the Arondight through it like a spear before he turned to retreat again.

The Daedalus forces didn't pursue… and then, Requiem fired. Shinn squeezed his eyes shut… they'd failed, and he didn't want to know what happened to the fleet, for it could only be a tragedy for ZAFT.

He was now aware of the Destiny's state. His beloved machine had taken a huge pounding, armor scorched, right leg completely gone, left wing snapped in half, left shoulder armor missing and the joints in that arm threatening to snap.

He'd made it though, but with the failure of their mission… did it even matter?

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

"Hmmhmm hehehahaha ahahahaha!" laughed Djibril manically as the _Minerva_ and the cursed Dark Knight fled over the lunar horizon. It was all so clear and obvious now, and now Djibril knew how to ensure his ultimate victory! He could see his past mistakes with the Destroy perfectly; as long as he didn't repeat them, the Destroys would never be defeated, and so long as they stood, he could never be beaten, and Requiem would never be destroyed!

And ZAFT's lunar fleet had been practically wiped out as well! Oh, how glorious it was!

"We must get Fauré into position for our attack on Aprilius," said Djibril, smirking with delight. Loeber glanced at him, mirroring his smirk. "We've won this war!"

Leon, his helmet removed and floating to the side of the cockpit, sat absolutely still, holding the mobile suit's controls in a death grip as he stared at the column of pure, destructive light that had erupted from Requiem, consuming thousands of lives as the beam tore through ZAFT's Lunar Fleet, devastating its forces.

He'd done it. He'd stopped the Impulse, protected the Requiem, and undoubtedly brought the _Minerva_'s attack strategy crashing down… he was closer than ever to finally winning Hanako's freedom. He should have been overjoyed that he was so close to his goal… but…

How many lives had just been lost because of him? How many lives had he just sacrificed when he took up his sword… how many people had just paid the price for his actions?

"I… I could have stopped it all…" he whispered emptily, his crystalline, icy blue eyes reflecting his inner thoughts. "All I had to do was let the Impulse through, and this monster wouldn't have gotten that shot off… but I didn't. No, I fought, just like before… I protected the Destroys… and now I protected Requiem… and because of it… so many are dead… so many…"

He shook uncontrollably, before letting out an anguished cry and slamming a fist into the Valiant's main console.

"There's no greater evil than this… god damn it, I might as well have been the one who pulled the trigger!" he cried, punching his console in anger, tears floating freely as he thought more and more about the monster he'd become. "Just how much further do you want me to go before you're satisfied, Gabriel? How much more…?"

This victory meant nothing to Leon. All it did was cement a cold, painful truth in his heart.

"I swore I'd do anything for her… make no mistake, I meant it when I said it," he whispered. "Even if you drag my ideals through dirt… even if I've had to throw them away… I made a promise, and I intend to keep it!"

Indeed, he'd become the embodiment of evil itself for her sake. He'd carry the weight of all the sins of the world if he had to… it didn't matter who hated him, and it didn't matter if he was seen as a complete monster.

For Hanako… he'd become anything and do anything… even if it meant discarding his humanity and his ideals.

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Space Fortress Messiah

Durandal couldn't believe it. They'd failed… but this was… this was impossible! It ruined everything! He needed Requiem to ensure the dissenters, Orb and Izanami, would not interfere with the Destiny Plan, for he knew that they would deny the will of the world and the future of humanity right to the bitter end.

The _Gondwana_ had survived, but more than fifty percent of its fleet had been wiped out, taking close to a fifth of ZAFT's total space presence with it. And from the reports…

"No…" murmured Durandal. The PLANTs hadn't been struck… it was much too early… and Meer was against him… but…

But he needed to rally the world. He couldn't believe it had come to this.

"_Perhaps the truth will work… but humanity's corruption runs too deep…_" whispered Rau sinisterly in his ear. His hand curled into a fist.

No… people would understand. He just needed to explain his reasons, and make sure they never learned how deep the sacrifice needed to be.

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"Ma'am, the battle's just ended," said Emilia, turning to face her commander and captain. "ZAFT has withdrawn."

"I see," murmured Suiren, turning to Sakura. "Your contacts work fast."

"Information is their trade," said the redhead, shrugging. "How bad was ZAFT hit?"

"That's not clear yet, but it seems the lunar fleet took a blow from Requiem itself," said Emilia. "And… they think Fourier's Geschmeidig Panzer may have been damaged."

"How the hell did they get that information?"

"Well, if they only think, it's probably a guess on their part," said Sakura. "If I see more, I may be able to determine a more definite answer."

"Well, we'll just have to wait on that," grumbled Suiren, thoughts drifting again. What was Sakura hiding from her…?

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"I see…" said Lacus softly. "So Djibril still controls Requiem."

Faith nodded, image flickering.

"This… may be a lucky break for us," commented Makoto after a moment, surprising everyone.

"A lucky break?" questioned Meer, incredulous. "But… well… the Chairman's still better than that maniac, right?"

"I have… a feeling," said Makoto.

"A feeling?" questioned Kira, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes… that Durandal is going to have to reveal his hand," explained Makoto. "Call it… a leap of faith."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I know I poured that "leap of faith" stuff a lot; I'm a big fan of Inception, and I adored that line. It's also appropriate because, if you think about it, a lot of characters _are_ taking some kind of a leap of faith. Shinn's is the big one here.**

**With his ego constantly stoked, Shinn kept forgetting to take lessons to heart, but no ego survives what he's had to deal with lately, and when he realizes the danger to his friends (rather than faceless people, as he self-righteously focuses on (note that a lot of my characters do tend to place those close to them first if they can)), it all snaps into place for him. And once those lessons are fully remembered, combined with the talents and skills we _know_ Shinn can use if he gets over himself, he becomes a dangerously competent pilot; while it wasn't altogether _necessary_ to do that, I really did want to give Shinn a Crowning Moment of Awesome all his own.**

**Leon also does considerably better with the Valiant Kai, especially when not so badly outclassed, among other things that I won't go into…**

**Anyways, as I've noted before, Kira's character development has reached the end of the road. Honestly, it was hard to get in what I did, and pushing it further would've made his "god mode" status from the canon even worse here, and I've been trying to avert that, but from a realistic standpoint****… it's hard unless I'm willing to contradict what's already been put in place.**

**And regarding the complaints about me not killing enough people (after all, no named characters died here), if I were to write this like a real war****… all the characters would probably be dead before I'd finished the 10th chapter of _SEED Dauntless_, so if you've got a big enough problem that you need to keep bitching about it, please stop wasting your time on this story. It's very much so a lighter and softer fic than _SEED Dauntless_ was, which was already lighter and softer than the source material (because I'm a big softie).**

**I hope these A/Ns have answered some questions, and that this chapter as a whole has done that. I haven't forgotten those defecting Alliance forces, don't worry. Reason for defection****… well, I think I made it obvious, and if you really didn't notice the words spoken, I'm gonna have to smack you for it.**

***sigh* Review count is going up, and I still hope to hit my goal, but with how poorly my updates have been doing, that's getting kind of doubtful. Still, I hope you'll all help me reach that big milestone.**

**I really hope to see you all soon, but with how things are****… well, I can't make any promises. So I just have to hope.**

**See you guys later****… sooner rather than later, I hope****…**


	45. Phase 45: A Call to Freedom

**Wow… my muse has finally gotten back to work on this story! Again, I apologize for the previous delays, and I'm glad this one came out so quick.**

**The title ties in well with that of the last chapter. I considered an appropriate alternative, but decided to save that. Anyways, this starts with the immediate aftermath of the last chapter, and then****… well, there are some things people might question me about, but I do my best to justify it, and I'm pretty sure no one's ever done it before, so it's nice being different.**

**Not gonna bore you much here, other to also apologize for so many characters getting ignored. It's my own fault for letting myself wind up with loads and loads of characters by not killing more of them off. It won't be as big an issue in the future, if only because the sequel to this is going to be much more relaxed in terms of playing out the story.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story; and Tellemicus Sundance for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer on this chapter while Kiiroi Senko is busy with school.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.  
**

* * *

Phase Forty-Five: A Call to Freedom

January 23rd, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"I'm sorry everyone," said Aleksi, avoiding the others' gazes. "Everyone was counting on me and I blew it."

"According to what you've told us, there was nothing more you could've done," said Zane, tossing a brief glare at Rey before the blond could criticize the Impulse pilot and make the situation worse. "Frankly, we all knew the mission had only a one-in-a-million chance of success to begin with, but we had to take that chance."

"But with the losses suffered by the lunar fleet, we might not be able to launch another attack!" objected Rey.

"Oh, be quiet," said Nabiki, sounding oddly calm, drawing everyone's attention to her… and they were all struck by the gentle look in her eyes as she silently closed her locker. "The PLANTs will never be in danger again. Izanami's forces are on their way to the moon already."

"What makes you think they'll do any better than us?" bit out Rey through grit teeth. Truthfully, his anger wasn't about any of the things the others thought it was, but rather, was because of how badly things were going for the Destiny Plan. He knew Nabiki didn't care much, so long as she managed to kill Makoto, but…

"Because Izanami is strong." The answer, surprisingly, came from Shinn. "Strong and with powerful ideals that won't tolerate what Djibril is doing."

"They're the reason we weren't able to apprehend Djibril in Orb," said Zane pointedly. Shinn nodded slightly.

"Sorry, I just… I need some time to think is all," he said, moving towards the door. As he passed Aleksi, he patted her shoulder gently. "You did well, okay?"

Nabiki was the only one who didn't seem gobsmacked by Shinn's behavior. What had happened to him out there?

"He's right," said Nabiki gently, also floating past Aleksi. "You're still alive. That means there's still a chance to succeed next time."

"Thanks," said Aleksi, leaving herself to check on Heine, who'd been taken to the infirmary as soon as they'd gotten him out of the Saviour's cockpit. Tristan let out a sigh, leaving the locker room as well. Once they were gone, Rey turned a glare on Zane.

"She messed up and you know it!" he said. "This could ruin everything!"

"Biting her head off won't help," said Zane simply. "Rey, I know your time is running out, but you've got to remain calm, especially if you intend to do battle with Kira Yamato once again." Rey grit his teeth slightly, and Zane let out a sigh.

"The Destiny Plan is already in motion," said Zane. "Djibril must be eliminated, and then all that is left is for the world to accept this last hope for the future."

With that, Zane pushed off, intending to visit Heine himself.

**

* * *

**

The Bridge

Talia let out a small sigh. The _Minerva_ and all that was left of the lunar fleet were gunning for Messiah; it was the location of the only forces they could spare for another assault on Daedalus, because if they were to draw from the home defense fleets, the PLANTs would be left vulnerable to more conventional attacks than Requiem.

Messiah was also the only place where they could even hope to get the _Minerva_ back in working order in anything less than a week, and the same was true of all their machines… and Talia didn't even know whether or not Heine would be able to fight anytime soon.

She wished Suiren had been there. Against those numbers, it might not have made much of a difference, but in Talia's mind, her 'niece' was in many ways ZAFT's own version of the legendary Hawk of Endymion, someone who could do the impossible, and the Kyusai Team was an elite force easily rivaling what the Kessel Team had once been.

… the Kessel Team… they'd been missing as well, and given the presence of the Blitz and Surge at Orb, she suspected she knew exactly where they were.

Talia sighed again. They still had time to regroup and launch another attack. They couldn't chance failure next time, or the countless innocents in the PLANTs would pay the price.

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

An hour later

The veterans of the Kyusai Team had cleared out one of the mess halls for their own private use, wanting a chance to simply talk amongst themselves for a bit.

But, inevitably, the subject turned towards their Commander and the current situation.

"How long do you think we'll be here for?" questioned Yuna softly, hands tightening slightly around the soda can she held.

"Who knows?" Murase leaned back against the wall slightly. "I trust Suiren, but we all know she's waiting for something."

"And we know what it is," added Ishimura. "So the real question is how long it will take for them to get here."

"I'm kind of interested in meeting them myself," said Shiori before guzzling her drink. "Ah… heh. Can you imagine it, though? Meeting the Dauntless Angel in person?"

"And not just the Dauntless Angel," added Max. "The White Angel, the Crimson Knight… all of them."

"Yeah," murmured Mai. "I wonder what he's like in person."

"Well, it's doubtful they'll take too much longer," commented Shizuru. "They've already annihilated one relay. ZAFT tried to tag another, but Requiem hit them."

"I heard the _Minerva_ was involved in that battle," said Yuki—word travelled fast, after all. "Do you think Sh… um… do you think they're okay?"

"Worried about your boy-toy?" teased Christina. Yuki blushed, looking ready to swat her friend before Auron interjected.

"The intelligence we received suggests they were fine for the most part," he explained. "But the _Minerva_ and all its machines took a severe beating."

"I see…" Yuki's hand tightened around the can she held. _Shinn…_

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

They'd gathered on the top floor of the TFCT, the leaders and major strategists of Orb and Izanami—Kira, Makoto, Serenity, Cagalli, Samuel, Kisaka, Neo, Murrue, Natarle and John—to discuss their plans from here on out.

"Our first target will be Daedalus," said Makoto, staring at the map on the display table and the points representing the area around Luna. "Once Requiem is gone and Djibril is either dead or apprehended, Durandal will be forced to reveal the Destiny Plan or back down entirely. Either scenario is favorable to us."

Samuel nodded in agreement.

"Orb's space forces currently consist of nine _Izumo_-class battleships," he said. "Divided into three fleets. The First Space Fleet serves as a defense force for Ame-no-Mihashira, while the Third Space Fleet is currently transporting Lady Rondo Mina back from the same location. At present, we only have the Second Space Fleet available to us."

"Orb really isn't a space power," commented Cagalli. "Half the reason no one complained about the Taiyonoha Fleet was that it was an easy way to expand our space forces and protect a potential territorial expansion." She turned an eye to Serenity. "In hindsight, that makes the trouble your withdrawal caused for the old cabinet that much more amusing."

"Yes, well…" put in Makoto. "The First Fleet's mobile suits have been replenished fully from Izanami forces on Ascendant Justice when it launched. Between them, the First and Second have exactly a hundred ships, and almost eight hundred fifty mobile suits. Adding in the Ascendant Justice fleet, we've got about a hundred and sixty ships, and nearly two thousand mobile suits." John whistled slightly, impressed; though really, he shouldn't be, since the automation was designed to allow for miniscule crews and Izanami had a considerable military work force, thanks to the refugees from Break the World who wanted to ensure the protection of their new homeland. "Then, Catharina has some forces it can spare as well. Kira, what about you?"

"Discounting what's here in Orb, Terminal's forces consist of four _Nazca_s, three _Laurasia_s, six _Agamemnon_s, seven _Nelson_s and a dozen _Drake_s, with just over two hundred mobile suits of varying types between them."

Makoto nodded, turning to Faith. "What do you think?"

Faith frowned, flickering slightly.

"Currently, the Atlantic Federation controls five locations," she said. "Even with all their power taken together, we still outnumber them by an estimated fifty percent in terms of mobile suits, though they have more than three times as many warships."

"Our vessels and machines are superior, except against the Destroys," said Serenity. "How many do they appear to have?"

"Only three, stationed at Daedalus," said Faith, checking any and all additional data. "Intelligence reports also indicate that some of their escort ships have been outfitted with positron deflectors, and stripped of all standard weapons."

"What's the status of the Fourier relay?" questioned Neo. "You said it appeared damaged?"

"Yes," answered Faith. "Fourier's Geschmeidig Panzer has gone offline and will take at least two days to repair, which means they can't strike any targets right now. Furthermore, they need at least three relays to make any sort of precision attack on a target more than ninety degrees around Luna."

"That buys us plenty of time," said Murrue. "So, we have the forces necessary to take Daedalus, as long as we stay outside the potential firing arc of Requiem."

"Yes, and with the Freedom's firepower, we shouldn't have any trouble taking out Requiem," said Natarle. "Our Gundams shouldn't have any problem dealing with the Destroys either. But what about the Akatsuki?"

"The Yata-no-Kagami can't reflect fire from a Destroys main cannons directly, but it can survive easily," said Faith. "It's an ideal machine for confronting the Destroys, especially outfitted with the Shiranui. The issue is the pilot."

"What? You think I can't handle it?" demanded Cagalli.

"You're not a Newtype," said Kira. "Don't ask me why, since Ami and I both are, but you're not, and you need that to handle the DRAGOON system. Besides, you can't go."

"What? What do you mean I can't go?"

"You need to stay here and continue leading Orb," said John with a small sigh, knowing he'd just primed a high-explosive frag.

"No way!" said Cagalli irritably. "I'm not sitting this one out! I fought at Second Jachin too you know!"

"Circumstances were different then," said Samuel. "Back then, you were in exile and we really didn't have any choice. But Orb just got you back, and we can't risk you on a battlefield like that."

"But…"

"Cagalli, if you die out there, Orb will be left without its leader again," said Kira gently. Serenity stepped over to the blonde, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"As leaders, we must sometimes do things we don't want to," she said. "I'm going to be returning to Izanami. Much as I want to be there, I can't."

Cagalli conceded the point. She really wanted to be there, but…

"I hate it when you're right," she said with a small sigh. But… "Neo."

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a machine?"

"Well, just that M3, assuming Miss Dante doesn't kill me," said the blond, eyeing the Orb sovereign, having a guess as to where this was going.

"Then I want you to take the Akatsuki," said Cagalli. No one was really surprised at this point. "You're an ideal pilot who can handle the DRAGOON system, and we can't have such a good pilot in an outdated machine. I realize you're with the IDF and not Orb, but can I ask you to serve as… my representative?"

"Yeah… I think I can do that," said Neo, glancing at Murrue, who gave him a small smile. "Though really, if you want a representative, why not ask that Zala kid?"

"Athrun will be there too, but it's not like we should hold the Akatsuki back," said Cagalli. "If Orb is threatened while all our forces are elsewhere, it won't make a difference, but it could make a huge difference at Daedalus." Cagalli let out a small sigh. "But I'll be wanting it back. Not a scratch, got it?"

"Well, I'll see what I can do," said Neo, face so straight it almost caused Kira and Makoto to start cracking up as Cagalli scowled.

"What do you estimate the odds of success are?" asked Natarle, looking at Faith, drawing attention away from the matter with the Akatsuki.

"My current projections suggest a ninety-nine percent chance of success," said Faith. "The better question is what sort of losses we can expect. If the Destroys are dealt with quickly, though, I believe our losses could be as low as five to ten percent, but that's only a guess based on relative size of our forces and technological superiority."

"And probably a good one," said Samuel. "Even without what little aid Orb can provide up there, the Izanami forces have the forces at Daedalus severely outnumbered."

"And Ascendant Justice could easily crush most of Daedalus with minimal damage," said Makoto. "Asteroid fortresses can take a beating, and Ascendant Justice has… well, I'll let it surprise you."

"Huh?"

**

* * *

**

Copernicus City

Eve finished packing up the last things in the house she'd shared with Sera for years now, letting out a soft sigh as she remembered the goods time she'd had with Sera and her daughter.

It was almost time… Eve was the only person who knew the location of all the surviving Divinity Project researchers, which weren't many—only five out of the original thirty researchers had survived the years of hiding from Blue Cosmos, Eve among them. She let out a small sigh, remembering all of them.

Those in her own division with Sera: Hyotaru Ezakiya, Joseph Durandal, Keiko Hirase, Kioko Narahashi, Benjamin Bertran, Tyrone Gessner, and that first-class asshole Asher Hyata.

Then there was Ulen's division: his wife Via, Ayame Shiratori, Nicolas Berube, Clayton Krenz, Chandra Egger, Allyson Westerlynd, Precia Testarossa, the survivors Seiki Mizumaki and Jail Scaglietti who'd left the project early, and then the traitorous bastard who sold them all out to Blue Cosmos, Mikhail Andras.

And finally, the Newtype division: David and Claire Dante, Yushiro and Ami Kamakura, Takamori Arato, Romain Martel, Elise Dumont, Darryl Mestas, Allan Figgs, and the sole survivor of that group, Gilbert Durandal, a genius in spite of his youth.

Seiki had covered up his identity and settled down as an ordinary doctor in the Equatorial Union, while Jail had vanished for awhile before reappearing on Izanami; he'd left so early that she was the only living person who even knew of his involvement with the project, as they'd been there from the beginning, and he was gone before even Andras showed up.

Eve shook her head slightly. She'd be able to get in touch with them soon. The real issue she had would be luring the Children to Copernicus. Suiren was easy, but the rest of them were a challenge.

She let out a small sigh, turning to face the 'artifacts'. They were two parts of Sera's final legacy, the other two being her daughter and Eve, her protégé. She walked over, brushing her hand gently over the two objects.

"Doctor… I promise you, I'll do everything I can to protect them," she said softly. "I won't let him succeed…"

And then, it hit her.

"Minako…"

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Space Fortress Messiah

Several hours later

Durandal let out a sigh, glancing briefly at the chessboard, hand tightening to a fist slightly at the sight of how badly outmaneuvered he was right now. He had to reveal his hand early, and with Djibril still alive, it could very well ruin everything.

Nevertheless, he had to rally support if he was to succeed in capturing Requiem.

After ensuring that only those who would be loyal to the Destiny Plan were present, he prepared himself for his speech to the world.

"I'm ready," he said softly. The officer nodded, turning to issue a few commands as everything was prepared… and then, the officer turned back to him and gave a slight nod.

"I am Gilbert Durandal, Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council," began Durandal. "Recently, my actions were called into question, particular with regards to Lacus Clyne. At the time, I did nothing to defend myself."

Durandal sighed.

"I will not deny the deception I undertook," he continued. "However, I assure you that I had no involvement in any assassination attempt on the life of the real Lacus Clyne; indeed, I was not even certain if she was still alive until some time after the war began, and I remained unable to contact her."

"Nor will I defend the actions taken by ZAFT at Orb on my orders," he said. "I believed it was important to apprehend Djibril, the last active member of Logos, the merchants of death, as soon as was possible, and because of that mistake, many lives were needlessly lost."

Durandal paused, eyes shifting slightly to a screen displaying the broadcast, showing images of Requiem in action.

"These images are of a massive weapon created by Logos at the Atlantic Federation's Daedalus lunar base," he explained. "This weapon, which they have dubbed the 'Requiem of all Coordinators', is capable of striking any point within the Earth Sphere, including anywhere on the Earth itself. Earlier today, ZAFT launched a counterattack, but unfortunately, we were unable to destroy Requiem, and only damaged one of the relay stations it uses to control the course of its attacks. We suffered heavy losses today, and unfortunately, we no longer possess the power to defeat this before it can be used to invite terrible tragedy on the world once again."

"That is the reason for this broadcast," said Durandal as the broadcast switched back to him. "While I realize the actions of ZAFT, and many of mine personally, are unpopular with certain groups, in the face of this… weapon of genocide, I ask you to put aside these petty grudges and lend us your strength to destroy this weapon before it can be fired again. And, in the interest of proving my sincerity, I shall tell you of a path I have discovered to peace eternal."

Durandal closed his eyes; this was the moment of truth. The Children of Divinity did not know of this, nor did Lacus Clyne or those close to them. Though he doubted it, he hoped that they would recognize that this was the best hope for humanity.

"The merchants of death, Logos, have fanned the flames of war since time immemorial," he began, opening his eyes. "This is for the sake of their own greed and ambition. And where does that fuel come from? From nothing other than the very same greed and ambition that drives them, and even when Logos is gone, that greed and ambition will continue to create more conflict. It is my wish to bring an end to all of that, and create a world where we can all live our lives to the fullest, where we can all be happy doing that for which we are best-suited."

"And to that end," said Durandal, standing up. "In the interests of hiding nothing more from all of you, I present… the Destiny Plan."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

_No… this is too early_, thought Rey, eyes wide as the broadcast switched to a video explaining the details of what the Destiny Plan was.

"Wha… what is this?" gasped Shinn.

"It looks like… this is what the Chairman was talking about back then," said Aleksi, catching them all by surprise. "A world where you understand yourself, were a useful member of society and were realizing your full potential."

"Yes," said Rey softly. "The Destiny was built to bring about such a world."

"That would make Shinn the champion of that world, right?" questioned Tristan, sounding uncertain as Shinn gasped.

"Yes," said Zane. "In such a world, those dear to us would not be taken to be transformed into EX-Cs."

"Nor would people like that girl, Stella, grow up to suffer," added Rey. "A perfect world."

Nabiki was silent, observing the video. She didn't care about the Destiny Plan. There were many sides to her, but only Erica and Ayame held any desire to survive; the rest of her was consumed by her need for vengeance, no matter the cost.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"I can't believe it," murmured Cagalli, stunned. She wasn't the only one stunned into silence either, but…

"Does he really think this will work?" questioned Lacus.

"Who knows?" answered Makoto. "We're opposed to it, but there are a lot of people who might jump at the chance. What he's promising sounds great, it's only when you begin to recognize what you'd truly be losing that he become terrifying."

"Then someone should deliver our rejection," said Saul. Serenity and Cagalli nodded.

"As the leader of Izanami, I can't allow this to happen to the people who put their trust in me," said Serenity softly.

"Nor can I as the leader of Orb," agreed Cagalli. "The question is… who?"

"Huh? Why don't you do it yourself?" asked Meer, confused. The Shugotenshi had also all been gathered, and many of them seemed to be in agreement.

"Makoto," said Kira, drawing their attention. "You should do it."

"Huh? Wait, why me? Lacus or Cagalli or mom or even you would be a better choice!"

"Not really," said Kira calmly.

"And why not?" asked Ami.

"Because I am not the leader of a nation," said Lacus.

"Nor am I," explained Kira. "And while Cagalli may be my sister, my allegiance is with Izanami, not Orb, negating that."

"It would seem that would you _more_ appropriate," said Makoto, folding her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "And that still leaves mom and Cagalli."

"I don't exactly have much influence outside of Orb," pointed out Cagalli.

"But we're talking about Orb and Izanami here!"

"You're my daughter," said Serenity. "And I want you to present Izanami's rejection of the Destiny Plan."

"You're also one of the two icons of that which opposes Destiny," said Cagalli pointedly. "A symbol of faith, something the Destiny Plan doesn't have, as we've already agreed."

"Kira's still a better choice," insisted Makoto.

"Why?" put in Minako, catching the redhead off-guard.

"I'm not a public speaker!"

"Not according to the last few times you've been on international television."

"That was different! And most of those times I was performing! There's a _huge_ difference!"

"Kira isn't a politician, either."

"Neither am I!"

"But you have experience in that area that I don't," said Kira.

"Okay, now you're all just ganging up on me," said Makoto, frustrated. "Why? Why are you putting me on the spot?"

"Because you're the commander of the Izanami Defense Force," said Kira. "You're the one who will be leading the attack on Daedalus and the opposition to Durandal."

Makoto looked away. Kira had a point, and she briefly toyed with putting him in charge, but that would be petty.

"Makoto, Orb is allied with Izanami in this cause," said Cagalli. "We only need one person to represent our rejection. And of the three people appropriate to such a thing, Lacus isn't an aligned leader, and Kira's not really a public speaker."

"Well he'd better learn," said Makoto darkly. "Fine. I'll do it."

"I'll get everything ready immediately," said Cagalli. "Where should we do this?"

"I think I know just the place," said Kira, thinking of that memorial where he briefly met Shinn.

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"So, this is what he's been talking about all this time," murmured Suiren. "Disgusting."

"Yeah, it is," said Sakura. "The world is a place for people to live their lives as they see fit, not for them to serve the world around them."

"Does anyone agree with Durandal's view?" asked Suiren, turning her seat to face her pilots. "If you do, I'll understand."

"Commander, I speak for all of us when I say 'to _hell_ with this plan'," said Murase.

"And what about on the other ships?" asked Suiren, turning to Emilia, who turned to look at her, smirking slightly.

"I believe Mr. Aker speaks for everyone," she said. "Oh, and we got another message from… whoever that contact was. They say they're won't be any problems arranging things. That's all."

"I see," murmured Suiren.

"Hmm, I wonder what they're planning," commented Sakura, leaning back in her seat slightly.

**

* * *

**

The _Mahō_

"Okay… that's _disgusting_," said Nanoha, turning to the others. "Am I wrong?"

"No, you're right," said Signum coolly, staring at the screen as it was finishing the details of the Destiny Plan. "But Lady Makoto will never stand for this."

"You're always talking about Lady Makoto, Signum," groaned Nanoha. "Why do you never bring up Lord Kira?"

"Because you bring it up enough, and we know it's not even him you really like," said Signum. Shamal and Hayate giggled slightly while Vita Okita, who'd insisted on joining them when she saw the chance with the launch of Ascendant Justice, smirked at Nanoha.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with having enough firepower to level an entire enemy installation!"

"Which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know you can do that with two soda cans and a toothpick."

Nanoha scowled at the joke. Signum was her best friend in the whole world, whose close-combat style sharply contrasted Nanoha's preference for ranged combat, but the rosette could be incredibly frustrating for her at times.

"Anyways, Lady Makoto and Lord Kira are not what we were talking about," said Hayate. "We were talking about how this Destiny Plan is completely unacceptable."

"Thank you Captain Obvious."

"It's _Yagami_ and I'm an _ensign_!"

"Hmm, I'll have to add 'refusing promotions' to your list of mental illnesses," said Shamal, drawing giggles from the rest of the girls just as the other three pilots, all men, walked in and were left completely confused.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

"Everything appears to have gone well with Asuka," said Zane, leaning against the wall slightly.

"Aleksi was helpful in that regard," replied Nabiki. "And dropping the Extended on him more or less cemented it. He's gone this far, he won't turn his back on the Chairman, no matter what the response is."

"Still, this is way too soon," said Rey. "This stage wasn't supposed to happen until we'd secured Requiem and wiped out Logos."

"So the schedule was moved up some, big deal," sneered Nabiki. "It doesn't change anything in the long run."

"Hmm…" Zane closed his eyes. "He still doesn't know about his sister, does he?"

"No," assured Rey. "He either believes she's in one of those Destroys, or dead."

"It would be more convenient for us if he believed her to be dead," commented Zane. "But we can't do anything that could turn Asuka against us. He's critical to the Destiny Plan, and we all saw him earlier. As soon as the Destiny is in top form again and we can curb their numbers advantage, we'll have Daedalus and Requiem. The only question then becomes whether or not we can hold it long enough to wipe out Orb and Izanami."

Nabiki snorted slightly.

"Someone's coming," said Rey, frowning as he sensed the potential danger.

"Then we should end this conversation," said Zane. "Get to work on your machines. We've got three days at the most."

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Dusk

"I still can't believe you managed to talk me into this," said Makoto darkly, checking over her uniform once again, distinctly uncomfortable in it. She hadn't worn a uniform—_ever_—since the one given to her by Admiral Halberton when she became an Earth Forces officer was destroyed during her escape from the remains of the Dauntless. She'd been fitted for this one, but she'd never actually worn it.

Unlike most others in the IDF, who still wore the Taiyonoha Fleet uniform because there hadn't been time for them to replace the Orb variant, Makoto's uniform was quite a bit different.

The basic design wasn't all that different, but the skirt was several inches shorter, a simple matter of pragmatism that still managed to unnecessarily accentuate her femininity, while the collar of the shirt was practically gone altogether, not pressing against her throat the way an Orb uniform would've. The boots, however, were longer, more like those of ZAFT uniforms, and the overcoat was closed more, in the fashion of an Earth Forces uniform. The biceps featured the national emblem of Izanami, a white, sapphire-eyed Asian dragon coiled around a longsword, and her rank insignia was located on her left shoulder, a bit above and more out than it would've been on the standard uniforms of other nations.

"You look good in that," complemented Minako, who was wearing her own Taiyonoha Fleet uniform with lieutenant commander rank insignia. Everyone present, save for Lacus, Serenity, Cagalli, Samuel, Amagi, the Kessel Team and, of course, the camera crews, were wearing Taiyonoha uniforms, but Ami, Treize and Neo wouldn't be shown in the video; all three could be considered guilty of war crimes, and there were simply too many people who could bring those details to light right now, enough so that they even kept Treize out of the picture (despite having the cleanest record and more than a few people well aware of his presence). In addition, to protect their families in the PLANTs, the members of the Kessel Team were also standing off to the side.

"She's right," said Kira, putting his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. "Now, are you ready?"

"No, but we need to respond quickly," said Makoto with a sigh. "We know the Atlantic Federation still backs Djibril. What about the other nations?"

"Silence so far," said Lacus, putting her own hand on Makoto's left shoulder from behind. "With the current state of the world, it's not surprising that people would be slow to respond."

Makoto sighed, moving to where she was to be making her speech from. There was no script for her here, and she knew a crowd would gather quickly. She was only here to announce Izanami and Orb's rejection, but with Lacus's news…

"We're live in three… two… one…"

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"Ma'am! There's an international broadcast from Orb!"

"What?" questioned Suiren and Sakura, equally shocked.

"_My name is Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, Supreme Commander of the Izanami Defense Force and daughter of Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha, Sovereign Ruler of Izanami._"

Suiren's eyes widened…

"Pipe this through the ship," she ordered. "And the others as well."

**

* * *

**

Amaterasu Three

"_I am here to present the united response of Izanami and the Orb Union to Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan._"

Arisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura glanced at each other uncertainly. They'd seen Durandal's Destiny Plan speech earlier, and hadn't expected anything like this. Most likely, no one had.

"Huh… well, the answers obvious," said Arisa. "We just got our freedom out here. No way we're throwing it away, right?"

"Yeah," said Suzuka. "I hope Nanoha's safe…"

**

* * *

**

Messiah

"A response? This quickly? And international?" questioned Durandal, unable to believe it.

"_It is the decision of the ruling cabinets of both nations… to reject the Destiny Plan!_"

"Damn."

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

"Before we are misunderstood, we do not condone these acts of genocide by Djibril," said Makoto. "Indeed, we condemn these acts utterly, and already we are readying our forces to destroy this Requiem. But equally, we condemn the Destiny Plan."

Makoto closed her eyes. Now… she was already here, so… time to give her own opinion.

"And now… I speak not as a soldier of Izanami," continued Makoto, opening her eyes. "Now… I speak as an individual human being. I, personally, condemn the Destiny Plan even more than I condemn Requiem. For as tragic as Requiem is, the Destiny Plan demands that we revoke our very freedom. Our will, our very right to life, stripped from us for a peace that would be meaningless."

"I am a soldier, something circumstances made me. I am a politician, something my heritage made me. I am a leader, something my friends asked of me. And I am a singer, something I chose for myself, not because it was suited to me, but because it is what I desired. In the world of the Destiny Plan, I would be a defender against all that threatened this unending non-existence. But I am a soldier because I needed to be, not because it is what I wanted. I would not be a singer, even though that was my dream from childhood."

Makoto sighed.

"Without darkness, there is no light; without sorrow, no joy; without suffering, no healing; without anger, no serenity; without sadness, no happiness; without war, no peace; without hatred, no love; and without our freedom and our will, there would be no life and no meaning."

She knew everyone was staring at her; she'd gone much further than was necessary. She was winging it here, something she'd had to do on the battlefield, and it was exhilarating.

"And even if the world of today is so desperate to escape war that everyone were to accept the Destiny Plan, I would still reject it, for such a choice would take away the rights of future generations to decide for themselves what they want! There is no future without the will that drives us to ever greater heights! Yes, war, death and sorrow are horrible things, but for them, peace, life and happiness shine all the brighter! It is the price we pay for those things, and it is a price I gladly pay."

Makoto took a deep breath. This was it, the final push.

"Even if the world accepts the Destiny Plan, I will still fight against it, even if I am alone," she said, eyes shining with determination. "I will never stop fighting for the future, or for our freedom. And I still have faith in humanity to choose a better course! As an individual, I reject the Destiny Plan for the sake of the Never-ending Tomorrow!"

Makoto stopped, waiting silently for a moment. Then, a cry reached her ears from the crowd that had gathered as quickly as she had expected.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow!"

Behind her, Kira nodded slightly.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow," he echoed, the others beginning to echo it as well as he began to walk forward.

"My name is Kira Yamato," he said. "And I feel the same as Makoto. This… is our call to the people of the world to fight for the freedom of all people."

Makoto stared at Kira, even as others began to drift forward, forming a group around the two. Then, she heard something coming from the speakers the camera crew had, as the displays of her broadcast suddenly began to switch to show other images.

"_I am Alexander Jansson, Sovereign Ruler of the Kingdom of Scandinavia,_" said the man on the screen. "_I have heard the cries from my people, and I too echo that cry._" He punched his fist into the air. "_For the Never-ending Tomorrow! My people reject the Destiny Plan, and we will aid Izanami and Orb in anyway we can!_"

That was only the beginning of it, though.

"_I am President Vladimir Ivanov of the Eurasian Federation! The people of Eurasia have suffered greatly, and I have asked them what it is they desire for our future. And while uncertain at first, in one voice, I have heard a new cry: For the Never-ending Tomorrow!_"

New images began to come in from all over the world, coming up on numerous different screens, showing people echoing that cry. She even recognized locations on Izanami, throughout Orb, and even Copernicus.

She fumbled for her hand-held comm. unit.

"Faith?" she said, voice trembling. "How many?"

"_Everyone,_" answered the AI. "_Some of these images are from the PLANTs and Atlantic Federation. Agents made sure it was seen there. And the leadership of every nation except for the PLANTs, the Atlantic Federation and the Oceania Union have declared opposition to both the Destiny Plan and Djibril._"

"Thank you."

Makoto returned the communicator to her pocket, simply standing next to her family as more and more people echoed the cry she had issued.

**

* * *

**

Messiah

Durandal's eyes were wide, unable to believe what he was seeing. No… this was impossible! How could people reject the Destiny Plan after everything that they'd suffered through? He couldn't believe that she could paint the Destiny Plan as something so horrible!

"You fools…" he murmured. "Without Destiny, that never-ending tomorrow you cry out for will never exist."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Talia was wide-eyed as she stared at the screen.

"Captain?" questioned Arthur uncertainly. The entire bridge crew was looking to her for command, awaiting her orders.

She honestly wasn't entirely certain, but…

"We have our orders," said Talia. "Continue on our current heading."

Elsewhere in the ship, Shinn was also wide-eyed, thinking of the broadcast.

"You shouldn't listen to her Shinn," said Rey. "She's clearly afraid of a world without war."

"But…"

"What does _she _know of tragedy? She has no right to speak," said Zane. "And the ignorant masses have never truly understood what is best for them. That is why the Chairman never presented this option sooner; and we know humans cannot exist without. Only the Destiny Plan can avert war permanently."

Shinn and Tristan both glanced away.

"Otherwise, there'll be more people like Stella, Mayu or Ayaka," said Aleksi softly.

She'd done it—pushed their most sensitive buttons.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right!" said Shinn.

"You've never strayed from your path, Shinn," said Rey. "That's the difference between you and them. They've become people who thrive on conflict. But you understand what must be done."

Although Shinn's ego had been shattered, that may have only made it easier for those words to delude him enough to ensure he didn't turn against Durandal.

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

"It seems leadership truly does run in the family," commented Sakura. "That was a very passionate speech."

"Yes," said Suiren, smiling slightly. "Indeed, Makoto… for the Never-ending Tomorrow."

The door opened at that instant, and Suiren turned to see all of her pilots stepping into the bridge.

"Hmm?"

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow," said Murase, smirking. "We've told you a thousand times Commander. We're with you all the way."

**

* * *

**

Copernicus City

"Well… isn't this interesting?" commented Eve. "Are the rest of you watching this? I hope so. Those Children are our legacy; they represent the impact we've had on the world. As scientists, we always wanted to change the world for the better. Well… here we are. We've given these Children to the world. But…"

Eve sighed.

"But they're going to have to clean up our mess." She smiled. "But I have every confidence that they can do it. The end of Divinity's shadow is sitting just over that little Horizon… too bad you bastards are so egotistical that you'll never truly understand what hit you."

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Fleet Command Tower

The next morning

The briefing theater was smaller than those at Gibraltar, so the Shugotenshi, Kessel Team pilots and handful of others present, including Athrun, the various ship captains and the major leaders of the two nations, nearly filled the theater.

The situation in Orb had improved quite a bit; the surviving Seirans, Hideki Shiroyama Seiran and Akane Yasui Seiran, had been cleared of the crimes committed by the rest of their House, and while Hideki had been made the leader of the Seiran House, the actual assets had been split between them, and the brother and sister had pledged their support to the Athhas. A hastily formed temporary cabinet made up primarily of branch members of the Sahaku and Yagami Houses was now in place until the war was over and a proper cabinet could be elected, and Narihira Uchida Yagami had pledged his own House to continued support of the Athhas, as had Rondo Mina Sahaku.

What all of this translated to was that Cagalli currently had almost absolute authority in Orb, which was good, because they didn't have time to waste on bureaucracy right now.

"I was up late last night going over the situation in my head," said Makoto, beginning the briefing. "And I drafted Operation Eternal Freedom."

The main screen of the briefing hall lit up, presenting an image of the entire Earth Sphere before zooming in on Luna, though it remained large enough to show part of the Earth and all the Lagrange Points save for L3. Three colony icons around Luna began flashing red, along with red arrows representing the fleets around them; at the same time, the locations of Arzachel and Daedalus on the moon began flashing red.

"These are the strongholds of the Atlantic Federation in space, as well as the three remaining relay stations of Requiem," said Makoto. While the others stopped blinking, the one nearest to L5 continued to blink before turning indigo. "The Fourier relay station has been damaged and will be out of commission for at least another twenty-four hours. It gives us a bit more time in which to make our move, but not much, especially since Fauré is currently en route to relay an attack on the PLANTs." As she spoke, the Fauré icon started moving around the near side of the moon, a line trailing behind it to show its course.

Then, a fortress icon surrounded by the fleet representing arrows appeared, blinking green.

"Operation Eternal Freedom has three stages," said Makoto. The green icons started moving forward, also trailing a line, and crossed with the Fauré icons. "We'll launch the Operation from the Gate of Ascendant Justice, and open it with an attack on Fauré. We'll ignore Fourier for the time being, as ZAFT will likely destroy it, and it doesn't pose a significant threat without Fauré." A new group of icons, a fortress and 'arrow fleet', appeared next to Fourier, blinking yellow before Fourier and Fauré both darkened to grey. "After that, we'll proceed over the 'lunar north' to Daedalus, where we will seek to apprehend or kill Djibril, the leader of Blue Cosmos." As she spoke, the green icons moved from Fauré over the moon to Daedalus, which flashed briefly before also going grey.

"Once Fauré is dealt with, a reinforcement fleet will launch from Izanami via the _St. Nicholas_," continued Makoto, another group of green arrows appearing before moving to meet on the L5 side of the moon with the icons representing Ascendant Justice and its fleets. "We'll meet up with this reinforcement fleet, and then proceed to Messiah and demand that Durandal stand down his Destiny Plan agenda. And if he doesn't, we're prepared for another fight. Any questions?"

"Yes," said Lucius, raising his hand. "How can you be so certain ZAFT will move like that?"

"I'm not," admitted Makoto. "I believe there's a good chance that Durandal wishes to use Requiem to enforce the Destiny Plan, and while it's extremely risky, with so much against him, he needs it desperately, so it's possible that he'll simply move in on Daedalus directly."

"What about the Atlantic Federation?" asked Clotho. "They're not just gonna sit by while we take out their bases."

"The Eurasian Federation, Republic of East Asia and United States of South America have already struck," said Makoto. "They're currently containing the Atlantic Federations forces in North America and holding the Panama Mass Driver. Compounded with the other nations allying with us against the Destiny Plan and Logos, our informal alliance currently holds all four mass drivers."

Whistles came from across the theater. Holding Panama, Victoria, Kaohsiung _and_ Kaguya was the dream of pretty much every military strategist in the world.

"Man," muttered Saul. "I never thought I'd hear something like that."

"What kind of reinforcements can we expect from the other nations?" asked Samuel, frowning slightly. Makoto shook her head.

"I honestly don't know," she said. "Understand that the only nations with a major space presence are Izanami, the Atlantic Federation and the PLANTs. As far as we know, no one else can contribute any forces to battles out there, and unfortunately, we haven't been able to coordinate things too effectively, nor do we have the time. We _cannot_ allow Djibril to fire Requiem again, nor can Durandal be given the opportunity to take Requiem for himself."

"And what sort of resistance can we expect?" asked Treize.

"Fauré is protected by the Eighth Fleet," said Faith. "It consists of two _Agamemnon_-class carriers, seventeen _Nelson_-class battleships and thirty-one _Drake_-class escort ships, with a total of two hundred and thirty-six mobile suits between them, along with four Euclids and five Zamza-zahs. Twelve of the escort ships have been outfitted with positron reflectors to defend the relay, but they're unarmed as a result."

"Then we outnumber them heavily," said Treize. Faith nodded, flickering briefly.

"Daedalus itself is much more heavily defended," continued the AI. "Seventeen carriers, thirty-nine battleships and sixty-seven escort ships, three dozen of which have been outfitted with positron reflectors. It has a total of eight-hundred thirty-six mobile suits, fifty Euclids, twenty-two Gells-ghes, thirteen Zamza-zahs, the Valiant and three Destroys, piloted by the remaining EX-Cs." Gasps of shock echoed in the theater, while Treize's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Even compounded with the forces from Fauré, we still outgun the Atlantic Federation forces by a considerable margin," said Kira. "Our machines and ships have a significant technological advantage as well, and the Izanami Defense Forces are a mix of veterans from other nations and highly-trained personnel approved by the same. We can do this."

"Yes," said Makoto. "I have every confidence that we can do this. I'll be taking charge of the Izanami forces personally, with Kira as my second-in-command. Who will be commanding the Orb fleet?"

"General Dante will," said Cagalli, catching many of them by surprise.

"I expected you to keep me here and allow Kisaka to take charge," said Samuel, looking at the blonde curiously. Cagalli shook her head.

"No, we need you up there," she said. "And I need Kisaka down here. Can I count on you?"

"Of course," said Samuel.

"Good," said Cagalli. "The Second Fleet is waiting in orbit over Orb with the destroyers of the Kessel Team."

Samuel nodded briefly while Makoto turned to Faith.

"What's the status on our machines?" she asked.

"The repairs to Strike Freedom and Serenity are complete," said Faith. "They're on the _Eternal_, along with the Astarte and the Sincerity. The Akatsuki, Infinite Justice and all of the Sentinels are aboard the _Archangel_, and the Redemption, Templars and Triad are aboard the _Dominion_. The machines of the Kessel Team have been loaded onto the _Yggdrasil_ and other vessels with room so they can be transferred back to the destroyers. A transport ship is also waiting in orbit with a supply of M4 pilots and their machines."

"Good," said Makoto. "We'll be heading to Copernicus first. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes ma'am!"

**

* * *

**

Taiyonoha Estate

"Why Copernicus?" asked Lacus as Makoto finished transferring Faith into the black box before kneeling down to say goodbye to Miyuki.

"Minako received a message from whoever took over as her benefactor after Sera died," said Makoto, petting Miyuki. "The Children of Divinity are being called there. I've asked that the _Ortygia_ meet us there. Also, some defectors from around Gounod now at Catharina informed us that the Kyusai Team is hiding somewhere on the moon in that vicinity, so we can also take the opportunity to try and find them. They'd be a valuable asset to us, and… well…"

"Yeah, I know," said Lacus softly, leaning down to wrap her arms around Makoto from behind, surprising the redhead. "Remember, we're all here for you. Kira, Minako and I most especially."

"Yeah… I know Lacus," said Makoto softly. "I know…"

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"You be good Alexander," said Flay, hugging her son. "I'll be gone for a little while, but I promise that I'll be back soon. Okay?"

"Okay…"

She could hear the hurt in his voice, and she couldn't blame him. What child wouldn't be hurt to see his parents leaving for such long periods of time while he was still so young? But…

"Promise me you'll be good," said Flay. "Everything will be alright."

"Okay… I promise…"

**

* * *

**

The Harbor

All the ships preparing for launch were being outfitted with boosters to get them up into space. The design of the _Yggdrasil_ was close enough to the _Archangel_ that it wasn't a difficult modification, and the _Eternal_'s boosters had been delivered from orbit by the _Charon_.

Cagalli stood on the docks with Athrun, who'd stubbornly refused to stay, despite not fully recovering. He'd convinced the doctors to give him some medication to speed his recovery, and should be in good enough shape to not reopen his wounds by the time they got to the actual fighting, but still…

"You be careful out there," said Cagalli. "I'm expecting you back in perfect health, understood?"

"Yeah, I understand," said Athrun. "I'll be careful, Cagalli." The blonde sighed, leaning forward to peck Athrun on the lips.

"I don't want my fiancé-to-be getting himself killed or making me kill him, got it?" she said softly as she stepped back. "I love you Athrun."

The Crimson Knight's eyes softened slightly, and he stepped forward, pulling Cagalli into a hug.

"I love you too, Cagalli. I always will."

**

* * *

**

A little while later

It really was quite a sight: the _Eternal_, the _Archangel_, the _Dominion_, the _Seraphim_, the _Yukihime_ and the _Yggdrasil_ exited the harbor as one, picking up speed as they prepared to lift out of the water and take to the skies.

"I'm still impressed that this ship can enter the atmosphere now," said Meyrin, sitting in her new seat at the comm. station.

"That wasn't half as hard as getting the thing to sail," said Andy, smirking slightly as he glanced back at her.

"Well, that's not much of a surprise," said Minako, glancing around the bridge. "And it's necessary for a transatmospheric ship."

"Yes, the _Eternal_'s a real beauty these days," said Andy as they lifted into the air. "We redesigned the entire thing as an ultimate flagship. The new sensors and the expanded bridge were the big things for that. Everything else was just very tasty icing on the cake."

"Hmm… well, I believe it's time we got going," said Lacus, looking at the others—Kira, Makoto, Minako, Ami and Andrew. They all gave slight nods before Lacus turned to face forward again. "Meyrin?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" said the redhead, quickly hitting a few switches. "We're broadcasting… now."

"This is Lacus Clyne," said the rosette. "It's time for us to take to the stars once again. Now _Eternal_, launch!"

The boosters of the _Eternal_ activated, accelerating the light-red warship away from the Earth and into the sky. A few seconds later, the boosters on all the other vessels activated as well, catapulting them into the sky.

* * *

**Author's Notes: I've been setting up Durandal being forced to reveal the Destiny Plan early; he really didn't want to, but he's been backed into a corner, so he's hoping things are far enough along for people to accept it, as he's not certain he has the power to force it the way he would in canon. He's more or less hedging his bets that there'll be enough confusion that his supporters get there before those who oppose him.**

**As you all saw, though, it backfired quite thoroughly. Before any of you ask, I was weighing who made more sense for that kind of speech, and I was quick to realize that Kira and Lacus wouldn't present that kind of speech, while Cagalli tends to be a bit too focused on the positive to so readily cite the idea that the negative is a necessary sacrifice. Plus, Makoto brought that very thing up way back in _SEED Dauntless_.**

**And if anyone has complains about Kira being Makoto's second, remember that it doesn't make much sense for Kira to be taking charge in this situation; they have three groups, Izanami, Orb and Terminal, and Kira is recognized as part of the IDF admiralty, and thus subordinate to Makoto, the supreme commander. Besides, being in charge isn't everything, but I figured I'd address this before anyone starts complaining about it, if only because I imagine at least one person won't read this or just ignore it and complain anyway.**

**Gah, I hate Destiny's timeline! This chapter should've been taking place in something like February or March! God damn it!**

**Alright, enough bitching. Everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will leave reviews! If more waves like back during the Operation Fury section come up, I may still reach that high count I was hoping for, but even if I don't, I still want to hear from everyone. ^_^ Only five chapters and the epilogue to go after this, so let us hope my muse keeps at it!**

**Say****ōnara, min'na desu!  
**


	46. Phase 46: Forgotten Angels

**Well, here it is. Phase 46; not much for action here, this one's very talky and is an introspection chapter, following the same formula as the last several chapters (excepting the attack on Daedalus). It shifts focus a lot, with much of the attention in the early to middle parts being paid to minor characters rather than major ones. It actually changed significantly from what I originally planned, and I think it's better for that, rather than focusing on a few major characters that we already see plenty of.**

**I also drop another surprise here. I've still got a handful more surprises waiting for you; I'll let you judge what's a bombshell and what is not.**

**And before you make any quickfire judgments about what you're reading, please read the A/N at the bottom, which will explain a few things.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.**

* * *

Phase Forty-Six: Forgotten Angels

January 24th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Orb Union

Serenity, Shizuka, Cagalli, Meer, Johanna, Alexander and Kisaka stood on the docks, staring into the sky as the _Eternal_ and surrounding vessels vanished from sight.

"Will they really be okay?" questioned Meer uncertainly.

"Yeah, they'll be fine," said Shizuka confidently. "They're the best for a reason."

"I… I guess…"

The others remained quiet. Johanna stared after them somewhat longingly, hoping they would be okay, and praying that her nephew would find his way back.

"We have to get ready to leave ourselves," said Serenity softly. "Meer? Do you want to come with us?"

"With you? Where?"

"To Izanami."

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

A short while later

Suiren stood in the main observation deck of her flagship, staring out across the lunar landscape, only somewhat disappointed by the lack of stars due to the light reflected from the moon's surface.

They'd received reports about the launch of Izanami's command fleet from Orb, and that fleet was already en route to Copernicus. It would only take them two days to reach the lunar city, and then…

… and then she would have to wait for those contacts to get her a chance to meet Makoto alone.

She'd thought about it. What she would do, what she would say. And she still wasn't entirely certain—should she ask for forgiveness? For a place with the Taiyonoha… in Izanami? Did she even deserve a chance after all that she had felt for her entire life?

Did she want such a chance?

Perhaps… perhaps she should talk to her family about it. The one that she had forged for herself.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

With several days before they reached Copernicus, Kira had decided he'd use the opportunity to speak with Minako—after all, they hadn't interacted much in the month since they first met aboard the _Archangel_, something that they really couldn't be faulted, with Kira's attention focused on Ami, and Minako's focused on Makoto.

Finding the brunette hadn't been difficult at all—after all, Kira had Makoto's ability to sense others with the SEED, and Minako resonated heavily in that sixth sense, on top of her powerful Newtype presence acting like a beacon for Kira.

The door to the observation deck opened and Kira found her staring out at the other ships in their impromptu 'command fleet'. As he floated up next to her, he followed her gaze and realized it was focused on one vessel in particular: the _Yukihime_.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Minako softly. "The only real difference is the color scheme, but they certainly did a good job of it."

Kira couldn't fault her sentiment—rather than the _Archangel_ and _Seraphim_'s white, the _Dominion_ and _Kamui_'s black, or the variety of others Kira had seen back at Izanami, the _Yukihime_ used an arctic blue paint job, but replaced the red and gray of its sister ships with dark blue and snow white; it was, Kira knew, intended to reflect the ship's name of 'snow princess', and it did the job well.

The _Archangel_-class was perhaps the only one where no one faulted such unique color schemes, nor would one be faulted for taking notice of them. While not as sleek as the _Minerva_-class, the _Archangel_ was a majestic warship, and it was now the symbolic flagship of Izanami, the only nation to possess such vessels; as Kira recalled, the IDF had no less than nine of them, counting the _Seraphim_, _Dominion_ and _Archangel_ itself, with at least five more currently under construction.

"It is," agreed Kira after being quiet for a moment. "There's been a rumor going around that Makoto commissioned it to serve as her personal flag, but…"

"You never asked her?" questioned Minako, turning to face Kira. He shrugged slightly.

"I never really worried about it," he admitted. "To be honest, I'd always hoped it would all just be a formality."

"Human conflict is a bit of a constant," commented Minako. "Hmm… I think… when the war is over, I'll start working actively to prevent this from happening again."

"Same here," said Kira, eyes shifting out of focus as he instead focused on his sixth senses, watching the flow of the seeds of light in particular. It was something both he and Makoto did sometimes; the dancing in these 'visions' was a beautiful sight.

"The Destiny Plan…" murmured Minako, drawing Kira's attention again. "Hmm… we're talking about enacting our own version of it, in a way. But rather than take away our freedom, what we plan is to fight against all things that could start a war. I wish Durandal had held to that instead of going as far as he has."

"They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions," commented Kira. "It's why we have to always keep an eye on ourselves as much as we watch others."

"Or maybe you just need friends who can watch your step for you," said Minako softly, turning around. "Thank you."

"Hmm? For what?"

"For what you've done for Makoto… and for me."

With that, Minako exited the observation deck, leaving Kira to ponder her words.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

"What did you say?"

Makoto stared at the screen, dumbfounded by what she'd heard; he was kidding, right?

"_Ascendant Justice's weapons systems are online,_" repeated Mustang. "_Ma'am, I know they're still experimental, but I think we should use them on the relay station… or just smash Justice into the thing._"

Makoto shook her head, both in response and in surprise—the prototype weapon systems aboard the Ascendant Justice weren't supposed to be active for another two weeks.

"No," said Makoto. "We don't have time to properly test them and make sure they'll work. Keep them in reserve; unless the situation changes, we should save them for Daedalus."

"_Then __**please**__ let me smash the relay._"

"Ramming always works…" muttered Makoto. "But even with the Justice's defenses, I don't want to take chances; we're going to need it when we attack Daedalus. Unless the situation swings even more in our favor, we'll stick to the original plan."

Mustang sighed. "_Very well… and I was really looking forward to using this base the way it's __**supposed**__ to be used… offensively, anyway._"

"You'll get your chance at Daedalus."

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

Yuki lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling and idly pondering all that had happened in the last few months.

A great many things had changed in a very short period; she could still remember the day she and her twin were recruited to the Kyusai Team, among the first to be sought out by Suiren when she learned they had joined the military. That had been in August of 72, and it hadn't been long after that that she met and recruited Auron as well. Zane, known to them as 'Christopher Dante' at the time, had been Suiren's first officer, followed by Sakura as her second officer. In a way, those three had been the greatest constants of the team.

And then Break the World happened and things started changing; instead of Zane leaving to command the _Minerva_'s mobile suit team, Suiren left to take charge there, leaving Zane in command. Then they had to leave Sakura behind as they transferred operations to Earth.

Then they started to lose members of their family; of them, though, only Chihiro had not been familiar with death, as most of them had either fought in the previous war or lost friends and family in the fighting.

During her brief meetings with him, Yuki could also admit that she'd become enamored with Shinn Asuka, something she'd been teased about on several occasions now. If nothing else, she _definitely_ wanted to get to know him better, but…

But now, they were on opposing sides in the final days of this conflict. Not an ideal situation, but Yuki's greater loyalty was to the woman who had practically become a mother figure to her and Yuna over the years since their mother's death; her loyalty was _not_ to a childish crush who she didn't really know that well personally, despite some of the things she'd done to help Shinn.

The door of the room opened and Yuna stepped inside, letting out a small sigh as she took off her overcoat.

"You got trounced in the simulator again, didn't you?" said Yuki, smiling slightly as she looked her twin over, seeing the subtle signs of fatigue she'd learned to recognize over the years.

"Yes," admitted Yuna, sitting down at the desk and shaking her head. "Mai and Shiori, one right after another. Those two have been getting better all the time."

"Well, there's a reason they're the Commander's favorites… well, as much as she ever favors anyone."

"They're gonna reach Murase and Auron's level soon if they keep this up."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Shizuru idly sipped at her tea, sighing wistfully at her inability to consume it from a traditional teacup. She'd liked that much about being on Earth, at least…

"Where do you think we'll be going after this?" asked Ishimura, drawing attention from the other occupants of the lounge.

"That's a silly question, isn't it?" said Christina pointedly. "Daedalus."

"No, I meant…" Ishimura sighed. "After this is all over, will the Commander return to the PLANTs or to her family? And if she goes with them, what about us?"

That gave everyone—Shizuru, Christina, Max and Shiori—pause as they all considered what he was saying and the implications of it.

Were they willing to leave behind the place where most of them had grown up, where others had found a home, and where the few families they had left were waiting for them to return?

"I mean… it's easy for me," continued Ishimura softly. "But I don't have anyone waiting for me at the PLANTs. Auron, Yuna, Yuki, Murase… they're all the same, but…"

"But Mai still has her little brother to look after," said Christina. "And she's not the only one with family waiting for her."

"My brother, Shiori's mother, both of Shizuru's parents, and…" Max glanced at Christina, who sighed.

"My entire family," she murmured softly.

That was the heart of the problem for them—they'd each willingly follow the Commander wherever she went. But if she decided to leave the PLANTs for Izanami, would they be able to leave their families behind?

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

_Dark Knight of Destiny_…

That title seemed to echo endlessly in Shinn's mind; it seemed appropriate in a way, given the sacrifices needed for the sake of the Destiny Plan.

However, after everything he'd been through, Shinn was willing to make those sacrifices. He could understand that others didn't see things his way either; in fact, that was a good thing in some ways, because it meant those people hadn't suffered tragedy the way he had, and his greatest goal had always been to protect others from his suffering, even if he had lost sight of it at times.

The Destiny Plan was something the world needed; Shinn personally knew a great deal about suffering and tragedy, more than a lot of people (or so he believed), and he couldn't keep paying that price, nor did he believe anyone who knew suffering as he did could.

Still, there _were_ sacrifices that would have to be made for the sake of the Destiny Plan; and Shinn was Durandal's champion in that cause. The weight of that title he'd been tagged with at Heaven's Base was weighing on his shoulders, but it was a burden he was proud to bear.

Shinn's hand tightened into a fist as he stared from the pilot's lounge out over the hangar and towards his mobile suit.

"Next time… we'll put an end to all war, Destiny," he said softly. "I swear it!"

**

* * *

**

Atlantic Federation High Command, The Pentagon

"This has gone on long enough! The President continues to refuse the demands of the cabinet and our citizens!" said State Secretary Nathan Finney.

"I understand what you're saying Secretary Finney," replied Vice President Amanda Ward, trying to remain diplomatic. "But even an impeachment process would…"

"The President has overstepped his bounds repeatedly, he's hiding away at Arzachel and this is a time of war," cut in Defense Minister Aaron Dalton. "Besides, the rest of the world is already moving. If we're going to act, we cannot wait for a trial."

"You're proposing we overstep _our_ bounds to that degree?" questioned Foreign Minister Carlos Moya, frowning slightly.

"Every branch of the government is demanding action," said Alexandria Croft, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. "It's why we're here. As far as the Senate is concerned, the President has already been impeached and convicted."

"The people want Requiem gone," added Attorney General Josiah Ali. "They want Logos brought to justice, and I for one agree with them."

"Indeed," said Landyn Arce, Secretary of the Treasury. "It's time we did our jobs and acted for the sake of the people who put their trust in us, instead of following the greedy doctrines of our predecessors!"

Arce's declaration was followed by silence as everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably, remembering the actions their nation had taken in the past and their own failure to act. It was perhaps worst for Vice President Ward, who'd truly believed in Copeland and turned a blind eye when his corruption began to surface. Finally, the Vice President let out a sigh.

"Very well," she said, soft voice echoing in the silent underground chamber—the same one where Muruta Azrael had once convinced their predecessors to let him launch an invasion of the Orb Union. "Then we will abandon Copeland, Djibril, Requiem and any who continue to fight for them. And we'll aid Izanami in their campaign against Logos and the Destiny Plan."

She looked around at the faces of the other members of the cabinet, who all nodded in agreement.

"Contact President Ivanov, Chief Representative Athha and Sovereign Taiyonoha," ordered Ward, looking at Moya. "For… For the Never-ending Tomorrow."

**

* * *

**

The _Autumn Rose_

Several hours later

Suiren had made her decision; she'd ordered the captains of the ships, as well as the various pilots, to gather in the secondary hangar—really more of an emergency hangar and storage facility—so that she could speak to them all directly.

The crews, she knew, were absolutely loyal to her. Even the _Autumn Rose_'s, for its crewman had been drawn from the other three destroyers, and not only had she or one of the captain's hand-picked nearly every single crewman, but she had personally met all of them, working to earn the loyalty of everyone.

The same was true for all the captain's—Sakura, Toshio, Massala Okeke of the _Storm Saffron_ and Elisa Castellucio of the _Summer Dahlia_—but they needed to be here, for they would be the ones to convey her words to their own crews.

And the pilots…

These were her people. The only ones she did not know well were the new recruits Sakura had picked out—Jamie Mckeel, Allan Isakson, Naomi Kunda, Nelson Nobbe, Avis Miyashiro, Darryl Delkar, Erik Racz, Neil Jansson, Althea Morena, Sumiko Ariwara, Mariko Komatsuzaki, Ai Serizawa, Hitoshi Tansho, Allie Raub, Alana Venema and Alejandra Chapel. The last two, Serena Hakala and Yugoro Watabe, had died attacking Gounod.

Suiren stood in front of Fortuna, the only machine in this hangar as the pilots and captains lined up in rows before her.

"You all know why we're waiting here," she began coolly. "I've asked all of you to follow me. I have things to settle with Makoto Taiyonoha, and after that, I intend to join Izanami's fight against Logos and the Destiny Plan. I've heard that all of you agree with this desire to fight For the Never-ending Tomorrow. And for some of you, we've forged ourselves, over months or years, in the fires of battle and the face of death, into a family. We've faced things that would send even ZAFT's most elite units fleeing in terror and we've pulled through with an iron will, nerves of steel and the bonds of a family."

The blonde closed her eyes.

"However… when this is over, I will be leaving ZAFT and the PLANTs behind," said Suiren, opening her eyes as gasps of shock arose from the crowd, even though she knew nearly half of them must've expected this. "I… I don't want to leave this family, one I had helped forge, especially not when so many of you are new to it. But there are people waiting for me in Izanami… and it's a reunion I've put off for far, far too long. And by the same token, you have families waiting for you in the PLANTs." She pointedly stared at her pilots, most especially the team veterans who really did still have families waiting for them, but her next words were directed towards all of them.

"It's a little presumptuous of me," she continued. "But I'm _ordering_ you not to abandon the PLANTs when I do. I don't think this is necessary to say for many of you, but I will _not_ see any of you abandon our motherland to follow me." At this point, her gaze focused in particular of those of her team who _didn't_ have any family waiting for them. "This has been the truest family I could ever have hoped for; make no mistake that I will never stop believing in us as a family. But we mustn't forget our other families." Unconsciously, Suiren reached back, not noticing the attention the motion drew, and brushed her fingers over her right shoulder blade where her crescent moon birthmark lay.

"Once Requiem has been destroyed and the Destiny Plan halted… once this battle for the Never-ending Tomorrow is over… it'll be time for goodbyes. Ones without end."

**

* * *

**

The _Yggdrasil_

Midnight

Victor splashed the water over his face, both to rinse away the sweat still covering his head and to fully wake him up.

He'd been on Earth too long.

Even in the PLANTs, there was a slight difference that could be felt between their artificial gravity and the true gravity of Earth. Being perfectly honest with himself, a part of Victor had been slightly queasy when they returned to orbit, because unlike his brother or his fiancée's family, he hadn't been off Earth since the Treaty of Junius was signed. This, despite the fact that he had always felt more comfortable in space than on Earth.

He blamed that feeling, compounded with the earlier training simulations and the knowledge that they were heading towards a battle of equal importance if not magnitude, for the nightmare he'd had.

It was, of course, a silly thing; while he'd had nightmares about Jachin Due before, it had always been memories of the terrible things that had happened. _Never_ had his nightmares included things that didn't happen, like the Freedom's destruction… or the _Eternal_'s, which was the moment that snapped Victor back to the land of the living as the ship Shizuka had been on at Jachin Due exploded in the nightmare.

Victor shook his head slightly; even knowing it was a nightmare and applying full logic to it, he was still slightly shaken. Victor was only human after all.

Fortunately, it didn't have any bearing on the future; this time around, Shizuka would be far, _far_ out of the line of fire, guarded by two fortresses and the defense fleets he knew Izanami to still have, to say nothing of the armor around the colonies that could shrug off anything short of a nuclear blast, and even stand up to _that_, though to be fair, it would be damaged by such a thing. The armor was only a temporary thing that robbed the colonies of their full function, sure, but Victor knew they wouldn't drop it until the war was over, if only because the armor was also part of the construction support for Susanoo.

"Feeling better?" came John's voice behind him, causing Victor to turn to face his brother and nod slightly.

"Yes, I am," he said, accepting the towel John offered and drying his face with it. "Sorry if I disturbed you." John chuckled.

"We all have nightmares from time to time—even of things we rationally know didn't happen," he said. "I used to remember Basque's death and keep seeing different people taking his place. Sometimes it was even _Kira_ or _Makoto_ I saw in his place, which is as irrational as it gets, for more reasons than just the obvious."

"Was it ever as irrational as, say, _Saharin_ getting pierced by that sword?"

"Actually… yes. But somewhere along the way, I must've found the idea humorous, because it didn't blow up and the dream following that had me checking if I'd been drugged."

"What…?"

"I'm _not_ talking about it."

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Early morning

Shinn Asuka was fighting like a man possessed. Again. He was utterly _dominating_ the others in the simulators now, had been since the battle, and it was showing.

The Destiny wove through the horde of fire from the DRAGOONs with preternatural grace, Shinn carefully maintaining the balance between speed and agility by moderating the power of the Wings of Light. Once he'd started using them more intelligently, rather than flaunting them and trying to overwhelm his enemies as he'd done in the past, Shinn had found that they offered as much mobility as they did speed until a certain point. By exploiting that, he could hold a fine edge over the others, despite lack of experience when compared to Zane, Nabiki, Heine and even Aleksi.

The Destiny dove 'down', the DRAGOONs moving to follow along with Nabiki's aim before Shinn threw his machine into a hundred eighty degree spin by cutting power to one wing for half a second. The instant his spin was complete, he threw full power into the Wings of Light acceleration, countering his previous momentum and sending himself 'up' instead. Nabiki didn't miss that fact, her aim and the DRAGOONs immediately shifting up as well.

She was, by far, the most difficult of his opponents. He beat her as often as not, unlike many of the others, who he could consistently beat now, even Zane.

The key difference, he often found, lay in the DRAGOON system. Nabiki's was the most vulnerable; it was slight, but she was definitely having a harder time with it than Zane or Rey were. If he could pick them off, he could win, but she frequently destroyed him first.

To beat the other DRAGOON users, Shinn had been quick to realize he had to attack the head of the system; lacking the awareness they did, if he tried to take out the DRAGOONs one by one, they tore him to pieces.

Instead, he had to strike where they were vulnerable, the Legend most especially. Without the DRAGOONs, it was almost laughably vulnerable. Of course, Rey was skilled enough to handle them even in extreme close-quarters, but Shinn was able to shoot in and out of close-quarters combat quickly enough that it didn't matter, and he could take down Rey before the DRAGOONs finished him off.

Zane was a more difficult opponent, but the DRAGOONs were easier to deal with, being fewer in number and lesser in firepower. In fact, Shinn probably found them the easiest to destroy, because they relied heavily on their ramming ability; Shinn's reflexes, great enough to be praised by the frickin' _White Angel_, allowed him to evade and destroy them once they were close enough. It was when Zane kept them at a distance that Shinn couldn't do anything, not even with Suiren's past training for fighting against remote weapons. That only served him against Nabiki, and only barely then.

Once he entered the close-combat arena with Zane, things changed. Close-quarters were Zane's specialty, and while Shinn favored it, his abilities were balanced across all combat types. In space, especially, the weaknesses of the Reckoning were largely nullified, as its beam cannon didn't mass enough to be an impediment without gravity, allowing him to easily hold onto it for ranged combat; compounded with the DRAGOONs, this left Shinn little choice but to move into close-quarters in order to nullify the Reckoning's defensive systems.

It was a close match, but Shinn was edging out just a little over Zane.

But _Nabiki_…

Her DRAGOON system may have been the most vulnerable, but moving into close-combat without at least weakening it was suicide. With its thick armor and surprising speed and agility, the Avenger was a force to be reckoned with even at its weakest. Unlike Zane, who could only use the Reckoning's hidden arms in specific manners and situations, Nabiki could manipulate the Avenger's hidden hands with ease, perfect coordination across six limbs that baffled Shinn on every level.

Added to this, the Avenger was practically less a mobile suit and more of a mobile _fortress_, rather like the Destroys, but with emphasis on the _mobile_ rather than on the fortress, which just made it that much deadlier. Its firepower outclassed the most heavily-armed warships Shinn knew of, and its defenses were even tougher than those of the Destroy—not even the Destiny's palm beam cannons, capable of vaporizing the head of a Destroy with one shot, could do more than destroy the _outer_ layers of the Avenger's armor.

Frankly, Shinn was amazed that he could beat her at all. It made him wonder how it was that the Dauntless Angel of Faith had defeated her so easily at Orb.

At the same time, it was humbling; whether or not the Dauntless Angel was better than the White Angel, the ease with which she'd defeated Nabiki when Shinn still struggled to do so told Shinn that there was still a vast gap between himself and the Angels.

But that wouldn't stop him when the time came.

Beams crashed into the Destiny's beam shield. Shinn grabbed his rifle and fired back at the Avenger, only for her to similarly block with her beam shield. Shinn grimaced slightly, realizing this would end in his defeat. After all the simulator runs that had followed waking up at the butt crack of dawn (ship time), he was exhausted from the flights, as were the others, but Nabiki…

"_Alright, that's enough,_" came Nabiki's voice suddenly. "_I'm sure you're exhausted, Asuka._"

"Yeah… yeah I am," he said, not so proud that he wasn't able to admit it. The simulator shut down.

"_We should all get some more rest,_" said Zane. "_We'll be reaching Messiah and meeting the Chairman later today._"

**

* * *

**

Atlantic Federation Ninth Orbital Fleet Flagship _Dallas_

Fleet Admiral Aiden Wilson stared coldly at the relay station before him. They did not have long to act, and by now, everyone would notice that his fleet was not consisted solely of Atlantic Federation ships.

"Rear Admiral Malone," he greeted coolly when the face of Weston Malone, the commander of the fleet defending Czerny, appeared in the bridge's display screen.

"_Admiral Wilson… this is a surprise,_" replied Malone, voice critical, probably suspecting _why_ Wilson was here. The Fleet Admiral smirked.

"I'm acting under orders of President Ward," he explained, jerking his wrist slightly as a signal to his comm. officer, Drew Hopper, to broadcast to the entire fleet. "Your forces are to stand down their defense of Czerny… and assist us in its destruction."

Malone scowled.

"_Wyatt Copeland is the President of the Atlantic Federation,_" he spat out coldly.

"He's been impeached by the Senate… unanimously, I assure you," replied Wilson. "And, as per the system, was succeeded by Vice President Amanda Ward. As commander-in-chief, and with the support of Defense Minister Dalton, she has ordered the destruction of Requiem and its relay stations. Failing that, all Atlantic Federation forces are to abandon the relays, and the Daedalus base itself."

"_I refuse,_" said Malone icily. "_Our mission is not yet complete!_"

"_Our_ mission, Admiral Malone, is to protect the people of the Atlantic Federation, _not to commit genocide_!" Wilson's glare had Malone shrinking back. "You swore an oath to serve and protect the Atlantic Federation. They have demanded the destruction of Requiem and an end to this meaningless war. I'm ordering you one last time: Stand. Down. Admiral."

"_I still serve the Atlantic Federation, and I will to the day I die,_" hissed Malone. "_Durandal… and all Coordinators… represent a threat to our people that I will not ignore as you will!_"

Wilson sighed.

"We'd feared you would say that," he said gently. "To the crew of the _Maine_, under the authority granted to me by President Amanda Ward, I'm ordering you to arrest Rear Admiral Weston Malone, who is hereby accused of attempted genocide."

Malone's eyes widened as he stood up in surprise… and to Wilson's satisfaction, a new voice was heard.

"_Admiral, please do not resist._"

And _that_… was when all hell broke loose.

The ships of Czerny's defense fleet began to open fire on the Ninth Fleet, readying to deploy mobile suits when fire was suddenly returned by _other_ ships in their fleet, the defense forces fragmenting between those loyal to the Atlantic Federation and those loyal to Copeland and Djibril.

Wilson hoped those loyal to the Federation on ships controlled by Djibril managed to escape.

"Launch our mobile suits!" he ordered. "Protect those brave soldiers who have not forgotten their duty!"

The _Maine_ surged forward, narrowly evading a shot from a battleship still loyal to Logos. The ships of the Ninth opened their catapults and hangars, mobile suits being rushed out as quickly as they could.

On the _Dallas_, Wilson turned to his comm. officer.

"Open a channel with the _Rasputin_," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

Wilson turned back to the screen…

… just in time for him to see the face of Fleet Admiral Alexei Kozlov, Supreme Commander of the entire Eurasian Federation Space Navy (even if it was small), appear on screen.

"Alexei," he greeted his old friend, who'd led a task force split off from the main fleet to accompany the Ninth, because of a resource the Eurasians had that, unfortunately for the Atlantic Federation, was entirely under the control of Djibril and Copeland, along with their lunar bases.

"_Aiden,_" returned Kozlov with a slight nod.

"Is your man in position?"

Kozlov nodded. "_He's just waiting for our signal._"

Wilson nodded, closing his eyes and saying a prayer for a brave, _brave_ man.

"That man is going to need the highest honors of the Atlantic Federation, Eurasian Federation and the entirety of the Alliance," he said softly before opening his eyes. "What about the rest?"

"_They're ready to launch. We're using the data provided by your ships and machines to help us ensure the targeting data is fully up-to-date._"

Wilson nodded again.

"Good," he said, turning to his Hopper. "Inform all allied vessels that they are to distance themselves from Czerny." The comm. officer nodded. "Alexei… go ahead and have your people launch."

"_They'll be awaiting your signal_," said Kozlov, giving him a grim nod before the transmission was cut as Wilson turned back Hopper.

"Has the Second reached Fourier? Have they received their warnings?"

"Checking now," said Hopper. "Long-range transmission confirms… yes. But the Third refuses to budge."

Wilson closed his eyes.

"Then there's nothing we can do for them."

Outside, the fighting continued even as 'allied' vessels began to pull away from Czerny, while the 'loyalists' pulled their defense around the relay even tighter. Meanwhile, the _Rasputin_ launched twelve Windams in quick succession, each one equipped with a Nuclear Striker, each continuing to build speed as they prepared to launch a very long-range attack on Fourier and hoping the missiles wouldn't be shot down on the way.

The 'loyalists' saw this, and their mobile suits began to move to intercept…

… and then, Lieutenant Lucas Haschke of the Eurasian Federation detonated his N Dagger N at the heart of Czerny.

White filled the view of the Ninth as the nuclear explosion blossomed before them, consuming Czerny completely and taking out every 'loyalist' ship and mobile suit, all of which had stuck far too close to the abominable relay.

Leaving the nuclear strike team from the _Rasputin_ free to open fire.

Locking onto the distant target using the targeting data provided by the entire fleet and others, the pilots locked on and fired their payloads. The speed of catapult launch, combined with their constant acceleration and the even greater acceleration of the missiles would allow them to cross the vast distance to their target in mere minutes.

"Now let's get out of here before Requiem fires on _us_!"

**

* * *

**

Fourier

When the Third Orbital Space Fleet realized what was happening, they deployed their mobile suits to discourage the Second Orbital Space Fleet. When they saw two dozen nuclear warheads headed their way from the direction of L2, they ordered their mobile suits to intercept and shoot them down.

What no one expected was for dozens of mobile suits to _block_ the attempts.

No one would live to tell their loved ones, to award them medals for the act as they used their own machines as shields to ensure the nukes reached their target.

But thanks to their heroic sacrifice, the missiles struck home. The Third Fleet was obliterated…

… and suddenly, Requiem was taken completely out of action, lacking the relays necessary to strike anything but L2, as Fourier was completely vaporized.

**

* * *

**

ZAFT Space Fortress Messiah

Several hours later

Durandal sighed.

Well… this was an unexpected problem. Still, he had Neo-GENESIS, so he could win, capture Requiem, and build new relays. Heck, the only reason he needed Requiem was that Neo-GENESIS would be counter to his goals if he used it as anything but a tactical weapon.

He'd put off meeting with Shinn and the others; he'd been assured of Shinn's continued loyalty, and that was all he needed. Things were far, far too busy for him to spare the time to reinforce that loyalty if he didn't need too.

And so, he instead focused on how to turn the game around.

**

* * *

**

Orbit over Copernicus City, Luna

The next day

It was, to say the least, an impressive fleet, and the largest that had ever been at Copernicus, consisting of the _Eternal_, a carrier, four assault ships, four battleships and five destroyers—not especially large in count, but even an Earth Forces Orbital Fleet would hesitate against _these_ ships.

"_Roger that __**Eternal**__, you have permission to land,_" said the Copernicus ground controller. "_However, no other ships in your fleet may dock, and I'm afraid we'll have to request they move away from our airspace._"

"Roger that Copernicus, we understand," said Meyrin. "And thank you."

The redhead turned in her seat to face the rest of the bridge, relaying what she'd been told.

"We expected as much," said Canard with a slight shrug. "Copernicus has no resources of any real value, but it still has to be careful to maintain its neutrality."

"That's why we had Treize and Canard come over here," added Makoto, spinning slightly to face her cousin as Andrew ordered the helmsman to take them into the harbor. "Any idea where we're supposed to be meeting this contact of yours?"

"None," admitted the brunette. "I don't even know who my contact is, but I assume they're waiting for us… somewhere."

"Then perhaps we should split up," suggested Kira. Like Makoto, Minako and Canard, he was wearing civilian clothes right now, as was Treize. "We all know how to contact one another, right?"

"Of course," said Canard. "What kind of idiots do you take us for, 'little brother'?"

"You know it's a good idea to be certain, and this 'little brother' can kick your ass five ways to hell," retorted Kira with a slight smile.

"Will the contact be able to recognize us?" said Treize.

"Kira, Makoto and I should be easy," said Minako. "You and Canard… well, I'm really not sure."

"We'll just have to figure it out when the time comes," said Lacus, turning her seat and setting her feet on the ground as the gravity continued to increase.

"Oh no," said Makoto. "You and Ami are staying here, Lacus."

"What? Why?" questioned Lacus. Kira and Makoto shared a brief look before the brunet turned back to his fiancée.

"Because you stand out a lot more than the rest of us," said Kira. "And… no offense, but we can take care of ourselves better than you can."

"I can take of myself just fine, and so can Ami!"

"The contact isn't likely to approach you two anyways," said Minako. "And we need to be ready to go pretty quickly. Things are tense out there, so we don't have a lot of time to waste."

"Fine," grumbled Lacus, glaring at all of them lightly.

"Please come back quickly," said Ami. "I feel weird."

"We'll be as quick as we can," assured Kira as the five left the bridge. Lacus sighed, thinking of earlier when Canard came aboard.

The meeting between Canard and the others had been an interesting one—mostly because it wasn't anything special, except with Ami.

Really, it was to be expected. Canard never met Chris or Minako, so meeting them now was just a meeting between strangers with mutual friends. He seemed to empathize with them both somewhat, but hadn't really talked much more than was polite.

Ami, on the other hand, had received more attention from her cousin, including a video message from her aunt and uncle. The two had spoken, for a while, but Lacus wasn't privy to what they'd talked about.

After a few minutes, Lacus turned to the comm. officer.

"Meyrin, would you join me and Ami?" she asked.

"Ah, yes ma'am," said Meyrin, immediately getting out of her seat. Lacus giggled slightly.

"Just Lacus is fine," she said, leaving the bridge with Ami and Meyrin. Andy sighed.

"Kira and Makoto are gonna kill me for not stopping them," he muttered, knowing the three were going to leave the ship.

**

* * *

**

Half an hour later

Minako had checked out several places as quickly as she could, ranging from Sera's old house from before her death to the doctor's old office.

After awhile, she'd fallen to nostalgia.

Copernicus was a place she used to visit a lot under her Hotaru Aino alias; Sera had been her godmother, after all. The real challenge back then had been keeping her from ever encountering Makoto.

Right now, she was kind of wishing they'd messed that part up; or that the contacts taking over for Sera had just told everyone about Ami from the start; or… well, a lot of things now, but ultimately, she believed that Sera knew what she was doing.

And… perhaps the scars left on Ami's heart and soul were part of the reason; horrible as it all was, it allowed them to rescue Ami with no one the wiser, and thanks to all of that and the success of removing the guilt that had weighed on her, she was a kinder person for it.

And the brunette wondered if such things had been Sera's goal all along… and if so, what had she sought to teach Minako? What 'gift' did she give to Kira? What of Canard? Treize? And most importantly to Minako, what legacy had their godmother left to Makoto?

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Lacus knew it would be advertising to Kira that they'd been out, but Lacus had never been to Copernicus before, nor had Ami or Meyrin, and this would probably be their last chance to relax before Operation Eternal Freedom began, so they were going to enjoy themselves and, yes, get in a little shopping as well.

Of course, Lacus had considered the warnings about standing out, so she'd put on clothes to help easily hide most of her hair, easily her most obvious feature. She didn't think there was any real danger, but she was already going against Kira's wishes just by being off the _Eternal_, so she'd give him that much at least.

Besides, mostly she was here for Ami. The girl had never been shopping in her life, and while she'd certainly been given gifts, nothing that she'd ever really picked out for herself.

And also, it would be good for the blonde to experience, however briefly, what it was like to be fairly normal.

**

* * *

**

An hour later

Kira wandered through the park, glancing idly about, recalling the happy times he spent in this very place so many years ago, with Athrun, Joey, Caleb, Satya and so many others.

He paused, staring at a path between the trees, eyes glazing over slightly as he envisioned two boys standing there, talking… the last time he and Athrun saw each other before their fateful encounter on Heliopolis.

Not for the first time, Kira found himself wondering what had become of the others. He really should look them up at some point after the war was over…

A flickering motion on the edge of Kira's vision suddenly caught the brunet's attention, turning him that way, wondering what in the world it was, as the park was nearly abandoned right now.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Treize frowned slightly, shifting uncomfortably at the feeling of being watched as he continued searching for the contact. He'd come to a ruined theater on the edge of the cityscape, where it started to turn into a 'natural' landscape, and he wasn't sure why he was here, but their hunt was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As he searched, Treize briefly thought back on his meeting with Canard. The mercenary had once hunted Kira with a blind fanaticism, apparently instigated by Durandal, his past practically a perfect mirror of Minako's. Treize was somewhat surprised the two didn't talk to each other much outside of polite greetings.

Then again, their near-identical pasts may have been a bit of a sore subject. Treize's certainly was for him, and all of them had committed their own sins; in a strange way, Treize's existence may have protected Chris from ever truly committing such sins of his own. He was the only one of… 'them'… that could be called relatively free of such scars.

Instead, Chris's scars were of an entirely different sort.

The former EX-C paused, frown deepening as that feeling of being watched grew stronger.

He heard the sound of a foot scraping the ground behind him and spun about immediately, eyes darting about for the source.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"What the hell is going on here?" questioned Canard, glancing around. While he expected Copernicus to seem largely abandoned as people moved down to the shelter level, the feeling that the city was haunted wasn't something he expected, nor could he explain it.

He'd been to the lunar city plenty of times before, but this time was seriously different; outside of the main city areas, it felt like a ghost town, and that definitely wasn't just the result of so many people heading to the shelter.

Why couldn't he shake this feeling that something was off here? What was waiting for them?

Had Divinity sunk its evil claws into this place some time in the last few months?

Because… there was no denying that the bad vibes he was getting stank of Divinity.

**

* * *

**

A short while later

Makoto didn't really notice the haunting feeling, mostly because a part of her mind was still sifting through the knowledge of what had happened yesterday.

They now had a clear source of reinforcements on its way in the form of the Atlantic Federation, the last group they'd expected help from.

Which reminded her, she needed to call Mustang and give him permission to simply plow Ascendant Justice right through Fauré. They could now skip that part of the mission plan, and would probably just move straight onto Daedalus. With the relays gone, Fauré wasn't really a threat anymore, and Makoto could only imagine the sort of fits Djibril must be throwing over the matter, but taking out the final relay would be a great boon. But it was no longer a viable enough target to waste manpower on, and without the other relays, Requiem was no longer so great a threat that she would want to risk Ascendant Justice by crashing it into Daedalus. In fact, without the relays, they could practically take the base at their leisure.

Still, even as one part of her mind focused on this, the other focused on the continuing search. She'd stretched out her senses, but wasn't able to find anything.

Sure, there was that house where Sera used to live; it had given off a bit of a strange vibe, the presence of her godmother still poignantly felt even after…

Wait…

Makoto froze; she'd wound up exploring the grounds of a small, non-descript but modestly luxurious hotel, and had been walking around the swimming pool, wondering where to go next.

Turning around, she found a young woman… no, not young, just young-looking… standing there, staring at her with intense blue-black eyes, black hair flowing gently in the wind, mirroring Makoto's own. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and jean skirt, but faced the taller redhead with an air of strength about her, as though she were a fully armed soldier who didn't recognize how dangerous Makoto was.

Except that, in this woman's eyes, Makoto could see that her own power _was_ recognized.

"Hello Makoto," said the woman gently. "It's been almost nineteen years, hasn't it? You've grown up."

"You're… the contact, aren't you?"

"I'm Eve Walser," the woman replied with a slight nod. "Before you tell the others… don't you have somewhere you should be? Misuumi's waiting for you, you know."

Makoto's eyes widened in shock.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

A little while later

It was rather troubling that Lacus, Ami and Meyrin had returned to the ship without any word arriving. They'd been at Copernicus for several hours now; surely there should've been _something_.

"They're back," said Martin suddenly. Lacus frowned, moving over to look over his shoulder, confirming Kira and the others approaching the dock… but not Makoto. What…?

Without hesitation, Lacus ran out of the bridge, knowing that Ami would be right on her tail as she rushed to meet Kira and the others.

She arrived at the boarding ramp just as they reached the bottom.

"Kira? Where's Makoto?" she asked them, walking down the ramp as they paused there, Kira frowning.

"She's not here?" he questioned, surprised. "When she didn't show up at the park, we thought she must've found something or headed back here directly for some reason."

Lacus spent all of half a second alarmed before a new voice cut in.

"I'm afraid Makoto is… busy, at the moment," it said, everyone spinning to face it. The woman who was the source gave them a weak smile. "I'm Eve Walser. I've been expecting you."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Over a hundred miles away, a mobile suit stood within a five and three-quarter kilometer crater, power low, and covered by a camouflaging cloak that dampened its heat signature a bit.

And, rising over the lip of the crater, the _Autumn Rose_ slid into sight. As Makoto watched, an object seemed to fall out of the lower rear of the vessel, probably through a rear hatch similar to the one on the _Eternal_.

The mobile suit that descended was not cloaked to help it sneak here, as Makoto's had been. No, it was displayed in all its glory for everyone to see.

She almost couldn't believe it. Makoto's grip on the controls tightened slightly, but she reminded herself not to tighten her grip too much, otherwise her gloved hands would slip where they normally wouldn't, since she was wearing a pilot suit this time.

And somehow, she knew her cousin would be as well.

"_So… you came… and alone, too,_" said Suiren, appearing on Makoto's display screen, confirming that she was wearing a pilot suit. "How's Minako?"

"She's fine," replied Makoto. "She misses you too." The redhead closed her eyes. "You know, I'm surprised, Misuumi. I would've thought it would be her you'd want to see."

"I expected as much as well," said Suiren, eyes taking in the sight of her cousin in a pilot suit before she glanced around the cockpit. It was somewhat more expanded than the Rose's, but the consoles were cramped much closer, making it feel smaller. She refocused on Makoto as the redhead opened her eyes. "But she's too much like me. The both of us waiting to be dragged home."

"Believe me, I definitely want to drag you home," said Makoto. "But I won't deny your freedom. That would be hypocritical of me. If you want… if you want to continue to be Suiren, or Reine, or whoever… then I won't fight it."

"Thank you for that, Makoto," said Suiren. "But… I want to be part of your family." She could feel tears in her eyes, but she bit them back. She couldn't afford that while wearing a pilot suit. "Makoto… I want to go home."

"You've been welcome this whole time," said Makoto. "You could've come home… whenever! Now!"

"Yes, but…" The blonde shook her head slightly, mismatched emerald and ruby locking with Makoto's twin emeralds. "I need to settle this. _We_ need to settle this. After today, there won't be any more Reine. Nor any more Suiren. But I'm a warrior Makoto. Suiren… and Reine… we need to have one last fight. A fight we have spent years dreaming of."

"I… I see," said the redhead. "Alright, I'll give you that. We never really settled our fight in the Himalayas, either. Just… promise me one thing Misuumi: you won't run away from us."

"No Makoto. Never again."

Makoto nodded.

"I'm… surprised. I never expected to see that machine again."

"Fortuna saved your life, Makoto," said Suiren. She smiled slightly. "I don't think any other machine can claim to have swept a princess off her feet and away from a nuclear explosion."

Fortuna… the final form of the machine Suiren had used at the Second Battle of Jachin Due. It was just like any other GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type… but that head belonged to a Gundam, and its shoulders were crested by white doves carrying branches of olive. Its shield, that of the Freedom, bore a rose crest, with five white doves, also carrying olive, forming a pentacle around the rose.

Its colors were the inverse of a normal Experimental Firearms GuAIZ, the Fortuna's armor and backpack silver where they would normally be gold, limbs of black instead of white, and the rifle trimmed red like that of the Justice instead of blue as the Freedom's had been.

"_Commander, the __**Eternal**__ has launched,_" said Emilia. "_The entire fleet is moving our way._"

Suiren nodded.

"Um… can you transmit footage and the radio to them?" asked Makoto.

"_Well… yes… Commander?_"

"Do it," ordered Suiren.

"_Yes ma'am. Broadcasting… now._"

"Alright Makoto," said Suiren, leaping back slightly, moving into a combat stance. "Let's end this… and cut away Divinity."

"Yes," agreed Makoto.

"Reine En Creuset, Fortuna Gundam, I will cast off the final shadow of my father!" called Suiren, stating her oath, her goal, in this battle.

"Makoto Arata!" called Makoto, grabbing the camouflage as she stated her own goal. "I will cut free the last anchor on the Spirit of Divinity with the power of the Gundam!" She tore off the camouflage, easily shifting her machine into a combat stance even as she heard gasps of shock over the radio.

Its eyes flashed bright blue. Its entire body showed clearly its age, but its Phase Shift armor activated as it stood proud, returned to the battlefield at long last…

"Dauntless!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: ^_^**

**Anyways, to explain some things: I wanted to have people better understand why Shinn's still siding with Durandal. It's not that he's stupid or blind, just that after what he's suffered, it's understandable. Once you've known that kind of pain, an easy solution can be _very_ tempting. And, well, I've gone into it at other times, including Shinn's fears.**

**As for the stuff with the Atlantic Federation, after studying it a bit more, my attention was brought to how negatively they were often portrayed. I wanted to do something about that, and do it in a believable manner; I like to think I did a good job of that. Also, it was fun having the good guys using the nukes for once. Since, ultimately, this doesn't actually change how events will play out, I decided to go for it. Give the Atlantics and Eurasians a big heroic moment for themselves.**

**And, with the sheer volume of characters, I decided to again cut some of them from focus; frankly, the only one at Daedalus with any real depth is Leon, who we're all familiar with anyways, so it wasn't worth dividing the POV with another group.**

**Also, something amusing: I've had accusations leveled at me regarding my low body count, as well as me "saving" load and loads of characters. I actually did a check, and the results were amusing: first, I've saved three characters, and only one of those (Stella) was due to any sort of favoritism. Heine has simply been spared from a pointless, stupid death from canon that made no sense. Meer's really the odd one out in this case, but I just love the multiple layers of manipulation and plotting. For a long time, she was with Maia on the list of people teetering between surviving and being killed in brutal fashion. Saving Meer was a whim; saving Maia was me giving Shinn a break.**

**As for body count by this point in the story (counting Meer), I've actually got the same number of kills as canon; that is, exactly eight. In my case, Heine survived and was "replaced" by Ajay earlier on, Stella survived and was replaced by Gyunei (who no one liked anyway), Meer survived and was "replaced" by Nanai. The key differences are A): the canon ones have been saved by OCs taking their place; and B): I have a _lot_ (*cough* understatement *cough cough*) more characters than canon did. From this point on, Destiny had three character deaths; I'll let you try to figure out how many I'm gonna off.**

**Anyways, now that my presentation of "Maileesaeya is a murdering bitch plotting the downfall of the universe" done, I'll wrap this up.**

**Everyone, please leave reviews. I am extremely appreciative of knowing what you think, and while I appreciate people who go into detail, knowing that my work is appreciated is still appreciated.**

**Next chapter, more answers will come to us, final battle plans are laid****…**** and then the final battle begins.**

**Say****ō****nara.  
**


	47. Phase 47: Frozen Tears

**Not much to say up here; this chapter finally puts light on some of the secrets that have been running around. Some of it's already been guessed at, this mostly just confirms a _lot_ of things. Before we get started, though, I have two things to say with regards to reviewers:**

**One reviewer brought up the subject of "saving characters" that I mentioned in my bottom A/N last chapter. To that (anonymous) reviewer, I'd merely like to point out that I was simply stating which characters died in canon who I kept alive here; as far as "saving" Kira goes, I kept that from canon and merely worked to make it justified.**

**The other thing I want to bring up is, one last time, all the complaints to the resolution of the Kira-Makoto subplot. It's enough to have me banging my head into a wall, as I get accused of completely derailing the characters because, instead of Lacus becoming a Clingy Jealous Girl, I kept her to her canonical personality that tended towards "I want my beloved to be happy"; Lacus is a very loving person, and for me to have changed her into a wildly jealous little brat who treated Kira like her personal possession and took the attitude that the feelings of her boyfriend and best friend could go to hell as long as she got what she wanted… now _that_ would've been character derailment, completely unlike how Lacus really is. If you want to argue this fact, please contact me directly, and let's leave the reviews for the chapter itself.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.**

* * *

Phase Forty-Seven: Frozen Tears

January 26th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

The sight on the display screen before them was completely and utterly impossible, yet there was no denying what they were seeing with their own eyes.

It was scarred, horribly, horribly scarred. But it was like the Dauntless wore those scars with pride, standing tall, ready for battle, the sword of the Faith on its arm.

"How…?" questioned Kira softly. The Dauntless had fallen to microfractures and the self-destruct of the Aegis more than two years ago; and besides, the pristine frame of the Strike Renaissance, more advanced than the Dauntless to begin with, had been unable to keep up.

How was the Dauntless, likely ready to fall apart once again, supposed to hold up?

"The assault frame," answered Faith, responding to his questions and, unknowingly, to his thoughts. "Half the reason we developed it was for this. It's the original machine, don't doubt that, but the frame was rebuilt around a new design." Kira got the sense that Faith was watching the battle intently, and no one could blame her: that was her original body out there.

"Dauntless…"

**

* * *

**

Crater

Dauntless and Fortuna rushed forward, kicking up the soil of the moon as they ran to preserve what precious little power they had for their thrusters; the Revival model Dauntless suffered for the sheer power dedicated to its mighty Exia Kai II, and the Fortuna faced similar issues with its own high power weaponry.

Makoto and Suiren each fired a single shot at the other. Without hesitation, Suiren raised her shield to intercept, while Makoto threw herself into a spin, snapping the Exia into sword mode and using the blade to intercept, the anti-beam coating easily protecting the sword, even against the Fortuna's powerful Lupus rifle.

Suiren grit her teeth—she only had five shots. There was her first.

She glanced, briefly, at the Fortuna's shield—its anti-beam coating had been partially burned away. Judging from that, Makoto couldn't have very many more shots than the blonde did.

She was right, of course; Makoto could manage only seven shots with the Exia Kai II while still leaving enough power for other contingencies. The reason she could manage so many was because of the independent battery in the sword-rifle, but even still…

She had to shift the arena to close combat. She couldn't last very long outside of it.

In the distance, the _Eternal_ and its fleet closed in, as the vessels of the Kyusai Team continued to overlook the kilometer deep crater.

Suiren had come to the same conclusion; this would be tough, but in close-combat, the Dauntless's frame was more likely to fail it, as maneuvers would become increasingly complex.

Makoto leapt off the surface, charging at the Fortuna for all she was worth. Suiren grit her teeth, firing up the thrusters on the Fortuna's backpack, pushing herself from the surface as well and starting to pull back, not willing to move into close combat with Makoto just yet.

She fired her rifle. The Dauntless twisted slightly to the left, Exia snapping into rifle mode, and fired a single shot.

Even Suiren couldn't move her shield forward quickly enough to intercept a shot aimed at her rifle. Not that she really cared, instead drawing a beam saber and preparing to activate it as she suddenly reversed her thrust, now pushing herself forward to meet Makoto.

The two mobile suits—and their pilots—seemed to lock eyes for a brief instant.

Then, the Fortuna's beam cannons flashed, machine guns blazing. The Dauntless's machine cannons unfolded from its shoulders, focusing on the beam cannons as the close-combat machine slipped slightly to avoid the cannon fire.

Bullets shredded the Fortuna's backpack-mounted cannons.

But then the Xiphias railguns snapped into place, firing on the Dauntless.

If the situation weren't so serious, it really would've been a comedic sight: the Dauntless, a Gundam, a powerful, penultimate weapon of war, was sent flying by a flash of light to crash into the crater wall.

Those watching felt their breath catch. Was it…?

Suiren's eyes narrowed as the dust settled swiftly under the effects of lunar gravity, despite the massive cloud let loose by the impact.

The Dauntless stood there, eyes shining with intensity. A section of its shoulder armor was in pieces, but amazingly, it was still intact, wings spreading.

"I'm not going down that easily, Misuumi!" called Makoto, charging forward once again, this time without her thrusters, remaining on the crater floor and just _running_.

Suiren returned the favor, landing and simply running forward, ready to meet Makoto's charge.

Her shield would be useless against Makoto's sword. She retained it, instead, for other potential weapons she might face.

The Fortuna's Lacerta beam saber flashed to life…

… and the blade of plasma met the blade of titanium.

The _Eternal_ and its surrounding ships settled themselves just outside the crater, opposite the vessels of the Kyusai Team. Makoto's desires had been made clear, and they would all respect her wishes as they stared down at the battlefield.

Makoto and Suiren struggled to push one another back. This exchange was telling each a great deal about the woman with whom their blades had crossed.

Makoto understood close-quarters combat in a way Suiren did not. She was faster, stronger, smarter, and just in general better than Suiren in terms of abilities.

But Suiren… without any of her old reservations, without holding anything back, she was a force like none Makoto had ever faced. In terms of skill as a mobile suit pilot, Suiren was one of the best in the entire world; as she once said herself, she'd been a warrior since entering her teen years. Her experience vastly outclassed Makoto's, and she was one of the strongest Newtypes alive.

Added to this, the Fortuna was the stronger of the two machines, in every manner possible. The advantage should've belonged to Suiren.

But there was a _reason_ Makoto was known as the Dauntless Angel of Faith, and even Suiren had always cited her as one of the two greatest pilots in the world.

Three-inch bullets pinged off the Fortuna's armor an instant before the Dauntless's fist met the Fortuna's face.

The two were applying what they knew of Shinsei Tsurugi to this battle; but the key difference was that, while Suiren was very much so a natural at it and one of the few self-taught individuals who could be considered a master of her aspect, Makoto was even more of a natural, trained by arguably the greatest master of the martial arts form ever.

That, and Suiren couldn't play to her strengths—specifically, she was restricted to only one blade at a time, because two would drain far too much power.

Powerful as Fortuna was, there was a price to be paid; while Dauntless paid a heftier price with its Exia Kai II, it made up for it by not suffering with the rest of its weapons.

Fortuna was lying facedown in the dirt. Makoto leapt forward, straining her machine's frame, and took hold of the backpack, tearing it off Fortuna's backpack, sticking the barrel of the Exia to it, and pulling the trigger.

She also knew Suiren would react quickly, Fortuna grabbing hold of one wing with its right hand while the shield smashed at the other wing, forcing it out at an unnatural angle.

Both her wings snapped as she broke free, spinning to face Suiren again, less than ten seconds since Makoto had punched Fortuna. The two had lost their supplementary thrusters, but that still left the large main thruster, which they used as they leapt at each other once again.

Fortuna's fist crashed into Dauntless's face, reversing the earlier attack, but Makoto stubbornly refused to be shaken, grabbing Fortuna's arm as she slammed the Dauntless's knee into her opponent's body once, twice, three times before spinning and tossing Fortuna at the ground, kicking up another cloud of dust.

As she descended on Suiren, Makoto grabbed a beam saber and stabbed down, aiming for where she instinctively knew the right shoulder joint would be. But Suiren was already moving, the saber instead slicing a gash in the torso to the right of the cockpit as Suiren snatched her remaining saber in a reverse grip and counterattacked, cutting a similar gash in the Dauntless's chest above the cockpit as the silver mobile suit pulled back, smashing its feet into the surface to halt its momentum.

Makoto and Suiren panted, facing each other, both ignoring the cries on the comm. line for them to stop before they killed each other. Because while both intended to survive this, a part of each needed to die here today.

For the redhead, it was time for the part of her that was still Makoto Arata to pass on; and for the blonde, she was awaiting the death of Reine En Creuset at the hands of the person she hated above and beyond all others.

"Final blow, Reine," said Makoto, dropping her beam saber and snapping the Exia Kai II back into sword mode, pointing the tip at the Fortuna.

"Yes Makoto," replied Suiren. "Let's end this." She threw away her shield, holding the Lacerta in a two-handed grip.

Both pilots charged. Cries for them to just stop filled the comm. lines as they shifted footing inches from clashing.

The saber batted aside the sword, then swept in for the killing blow, even as Suiren knew it wouldn't be enough.

Quick as lightning, the Exia came back in at an odd angle as the Dauntless dropped to its knees to avoid the saber; Makoto didn't quite make it, her machine losing its head.

Simultaneously, the Fortuna lost its left arm and head.

"I… hit," murmured Makoto, eyes wide as the Fortuna's hatch popped open. Immediately, Makoto caught the blonde escaping her compromised machine, pulling away and using the Dauntless's body as a shield for her cousin as the Fortuna, eyes flashing one last time even though it had been cut off from its power source, detonated, compromised powerplant letting loose.

The Dauntless was blown into the lunar surface, still clutching its precious cargo.

"_COMMANDER!_"

"_Makoto!_"

As the dust settled, the headless Dauntless stood up, turning to face the wreckage of its opponent. Makoto moved her machine's hand next to the cockpit before opening the hatch, stepping out to see her cousin standing there, staring silently at the remains before raising her hand in salute.

"Goodbye, Fortuna," she whispered softly. "And thank you."

The blonde turned to face Makoto… and then did something totally unexpected, reaching out and pulling her cousin into a hug, finally letting tears loose.

"It's over…" she said softly as Makoto hesitantly returned the hug. The blonde had dreamt of this moment for so very, very long… "Makoto… I'm back."

"You're home… Misuumi."

**

* * *

**

Copernicus City

Makoto was in _big trouble_. The redhead did not doubt this, and wanted plenty of places to run, which is why she'd opted for just heading back to Copernicus for this confrontation. This time, it was both the _Eternal_ and the _Autumn Rose_ that landed, beginning to disgorge their passengers as the broken Dauntless knelt down, more from habit than necessity, and opened its hatch, allowing Makoto and Misuumi to step out and descend to the ground, their helmets left behind in the Dauntless.

Somehow, not only had Kira beaten her to the ground, but he'd done it while somehow getting a very large group of people she did not want to deal with there as well.

"MAKOTO YOU IDIOT!" screeched Louisa, rushing forward to slap the redhead without the slightest hesitation; Makoto was prudent enough to duck and dance away, despite knowing others would be pursuing her.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT STUNT ALL ABOUT?" demanded Liz, rushing towards her, hands clenched into fists.

"Um, what they're trying to say, Lady-Admiral, is that you're making our duties to protect you a lot more difficult than it needs to be," said Lunamaria, acting as the voice of reason.

"I'm not sure you should bother Luna," said Misuumi, walking over to her former protégé.

"Uh, Commander… um… I mean… uh…" _Screw it_. "Suiren."

"Misuumi would be preferable, if that's not uncomfortable for you," said the blonde. "I want to leave that person behind."

Luna nodded, while Misuumi turned to face Kira, Minako, Canard… and Treize.

"Well… this is awkward."

"Um… Misuumi?" interjected a new voice suddenly, drawing their eyes to Ami. "It's… good to see you again."

Misuumi smiled slightly.

"You seem to be in better health," she said softly, stepping over to the younger blonde and pulling her into a hug, catching literally everyone off-guard.

"It's… it's thanks to Makoto," said Ami, returning the hug. The redhead in question was still being chased around by Liz and Louisa.

As the blondes broke their short hug, Misuumi stepped back, her eyes focusing on Treize.

It was an interesting sight: behind Misuumi, the Kyusai Team stood, and facing them were the Shugotenshi, the closest thing to a royal guard there was in the modern world, nominally led by Treize. It was a stranger experience for some than it was for others, most especially Lunamaria.

"So… whatever happened to Captain Lash and the other defects from Gounod?" asked Misuumi after a moment.

"They're currently with our fleet at Catharina," answered Kira, glancing around and taking charge when he confirmed that Makoto had tripped her exes and was now talking to them, probably a reprimand for losing their cool like they had (not that it was unjustified, but…)

"I see," said Misuumi. "And what will you do now?"

"We…"

However, things changed in an instant, atmosphere shifting entirely around three individuals, Makoto freezing midstep, eyes focusing on the same sight as Kira and Minako were, all three short of breath and frozen in shock as an occupant from each of the docked ships spoke to the other.

"Eve. A part of me wishes I could say its been awhile."

"You know this is for the best."

"Yes, of course."

… _a girl a little younger who had light red hair…_

… _that nine-year-old girl with the light red hair was some kind of freaking demon at times…_

… _she was two years younger, something that showed with the way she hid behind her caretaker's leg, light red hair swaying in the wind…_

"Sakura Ayamiya?"

"Sakura Tenshiika?"

"Sakura Fujino?"

Makoto, Kira and Minako all spoke as one, eyes fixated on the familiar redhead that had burned herself into their memories, despite each knowing her for only a short time.

The woman known as 'Noriega' to Suiren, and who'd worn the family name 'Kuroda' when she met Christopher Dante, gave everyone a universal smile, standing next to Eve Walser who wasn't surprised at all by the shocked reactions.

"Makoto, Kira, Minako, Chris. It's been years," said Sakura softly. "Let me reintroduce myself: I am Sakura Takara, Seventh Child of Divinity."

Pandemonium.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Eve had been quick to seize control of the situation, locking the Shugotenshi and Kyusai Team out of the _Eternal_ while dragging those who needed explanations onto the flagship where Faith was waiting for them.

Andy had then lent a hand and chased off any of the crew who tried to figure out what was going on, leaving only a select group to talk things over in the _Eternal_'s briefing room.

Those people were, in order of age: Eve Walser, Misuumi Kamakura, Minako Arata, Canard Yamato, Lacus Clyne, Makoto Taiyonoha, Treize Zabiarov, Kira Yamato, Sakura Takara, Ami Hibiki and Elizabeth Dante.

Once gathered, of course, the first subject turned to the most interesting of all: Sakura.

"Alright… just tell us what the hell is going on," demanded Makoto, just about ready to blow her lid as her once non-descript childhood friend was revealed as a past companion of all the Children of Divinity and, more particularly, one of the Children herself, as well as the daughter of Sera Takara.

"Um… it's a long story," said Sakura.

"Then tell us," said Kira coolly, no more pleased with this than Makoto. "We've got time."

Sakura hesitated slightly, as Faith materialized in the room, frowning slightly. They were here, the keys to unlocking that hidden data; actually, it was now unlocked, but Faith hadn't touched it just yet.

"Perhaps I should explain," said Eve, drawing their attention.

"Please do," said Lacus, perhaps the most calm and rational of all.

"Well, it actually begins with Divinity, but we can skip over the details until later," said Eve. "Summing it up from what followed the conclusion of the projects, though, it comes back to… ugh…" Eve shook her head. "Look, let me ask you something: would you believe me if I told you that the real threat originates from a _college rivalry_?"

The others blinked.

"What?"

Eve sighed.

"Okay, it goes like this: three men involved in the Divinity Projects were there for their own purposes," she explained. "Those men are all still alive. The first is Mikhail Andras, who used the stolen data and hard work of those working on the Ultimate Coordinator Project in order to create the Extended, passing it off as his own 'great work'. It's really kind of pathetic. The second is Gilbert Durandal, who'd hoped the work on the Artificial Newtype Project could help him find a way to force humanity to accept his Destiny Plan."

At this point, Misuumi looked away; Andras had killed her parents, and Durandal had been family to her. It figured she'd be the one with a connection to both.

"The last, as I'm sure you've already guessed, is Asher Hyata," continued Eve, drawing Misuumi's eyes back to her. "Unlike the other two, he didn't try to leech off of Divinity in any way. Rather, his goal was to beat the Awakening Seed Project, and by extension… defeat Sera."

"Wait, are you saying Horizon was created for _that_?" questioned Minako.

"Essentially," said Sakura. "Asher Hyata figures that if his actions destroy the Children of Divinity, he'll have beaten my mother. His highest priority target is Makoto."

"Naturally…" groaned Makoto. "Let me guess: it's because I'm the only one Sera worked on?"

"The Soul of Divinity, the only bearer of the Cosmic SEED, the so-called Living Angel." Eve nodded. "He sees you as the pinnacle of Sera's accomplishments."

Makoto groaned again, half in irritation at having someone focused on her, and half at the 'Angel' attachment, adding another to go alongside such titles as 'Fallen Angel of God' (Rau) and Angel of Death (her enemies after Jachin Due); well, at least all of them but Dauntless Angel of Faith had only been uttered a handful of times.

Kira and Lacus shared a glance, silently agreeing on the sources of Makoto's irritation… and deciding to tease her later with as many Angel titles as they could.

"Anyways, in the chaos that followed the collapse of the projects, Sera knew that things were only just getting started," continued Eve. "It was only then that she realized just what we'd unleashed in those accursed laboratories. When Divinity's legacy started to hit the world in full five years ago…" She shuddered slightly. "In that time alone, Divinity has been responsible for wiping out half of the human population. Over a billion in the First War, another two billion from Break the World alone, five hundred million more from the aftermath, and that's not even factoring in the soldiers who have died. In five years, Divinity has wrought devastation to put all twenty-seven years of the Reconstruction War to shame, and the only reason things look better this time around is because the world was already united into only a handful of long-established and strong power blocs. The world had been on the verge of a new war for decades, but Divinity opened the path, and created the first catalyst while shaping the other two."

"And… well, as you've all seen, things were a lot worse for those catalysts," said Sakura.

"The First War wouldn't have gotten so out of hand without Rau," said Kira.

"And this one wouldn't even have happened if not for Durandal," added Makoto.

There was no real need to elaborate on all of that; it was Rau's manipulations that had continually pushed the genocidal bent on both sides to higher and higher levels.

"If not for Rau, there wouldn't have been a First War," said Misuumi softly, catching everyone off-guard. "He was responsible for the Mandelbrot Incident. If not for that, there wouldn't have been any ZAFT, and the Bloody Valentine would've concluded with the destruction of all the PLANTs or the beginning of a civil war within the Atlantic Federation."

_... and probably both_, was thought, but not said, by all present. Though, to be fair, Rau was also guilty of almost every incident that caused relations to break down, so there may not have been a Bloody Valentine; however, it was a subject no one wanted to dwell on.

"Knowing what was coming but unable to actually stop it, Sera started to prepare… well, everything," continued Eve after a few minutes of silence. "She gathered every piece of data that could be recovered from the blackout. Every tiny little byte of knowledge, anything she could find. She used what she learned to help her research into massive breakthroughs, even as she prepared to give birth."

"Mom… she knew my life would always be tied to Divinity's legacy," said Sakura. "So… she used all the knowledge she had gained to reproduce the entirety of Divinity; Coordinator, Newtype and SEED enhancements, all in one person. Me."

The way she said it, the way she held herself… it spoke of a very contrasting difference between Sakura and the others. For Kira and Makoto, they had grown up ignorant as to what they were; for Treize, he was a completely different person; for Canard, he'd been a failure and had grown up viewing himself as such; and for Misuumi and Minako, the enhancements that awoke their abilities at birth had left scars that were still healing, leading to a passionate hatred of what they were.

Sakura had never suffered for what she was; she had always known the truth, and in some respects had received her gifts without paying a terrible price for them.

Of course, Kira, Makoto and Chris had not paid very heavily either; not for what they were, at any rate.

"Sera wanted her daughter to meet each of you, but didn't want to expose Sakura," said Eve. "Which is the reason each of you knew her by a different name at a different period of time." She scowled. "Thanks to Le Creuset and that son of a bitch Andras, though, meeting Chris became moot. Sera spent a month cursing Le Creuset, and I barely talked her out of launching nukes at Andras when she found out what he'd done to Chris."

_That_ drew attention.

"WHAT? You mean Sera's alive?" cried Minako in disbelief.

"That's… that's impossible!" added Makoto, equally disbelieving.

"You know, the traditional marks of cloning can be hidden pretty easily if it's dead to start with," said Eve calmly, eyeing them with amusement.

"Damn you for being right Kira!"

"However…" Eve's sobering voice drew their attention from the comical sight of Makoto about to wrestle Kira to the ground in frustration. "Sera was suffering from a severe terminal illness. She passed away a week ago."

Eve squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see Sakura's pained expression, and knowing an explosion was probably coming.

**

* * *

**

Copernicus Docks

Locked out of the _Eternal_, the Kyusai Team and Shugotenshi were left with little else to do but talk while they waited. Lunamaria had been the first to speak up, starting a conversation with Mai and Shiori, explaining to them everything that had happened since she left the team, a favor they returned. Meanwhile, Saul, Nicol and Shiho ended up in their own conversation with the Trinity siblings, while Neo and Murase started talking about things even Auron was worried to learn the identity of, as the two were giving off a very weird vibe.

Asagi shifted slightly, taking all of this in. She felt distinctly out of place here, unable to mingle quite as comfortably with the Kyusai Team. Maybe it was the fact that she was already a bit out of place among the Shugotenshi, most of whom had been a tight-knit group even before the current war; the exceptions, other than herself, were Treize, Ami and Luna, but the former two were aboard the _Eternal_, and the latter had been part of the Kyusai Team.

Even Flay, despite seeming concerned about being kept out of whatever was going on aboard the ship, was mingling well with the others, which just served to make Asagi feel even more out of place.

"Any particular reason you're so quiet?" came a voice suddenly. Asagi nearly jumped out of her skin in fright, spinning to face one of the men from the Kyusai Team, a few years older than her; messy brown hair, calm brown eyes… and after a few seconds, she realized he was holding himself in a manner similar to what she'd seen from John and Victor.

Realizing she hadn't answered her question, Asagi shook her head slightly before refocusing on him.

"I just feel… a little out of place," she admitted. "I was a test pilot. The best I can really claim with most of the people here is a loose acquaintance."

"I see," murmured the brunet calmly, giving her a friendly smile. "Still, you shouldn't leave yourself out, though I suppose heading into the city isn't really an option. Ah, I'm Max, by the way. Max Dylandy." He held a hand out to her, and Asagi took it with a small smile.

"Asagi Caldwell," she replied. "And thanks."

"Not necessary," answered Max. "Anyways, why don't I tell you a little about the Kyusai Team?"

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

No matter how angry they'd acted, the mention of Sera being alive had given a great deal of hope to both Makoto and Minako; the two had loved their godmother a great deal, and missed her dearly.

And then, that brief moment of hope was torn away by the knowledge that she really was dead. And that, although it had happened only a week ago, she'd let them believe she had died nearly four years ago.

"Sera dedicated the last four years of her life to making sure you would be ready to fight Horizon," said Eve softly. "The AI and BIO-Sensor were just two of those technologies. There are a few more—the VEDA and Solar Drive Systems—but we can worry about those after the current fighting has come to an end; there's no way they can be utilized in the upcoming battle."

Makoto and Minako finally lifted their gazes from the floor to focus on Eve, while Sakura shifted nervously at the scientist's side. Almost all eyes were focused on the scientist as she looked them all over, sorrow evident in her expression.

"The only hope for peace is to wipe away the last remnants of Divinity," she said softly. "You're not the Children of Divinity; you are simply individuals with unique, wonderful and sometimes horrible gifts. Kira, Makoto, Sakura; in the three of you lies the cure to Coordinator infertility. The Divinity Projects may have been responsible for that, but it's only the final shred of what Divinity was born for, eclipsed now by the madman who used Divinity for their own purposes and the madman that Divinity created. You're not part of that legacy."

As she finished speaking, Eve felt like a small weight was lifted from her shoulders. She hoped they felt the same way.

**

* * *

**

A short while later

After taking a few minutes to contact Ascendant Justice and give the order to plow straight through Fauré, Makoto had made her way to one of the _Eternal_'s two outer observation decks—or rather, small balconies built onto the side after they'd given it atmospheric entry ability. She leaned against the railing, staring down where the Shugotenshi were still talking with the Kyusai Team, though now joined by Kira and most of the others, explaining what their plans were.

They'd launch again within the hour; the Atlantic and Eurasian Federation fleets were already en route to a rendezvous over Catharina, along with a fleet of ZAFT soldiers who'd likewise chosen to aid them against Djibril and Durandal; according to Yuri, the Supreme Council was in shambles as people argued over whether to support or oppose Durandal, and he was fighting his own battle with the help of Tad Elsman and Ezalia Joule to keep the situation in the PLANTs from degrading into riots; the majority citizens opposed the Destiny Plan, but many in the political arena had been strong supporters of Durandal, and there were still supporters for him amongst the citizenry.

The door behind her opened and two people joined her, one on either side.

"We don't have time to really talk, do we?" murmured Misuumi softly, standing on her right. On Makoto's left, Minako nodded in agreement.

"A few days," said Makoto softly. "And this war will be behind us… still, I'd hoped that would be the end of it."

"No matter what she says, we _are_ the Children of Divinity," said Minako softly. "Cleaning up that shadow is our responsibility."

"_Our_ responsibility," said Misuumi, staring down at Kira, Treize and Canard. "Not theirs; Sera was our godmother… even though I didn't know her, that doesn't change the facts."

"The Taiyonoha also seem to be a target of Hyata in general," added Makoto. "None of us could ever have any brothers or sisters."

"Aunt Shizuka's fortunate."

The three sighed in perfect unison… before suddenly breaking out into small giggles at the synchronization.

"Those three deserve their own peace," said Makoto. "But none of them are gonna sit by either. That's just not in Kira's nature, Canard won't let go of anything he wants to protect, and Treize has precious little else to him."

"… he's not coming back, is he?" said Misuumi softly, staring down at Treize.

"I don't think so," murmured Makoto, following her cousin's gaze. "He's still there, but he's so… weak. It's like he doesn't have the strength to go on living himself. I don't understand it." And it was something Makoto hadn't told anyone else, something she'd always kept private. She really didn't understand it, because Chris had always been the strongest of them in his own way; but then again, maybe that was the very reason his strength had left him, now that he was no longer fighting desperately to stop his darker self.

"Then I guess that's the end of it."

There was a silent consent between the cousins; they didn't need words to communicate, to understand that they all had to put the past behind them. For Makoto, if the other two could let go of everything they had, then she had to be willing to let go of her own guilt; likewise, they had to forgive their past as enemies, even if they could never forget it.

It was the same for Ami, for Treize, for Neo, for Maia and for the other EX-Cs if they were lucky enough to rescue them. Countless crimes had been committed, both in and out of the shadows of the war, and dealing out absolute justice would be a matter beyond all previous scope. For true justice to be served, they would need to forgive, and in all likelihood, most records would be locked away or destroyed outright. For the sake of peace, Durandal, Copeland and Logos would be the only ones persecuted for their actions in the current conflict, or at least, that would be for the best.

For the three cousins, their personal conflicts and talking them out would have to wait. Right now, they still had one final battle to fight, and all three knew they'd talk when the war was over.

And for now…

"I need to have a talk with Sakura," said Misuumi. "She's been sharing a lot with my team."

"And hiding a lot from all of us," added Minako. "I want to talk to her too. Makoto?"

The youngest of the three shook her head slightly, not saying anything.

"Makoto… it's probably best to just treat me as the leader of a ZAFT force that joined up with Izanami," said Misuumi softly. "This isn't the time to complicate things." With that, the blonde left. Minako stared after her for a moment before looking back at Makoto.

"And here I thought all of this would be simple."

Then, the brunette left as well. After a moment, Makoto sighed.

"You can come out now."

Sakura stepped out onto the balcony, leaning against the railing on Makoto's right, where Misuumi had just been.

"They're right," said Makoto softly. "Sakura… I understand what Dr. Walser was saying, but…"

"It's as much me as it was my mother and Eve," said the other redhead softly. "I was the one who wanted to meet all of you; mom was worried, because she didn't know what the future would bring. She wasn't omnipotent."

"Could've fooled me."

"Yes, well, she liked to prepare in excess of what she knew to be necessary," explained Sakura. "She even created a second AI birth unit for me."

"What?" Makoto turned to Sakura, surprised by what she'd heard. The other girl nodded slightly.

"Mom was the only one who knew how to create the units," she said softly. "There are only two in the world, and it will be years before anyone figures out how to duplicate them; the simple fact of the matter is that a fully developed AI is going to have to start from the very beginning, the most basic levels. The intent is for them to attain true sentience, to the point that it could be said they're more human than not."

"It goes that far, huh? With the duplicates we were able to make, we realized pretty quickly the restrictions on them," said Makoto. "True sentience isn't something they can achieve, and even getting to Faith's level of sentience requires they start off at a lower level."

"They have to evolve to it as well," said Sakura. "Just like everything else has had to evolve its sentience. The AIs are simply able to accelerate it by learning from us. It was the only way to create a true AI… well, I suppose there's also creating them based on 'data' from a person's mind, but even that has its limits."

"Mmmm." Makoto closed her eyes. "Sakura… don't change the subject."

The younger redhead sighed.

"Meeting Minako was an inevitability—mom was basically her guardian, after all," said Sakura softly. "Meeting you was out of curiosity and desire—I wanted to meet someone so like myself. Meeting Kira was an extension of that; the both of us developed in the artificial womb, though I didn't finish my development there. Meeting Chris was rounding things out, and meeting Misuumi was bringing things full circle and preparing for the time we all came together."

Makoto didn't say anything; Sakura had been her first real friend, one of only three people outside her family she'd been close to before meeting Louisa. She couldn't help but feel like Sakura had betrayed her trust in a way, even though she knew she didn't have any right to.

She was, after all, only human.

"I never forgot those days of innocence in Orb," said Sakura softly, drawing Makoto away from her thoughts. "There were fun times all around, but none of the others were ever as… 'close'… to me as you were." They turned to face each other, emerald green boring into sapphire blue. "I should go… I need to talk to Misuumi; after all, I still need to command the _Rose_ in the upcoming battle."

Makoto nodded.

"This isn't over," she said softly. Sakura smiled slightly.

"I know," she said. "I know."

**

* * *

**

Ascendant Justice, First Gate of Heaven

The next day

Darryl Mustang grinned almost sadistically as the fleet around Fauré desperately scrambled to intercept with their broken forces; they'd already been hurt by those who abandoned the defense and turned against Logos, and then got smacked by the experimental weapons of the mobile asteroid fortress, ranging from specially designed space missiles to prototype shockwave cannons.

The defenses of Fauré were already broken as Ascendant Justice descended on the relay, the forces of the First and Second holding back outside the engagement zone while the asteroid's own fleet was poised to launch at a moment's notice.

Desperately, the Logos supporters started opening fire, but there was no organization to it, and they wouldn't have done more than scorch the surface of the asteroid even without the barrier protecting it, the very reason it had been made the First Gate.

Wising up, the defenders broke ranks and fled.

"Drop lightwave barrier, deploy all our forces from the rear gate!" ordered Mustang.

Seconds later, the blue barrier surrounding Ascendant Justice dropped, and mobile suits and warships were disgorged from the rear gate.

Asteroid fortresses were notoriously tough; in fact, they were considered impossible to actually destroy in actual combat during the time between the advent of the N-jammer and the appearance of the N-jammer canceller. Even Jachin Due's self-destruct had been achieved via nuclear detonations. Since it took a weapon of mass destruction to destroy them, the tactic when facing asteroid fortresses was to infiltrate them and start blowing things up from the inside, as the Alaric Team did to the Port of Artemis three years prior.

With all of this, it was unusual that so few of these fortresses actually existed, but many larger asteroids had been consumed for raw materials in the development of space colonies, and most of the easily obtained leftovers were too small to be viable… which was to say nothing of the hideous costs involved in such an endeavor. Only one asteroid had ever been specifically chosen as an asteroid fortress, and that was Messiah. The Port of Artemis, the only one ever possessed by the Earth Forces, was just what the name said: an asteroid military port, with none of the real hallmarks of a fortress. Meanwhile, both Boaz and Jachin Due were converted resource asteroids.

By similar token, the Gates of Heaven were, with one notable exception, converted resource asteroids, as were the four still underway; this had been intentional, and the consumption of materials for Izanami was specifically set up to hollow out the asteroids as necessary for conversion into fortresses.

That toughness was bearing out: Ascendant Justice, its front gate sealed shut, crashed through Fauré. The command center barely felt the impact.

Without organization, the Logos forces were being mopped up easily. A few pilots and ships thought to try attacking the rear gate, but were met with Izanami's own version of a Lohengrin Gate: four positron cannons, sixteen double-barreled pulse beam cannon turrets, and _lots_ of machine cannons.

Then the mobile suits of the First and Second arrived.

"Well, that was quick," commented Mustang idly as their remaining enemies turned tail and ran. "How many did we lose?"

"The _October_ took some damage to the port side, and we lost seven mobile suits, with another forty-three damaged to varying degrees."

Mustang nodded slightly; it had been important to mop up the local forces so that they couldn't interfere with the movements of Izanami or its allies, and the tactic they'd used had let them get away tactically scot free, a lot better than if the First and Second had just soared in with the asteroid.

"Contact the _Eternal_," he ordered. "Tell them we've completed our first objective and are now moving to the rendezvous point."

"Yes sir!"

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_, Orbit over Catharina Crater Base

Three hours later

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Makoto giggled slightly at Kira's words.

"_Is that what I think it is?_" questioned Murrue, shocked. This time, Canard could be heard snickering over the comm. lines.

"Yes," said Makoto calmly, staring out the _Eternal_'s viewport at Ascendant Justice. "Eurasia abandoned it after the Alaric Team tore it apart, only going back when Canard used it as a base; really, is it that surprising that we'd repurpose it for ourselves?"

"_I thought you hated Artemis,_" said Natarle, expertly hiding her own surprise at the return of the Port of Artemis as the Gate of Ascendant Justice. "_And I also thought it had been consumed as raw materials after moving Izanami to L3._"

"A little," admitted Makoto. "We needed to hollow it out some for it to become a true fortress anyways." The redhead twisted slightly to face Meyrin. "Meyrin, please open a channel."

"Yes ma'am."

A moment later and the face of Admiral Mustang appeared on the _Eternal_'s display screens.

"_Ma'am; this is a bit of a surprise,_" he said. Makoto didn't need him to clarify what he was referring to.

"There are more on their way," she said. "It's gonna be a mess until we get everything organized; there are at least three hundred vessels currently en route."

The sound of someone choking in shock could be heard over the radio.

"_Breathe kid,_" came Neo's voice; apparently, the choking sound was coming from Athrun.

"_Roger that,_" said Mustang. "_The prototypes are out of order, but we didn't take any damage at Fauré. The mobile suits and warships took a little, and we lost seven pilots; still, it was better than we could've hoped for._"

"Yes," agreed Makoto softly. "It is better." Which wasn't to say that it didn't cut just as deeply as the losses at Orb, but Makoto had learned early on that ordering people to their deaths was never going to be easy on her, and for that, she was grateful.

"_I'll prepare the main briefing hall,_" said Mustang. "_The prototype artificial gravity is working… well, kind of. It's better than the rest of the fortress, and Catharina isn't ready yet._"

**

* * *

**

Five hours later

They'd come; far more than anyone had expected. With Oceania the only Earth nation not to ally itself with Izanami against Djibril and Durandal, the rest of the world nations had not hesitated to send everything they could muster, and it had been a surprise for many when the few space forces still left of nations such as the USSA and East Asia had arrived in the company of vessels from the miniscule space navies of the Equatorial Union and Scandinavia.

And that wasn't the end of it, either, as ZAFT's own flagship, the _Apollo_, arrived at the head of an enormous (relatively) fleet of destroyers and frigates, all filled to capacity with GOUFs and ZAKUs.

The forces now surrounding Ascendant Justice were mind-boggling in size, the largest united force in the history of the Cosmic Era: the _Eternal_, three _Minerva_-class battleships, seven _Archangel_-class assault ships, ten _Izumo_-class battleships, twenty-eight _Agamemnon_-class carriers, thirty-nine _Athena_-class battleships, seventy-seven _Nazca_-class destroyers, ninety-two _Laurasia_-class frigates, a hundred and three _Nelson_-class battleships, a hundred eleven _Yomi_-class cruisers, and another hundred and eighty-three _Drake_-class escort ships, for a total of six hundred fifty-four warships… and this wasn't accounting for the literally thousands of mobile weapons waiting for battle (an estimated minimum of over four thousand machines… including a few Zamza-zahs and Euclids); they're forces now outnumbered even the combined total forces of Djibril and Durandal.

After some initial confusion, the situation had been loosely organized, with everyone present willing to defer to Kira or Makoto's authority, a fact the redhead planned to take advantage of.

The prototype artificial gravity systems installed on Ascendant Justice were running on a wide variety of theories and experiments; extra data from Faith's black box had served to jumpstart them a little, but the system was still iffy, only providing very light gravity. Still, it was more comfortable than holding the meeting between the leaders of the gathered military forces in zero gravity.

Fortunately, there really weren't that many present; mostly only one for each nation, with the exceptions of Izanami and the Atlantic Federation (both of which had an admiral for each fleet present, along with a few others in the case of Izanami).

Sufficed to say, Makoto felt nervous having all eyes focused on her like this; she was entrusted with the command of the a fleet larger than anyone had ever even dared to assemble in one spot, made up of forces who had been enemies barely a month ago.

All united in a single cause…

Makoto cleared her throat; Kira stood to her right, Mustang to her left. Others present in the briefing hall included Minako, Misuumi, Neo, Murrue, Natarle and… Sakura…

"Originally, Operational Eternal Freedom was a three-stage attack," began Makoto. Faith's avatar stood off to the side, largely unnoticed as she began displaying a three dimensional holographic map of the space around the moon, marking most everything with holographic depictions. "The plan was made under the assumption that ZAFT would strike the Fourier relay station, though we suspected they may simply strike Daedalus directly. It was furthermore made under the assumption that we would not be receiving any additional reinforcements, and so we needed to preserve the experimental weapons of Ascendant Justice for the attack on Daedalus. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy… or our allies, it seems." Makoto gave a weak smile, glad to hear the small chuckles her words drew.

"However, we did prepare for this possibility," admitted Makoto. "An alternative version of Operation Eternal Freedom revolved around us receiving reinforcements… and accounted for the likelihood of Gilbert Durandal launching a direct attack on Daedalus using Space Fortress Messiah, ZAFT's current base of operations. Given the current political state of the world, if Chairman Durandal continues to pursue his Destiny Plan agenda, he will need to capture Requiem and restore its relay stations. What's more, recent Intelligence reports have confirmed Messiah's secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?" questioned Commander Daniel Liebenthal, the CO of the _Apollo_ and nominal leader of the ZAFT reinforcement fleet (though he'd deferred command to Misuumi, who was also a FAITH agent… sort of…). He frowned in confusion. "I haven't heard anything of this."

"It's well-concealed, partially due to the fortress's defense shield," said Makoto. She took a deep breath, steeling herself; they'd only gotten this information recently, as infiltration became easier with the increased activity at the fortress. "It has an enormous built in cannon, which we've identified… as Neo-GENESIS."

As expected, there were sharp intakes of breath and cries of outrage.

"This is a much smaller scale weapon than the one used in the last war," explained Kira, stepping in. "It can be fired considerably faster, but the scale of it isn't even a tenth the original. It's still a significant tactical weapon though, which can't be avoided as easily as Requiem can be."

Makoto nodded slightly.

"We're currently traveling across Luna en route to Daedalus," she said. "According to our calculations, Messiah, which has been moving since their failed attack several days ago, will arrive shortly before we do. Even Djibril wouldn't dare launch a pre-emptive attack with Messiah bearing down on him from one direction and Ascendant Justice from the other. We're going to demand they both surrender before we attack ourselves. And they're only getting one chance."

The redhead's eyes swept over the gathering, and some of the fleet commanders shivered slightly as she projected the same steel her mother was renowned for.

"Admiral Wilson," she said softly.

"Yes Lady Taiyonoha?" replied Wilson, standing up.

"I'd like you to lead a force to Arzachel," said Makoto. "Demand Wyatt Copeland's surrender. If he doesn't… I'll leave it to your discretion _how_, but we cannot allow any forces from Arzachel to reinforce Daedalus."

"I was actually planning on doing that, provided it wouldn't interfere with the main operation," said Wilson. "Every branch of the Atlantic Federation government wants him brought in."

"Take whatever of your forces you need," said Makoto softly. "And thank you."

"The Chairman's not going to surrender," said Liebenthal.

"And neither is that son of a bitch Djibril," added Kozlov, frowning slightly. "This is going to end in a brawl."

"It'll be Jachin Due all over again, but on a grander scale and with entirely different stakes," agreed Makoto. "We're still holding out hope that this can end without bloodshed; that faith in human desire for peace is why we're here, after all. But that doesn't mean we're not ready for the situation to turn violent."

At this point, Kira stepped forward, drawing attention from the redhead.

"We have five separate targets once fighting breaks out," he said. "Requiem, Neo-GENESIS, and the three Destroys stationed at Daedalus. Even if we successfully take out the first two, even one Destroy would be a recipe for disaster, capable of sowing destruction across an entire countryside in mere hours or obliterating entire colonies. Even discounting that, they bring an enormous level of firepower to the forces stationed at Daedalus."

"Requiem has an extremely limited firing arc without its relays," added Makoto. "Neo-GENESIS is a greater concern. To take it out, we'll need to destroy Messiah's shield ring, which projects an improved variation of the lightwave barrier around the base, rendering it impervious to anything short of a nuclear assault. After ZAFT's failed assault, Daedalus itself was upgraded with positron reflectors, so assaulting Requiem will be as difficult as assaulting Neo-GENESIS."

"What about those cannons on the _Eternal_?" questioned Rear Admiral Asketa Marisa, the leader of the Equatorial Union forces present. "Our Intel on what happened at Operation Fury is vague, but…"

"The Nephilim are siege weapons, but they won't break these barriers," said Kira. "It would be better to reserve them for after we've taken down some of the defenses, a task more easily accomplished with mobile suits than it would be with the clumsy weapons on our warships."

"Once the battle begins, Ascendant Justice will serve as a command and supply station," said Makoto. "Admiral Mustang will help to coordinate our forces. I'm not gonna be placing any of us into a strict chain of command; that would likely be extremely restrictive on our forces and our ability to react quickly, which we'll need in the coming battle. If there is difficulty in that matter, please defer to Admiral Mustang or Admiral Yamato." Makoto turned to the brunet as he quirked a curious eyebrow at her. "Unless there are any objections, I believe Kira here should take overall command on the frontlines."

Murmurs arose from the crowd, but they'd already planned on deferring command. Kira looked at the redhead like she was crazy, but recognizing the smirk she gave him, just sighed and gave in.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow," said Makoto. In unison, all present echoed her cry.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

An hour later

It wouldn't be long now.

This would be the final battle, and everyone, even Djibril, knew it. Pilots nervously attended to their machines, the EX-Cs hounded mechanics to make sure their Destroys were in top shape, Djibril was raging over the uselessness of Requiem and demanding Copeland send reinforcements from Arzachel armed with nukes, and Leon leaned back in the cockpit of the Valiant.

For him, the stakes were much more personal. He honestly didn't know what would happen; what chance was there for victory with all the nations of the world bearing down on Daedalus? Had it been ZAFT alone, there may have been a chance, but the forces gathered around Izanami were beyond all comprehension for a single cohesive unit.

But Leon had to try; he refused to give up, when Hanako's freedom was on the line.

He hadn't heard anything from Horizon since arriving at Daedalus; he would've been worried, but he trusted Raphael enough to know him as a man of honor who would not go back on his word. Fortunately, he was highly placed in Horizon, so even if others didn't like Leon very much, he was confident that there was still a chance, however slim it may be.

He also knew that being frantic wouldn't help him now. Which is why, as everyone else ran around like a hoard of chickens without heads, Leon had simply made sure the Valiant was ready, donned his pilot suit, and sat down in the cockpit to rest as he waited.

This would be it… one way or another, this would be the end of Leon's work for Horizon. And with just a little luck, he and Hanako would be free.

For a moment, he wistfully contemplated what he'd do when they were free… and absently decided that maybe Raphael's suggestion of going to the DSSD would be worthwhile.

Strange for him that it was today, of all days, that the beginning of the end would come. Today was his nineteenth birthday; talk about a horrible day to die.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

All seven of the _Minerva_'s pilots were in the lounge as the ship, part of a massive fleet surrounding Messiah, along with the _Gondwana_, approached Daedalus. They all knew what was at stake, and that they were charging headfirst into the largest space battle in human history, a fight that would see the use of anywhere from five to six thousand mobile weapons and some thousand warships.

The battle in the sky over Daedalus would be the one to determine the fate of all humanity, and each of them had their own thoughts on the matter.

For Tristan, he didn't have much left to him; there was his family, but ultimately, Tristan was a victim of war, and the only one who may not have seen it was Shinn: Tristan was practically dead on the inside already, the trauma of war overtaking him. In that respect, he and Shinn had more in common than either of them would ever admit, as both faced that trauma primarily by protecting their friends and seeking to bring the Destiny Plan to fruition.

For Rey, this felt like one enormous disaster. Everything had started to fall apart, and he couldn't even be certain where things had started to go wrong, but he'd put his money on Operation Angel Down when that bastard Yamato defeated Shinn, in defiance of everything they'd know about him. But as bad as the situation was, their cause was righteous, even if the masses were too blind to see it, and Rey firmly believed that righteousness would carry them through.

For Heine, this was all a simple extension of his duties; he had his doubts about surviving this battle, and knew he was lucky to be alive after the last one. That luck wouldn't hold out a second time, though, and he would have to rely on his skill to survive, which he preferred. It didn't change the fact, though, that he would be fighting an open battle now, rather than the isolated combat of most of the war. Like Heaven's Base, but bigger, and with a great deal more chaos to the battlefield. The irony of that chaos, when all three sides sought order, astounded Heine in a way. But he wouldn't back down anymore than the others would.

For Zane, this moment was the culmination of everything he'd worked for over the last few years; deceiving Suiren had been hard, but not impossible, though it obviously couldn't last. He only had one more duty to fulfill as a soldier of ZAFT, and given the… personal mockery of the matter… he would be all too glad to shoot Treize Zabiarov down.

Nabiki, on the other hand, only participated as necessary for her own goal. She had no intention of surviving this battle; the only thing she cared about was the death of the Dauntless Angel by her hands; her vengeance for the death of her brother, her vengeance against the woman who stole her brother from her, her vengeance against the woman responsible for her mind fracturing even further than before; she never realized the irony of it all, as she mimicked all too well both Makoto's first love and her first nemesis, though she wasn't blind to the fact that a part of her, the part she'd created to keep her brother alive in her own mind, was as deeply in love with the redhead as her brother had been.

And for Shinn, his resolve was firm; his need to believe in the Chairman was as strong as ever, the only hope he had left in a world that had left him nothing but despair and false hope. He'd defeat Athrun, and he would find Kira Yamato and stop him from getting in the Chairman's way, even if it was the last thing Shinn would ever do.

Eternal peace… freedom was just a cause for suffering, and Shinn knew that all the happiness in the world couldn't make up for the horrors of war. That was the reason he would fight to the bitter end.

It wouldn't be long now…

Aleksi stood next to her locker, staring down at a bottle she held in her hand, a lidded glass of water floating next to her. For her, this battle was just the beginning, and she knew that she would confront her old commander during it; Suiren had seen straight through all of them, and the blonde shouldn't have been as surprised by that as she was. The elite FAITH commander was a genius and very powerful Newtype, who had taught Aleksi everything she knew about exploiting her abilities.

But Suiren would never forgive her; it was her own fault, in a way, and despite her defiance of orders for Suiren, she'd made her choice. It was really funny, in a way; she liked Shinn a lot, but there was something else… she almost wondered if she outright loved Suiren in some way, but she doubted she'd ever know.

Putting the bottle back in her locker, she instead pulled out a different, unopened one, opening it and popping three capsules, washing them down with the water next to her.

Her fate was sealed.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

The pilots of ZAFT and Logos weren't the only ones with things to reflect on; Athrun, Neo and the Sentinels all had their own concerns.

The Crimson Knight of Justice needed to confront Shinn; he knew Rey and Zane would keep manipulating the Destiny pilot's past and emotions against him, turning him into a pawn for Durandal. Shinn deserved better than that manipulation, and Athrun believed he could get the young prodigy to see reason, if only he could get him away from those two. And even if he couldn't… Athrun knew he was a better pilot than Shinn, with a superior machine as well. He could keep the boy off of Kira's back, if nothing else.

Unlike Athrun, the other pilots had much greater internal conflicts. Liz couldn't stop worrying about Makoto, Louisa, Treize, Flay or her grandfather. Even though Makoto had been getting more distant for months, Liz's feelings didn't just evaporate in the blink of an eye. Almost her entire family, the only people truly close to her, would be present for this battle; and they hadn't all made it through last time. Her brother had come back wrong, as had Yzak and Dearka, and a lot of others had died, though few that had been close to her. In that respect, she'd been incredibly lucky.

But her luck couldn't hold out forever, and she dreaded the day it ran out on the battlefield.

Another pilot was sitting in the mess hall with her friend eating a last meal before the battle; Shiho had been spending a lot of time with Miriallia lately, as the two knew the time was drawing near when Yzak and Dearka's fates would be decided. Whether the two would live or die hinged on the events of this battle, and Shiho desperately wished for that false hope to become real hope.

But at the same time, she knew… she knew that if it came down to it, she would personally strike Yzak down if that's what it took to stop him. He'd rather be dead than the monster he was right now. And the same true for Miriallia…

Working on the Shadow Strike, Tolle's feelings weren't that different from Shiho's. He was determined to capture Dearka and drag the son of a bitch back to Miriallia kicking and screaming, but if it came down to it, he was ready to strike the killing blow and let Mir hate him for that.

Tolle considered Dearka a friend; he had as much a duty to his friend as he did to his ex. And no matter what happened, he was going to fulfill that duty.

Nicol didn't have as much weighing him down as the others did, but he was worried as well. For his friends, for his parents… for a lot of things, really. He was eyeing the hideous visage of his mobile suit, one he'd only piloted in real combat once before; but Nicol knew just how powerful his reputation was, no matter how much he hated it, and he held no illusions as to whether or not it was protecting his family. People feared him as much or more than they feared Kira, and even though there were no doubt people who knew he'd turned against ZAFT once again, they wouldn't touch his family.

And besides… his parents had expressed pride in him and what he'd accomplished, the fearsome reputation he had gained while still not losing his almost naïve kindness. He wouldn't let them down; Blackfire Blitz would more than live up to its precursors, he would make sure of that.

At the rear observation deck, Neo stared out at the moon and the vast fleet surrounding the _Archangel_. He'd been given a second chance, and he hadn't let it go. He was now a soldier of Izanami, doubling as a personal representative for Cagalli, and all so that he could have the power to do what needed to be done, pursuing the righteous course he had failed to in the past.

Or, he suspected, the course he'd never had the option of pursuing before Operation Fury. At times, Neo thought it would be best if he faded into obscurity, if only Mu remained, but that would be the coward's way out… and also, he was selfish enough to want to remain as himself. For his own part, he hoped Mu's memories, which he felt certain were in there somewhere, would resurface steadily overtime; that perhaps, Neo Roanoke and Mu La Flaga could come to be one person.

Of course, no one had ever told him how close he already was to that.

Of all of them, though, Saul may have been worst off; when this battle was over, he was going to have to face what may be the hardest ordeal of his life.

He knew, of course; once it was safe to bring him in on the loop, Saul knew that Durandal was responsible for what happened to his father. Saul cursed his father as well, for being so blindly loyal, for being arrogant enough to try confronting the Chairman directly rather than going to the rest of the Supreme Council.

And because of that foolishness, the evidence that could've prevented all of this had been destroyed, and Ian Kessel was left for dead by the world, lying in a non-descript little hospital on Maius Four, so utterly paralyzed that he needed machinery to breathe for him, and his eyes were the only part of his body that he could move.

Saul swore to himself that he would survive this; Diana would kill him if he got himself killed, his mother was waiting for him, Naomi was waiting for him, and his father was waiting for him. Everyone who knew Ian Kessel was still alive knew the man had pushed himself to do whatever he possibly could to help even in his current state, but it was a torment for him and all involved, one that had to end soon. Once the war was over, he would be taken off life support and allowed to pass on.

As painful as it would be, Saul would be there to say goodbye.

**

* * *

**

The _Dominion_

The pilots were all gathered at the rear observation deck, admiring the lunar landscape as it slid past beneath them. It wouldn't be long now before they were thrown into a battle from which they might not return. No matter how heavily the odds favored them, some people would die, and there was always the possibility that it could be… no, that it inevitably _would be_… someone close to you.

It was why Flay was practically glued to Treize's side; he had all the talent for emotional expression of a brick, but they'd decided to take a chance. He wasn't Chris, and he never would be, and it seemed that her old love would never come back. But she knew Chris would want her to move on, though just who it was made things awkward, especially knowing that it wouldn't have been possible with anyone else.

Flay wondered if that made her weak; but even if the answer was yes, then that was okay. She was only human, and she was entitled to being weak at times.

Treize let Flay lean on him, basking in the strange emotions stirred. It felt… simply glorious, being human, being a person of his own choosing, even if those choices were influenced by circumstance.

He could not understand a great many things; he could not truly empathize with those who had suffered for the Bloody Valentine, for he had not even existed in those days. He did not possess Chris's memories, despite finding some things to be familiar when they shouldn't be.

He'd chosen his own path, and he was set in it; if Chris came back, he would step aside, but not before having some chance to make up for his crimes, if only to ensure that Chris would not suffer for them.

Zane… when the inevitable battle began, Treize knew they would seek each other out, and they would finish things, once and for all.

Louisa had her own last minute reflections; this time, she'd be fighting alongside those she loved from the beginning. There was no man she needed to take vengeance upon, and she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who she was. It was a stark contrast to the past.

She'd been left behind by Makoto… truth be told, she'd seen it coming for some time, and chose to treasure the moments she had with the redhead she still sometimes saw as the love of her life, despite the inevitability of their relationship coming to a screeching halt. Makoto would always be her first love, and she'd never forget that.

But now… now she had someone new she had to protect, far more viciously than she'd ever protected Makoto; their duties as the bodyguards of the Princess of Izanami were at an end, and so the one she had to protect now was Liz, rather than them protecting Makoto together.

Shani and Clotho were looking forward to this, because it was almost over. Both of them still needed to unlock their pasts, and Shani also needed to find his father; though he regretted his maddened attempt on his father's life, Shani really _didn't_ want that son of a bitch loose in the world.

And maybe, just maybe… when they'd sorted out their pasts, the two could truly move on with their lives.

Lunamaria, in contrast, felt reassured; the fact that the Kyusai Team was on their side, along with many other ZAFT forces, made her feel better about her decision to side with Izanami. Still, she knew she there was a certain inevitability in the coming battle: somehow, she _knew_ she would be facing her comrades from the _Minerva_.

She just hoped nothing too terrible happened.

Asagi… was reflecting on the last major space battle she'd fought. Back then, she'd lost Juri and Mayura, her closest friends and long-time teammates.

With the Moonblade, she was there to support, to reinforce and to protect; she wouldn't fail her new teammates. She _would not_ let them die the way she'd let her old friends die. Never again would she allow herself such a failure.

And all the while, the _Dominion_ slid closer to Daedalus.

**

* * *

**

The _Dallas_

Seven minutes to midnight

Aiden Wilson stared down at Arzachel, waiting for Copeland to reply to the hail from the Ninth Fleet flagship.

Arzachel… the base itself disgusted him; unlike Ptolemaeus or Endymion in the past, built purely as supply bases, Arzachel was built for war. It held the entire nuclear stockpile of the Atlantic Federation, and despite the good that had come of the few Eurasian nukes left over after their coup against the corrupt former government, the number of evils committed with those weapons fueled a dislike within him for the weapons of mass destruction. He found the use of nuclear reactors as an energy source infinitely more appealing, for at least then the destruction was generally not mindless!

The base was surrounded on all sides but straight up from the lunar surface; Wilson had borrowed some forces from ZAFT, Eurasia and East Asia, along with the entire Second Orbital Fleet in addition to his own. Wilson was ready to obliterate Arzachel; the base would likely only ever be an unpleasant reminder to the Atlantic Federation of their mistake in trusting Copeland.

"Anything?" he asked Hopper.

"Not on the comm. channels."

Wilson scowled. Stubborn bastard…

"Open broadcast," he ordered.

"Yes sir. Broadcasting now."

"This is Fleet Admiral Wilson to all Atlantic Federation forces stationed at the Arzachel Lunar Base," said Wilson firmly. "I am here representing the authority of President Ward of the Atlantic Federation. Wyatt Copeland, the former President of the Federation, is to be taken into custody. Arzachel, and its nuclear stockpiles, are to be abandoned immediately."

He fell silent after that. It was only a minute later that they saw the response clearly.

"Level One Battlestations! All mobile suits are to launch immediately!" ordered Wilson as Arzachel's forces prepared to attack.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Same time

Countless mobile suits, countless warships and two asteroid fortresses seemed to glare across the airspace over Daedalus, and the lunar base was adding its own tension to the mix even as it was caught between a mighty titan and another much _bigger_ titan.

Most all of the mobile weapons had been launched, including the machines of the _Minerva_. Everyone was waiting with baited breath, as even Djibril did not dare fire the first shot just yet; he'd even had the Destroys held within Daedalus, not to launch until fighting actually broke out.

The _Eternal_, flagship for the allied forces of Eternal Freedom, was screened by four _Archangel_-class assault ships and all of their formidable mobile suits. The Rose and Astarte floated to either side of the light red warship, while the Sincerity floated above it. Hovering about were the distinctive forms of the Infinite Justice, Akatsuki and Redemption. Then, the _Eternal_'s catapult opened, and two voices cried out over the comm. lines for all to hear.

"Kira Yamato, White Angel of Freedom, let's do it!"

"Makoto Taiyonoha, Dauntless Angel of Faith, here I go!"

The two cleared the catapult. The two forces steadily continued towards Daedalus, now mere moments from effective firing range.

"Kira… they're waiting," said Makoto. The brunet sighed, giving a slight nod as he turned to face their forces, Makoto at his side, the Redemption flying over to take the opposite flank.

"I'm not very good at making speeches," said Kira, broadcasting to the fleet. "I've never been a public speaker, and I've never thought of myself as much of a leader; but everyone has asked, and I'm not going to run away from that."

Of course, Kira had already given out orders earlier, intent on taking advantage of their diversity to nullify weaknesses. The loyalty of all involved was given over to the fight for the Never-ending Tomorrow, and they put their trust in each other for that reason.

Ships had grouped up in certain patterns, with _Drake_s moving to escort and screen larger vessels using their storms of CIWS guns; the _Nazca_s, with their large number of such guns, were being used in a similar fashion, while the _Laurasia_s readied to bring their considerable number of guns to bear. Many of the additional forces were gathered around vessels of the IDF, which possessed far greater firepower than their counterparts.

Mobile suits had been organized into three groups: offensive, defensive and support. The offensive units, intended to attack the enemy battleships and heavier mobile armors directly, were primarily Izanami's M4 Yamatos and M3 Guardians, as well as ZAFT's GOUF Igniteds. The defensive group was comprised primarily of ZAKUs and older Earth Forces Daggers, often equipped with long-range firing equipment, allowing them to add their own weapons to the guns of the ships they screened. The support group was made up mostly of M2 Angelus' and Windams, intended to move about quickly and provide aid to both the offense and the defense, as well as dealing with enemy mobile suits, a task to which those machines were well-suited.

Meanwhile, the ships themselves would attempt to stay out of Requiem's firing cone. To evade Neo-GENESIS, Kira had determined what Durandal could not lose; having come up with this setup, he'd gone a step further, and given orders for them to attempt to move into extreme close-quarters, as Durandal could not possibly risk a friendly fire incident with Neo-GENESIS, meaning the closer their forces were to his, the safer they were from the superweapon.

"We're all here for a purpose," said Kira. "Some of us are here because we believe our cause is just; some of us are here to protect our loved ones; and some of us are here to protect the freedom of future generations. But in the end, what matters is that you're here, fighting for our freedom and the safety of countless innocents. This day, right here, and now, we have the chance to make a difference."

"Gilbert Durandal believes passionately in his cause," continued Kira. "And who are we to judge him or those who follow him? To them, their cause is as righteous as our cause is to us; people disagree, argue, and yes, sometimes even fight over these small things, over what they believe. We all have our own individual views, and we are fighting to protect our right to choose what we believe in. Just as those following Durandal have chosen to believe in the cause of the Destiny Plan, or how those following Djibril are taken in by his genocidal beliefs. In the end, that is their choice, and we are not here to deny them that choice."

"Instead!" said Kira loudly. "We are here to protect _our_ choice. We are here because we have chosen to believe that Durandal and Djibril are both wrong. We are here, no matter the terrible price that must be paid, to preserve our freedom to live, to choose, to love, to laugh, to feel sorrow and even to hate. That's just what being human is. We're all individuals, free to choose our own paths, and I for one will fight for that freedom to the bitter end. Now… who's with me?"

The Strike Freedom spun about to face Daedalus and Messiah.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow!" cried Kira.

"_For the Never-ending Tomorrow!_" echoed countless voices.

The surrender request had been sent… and refused fervently. All the clocks in their fleet had been synchronized to Orb time, in the zone east of the International Date Line, the clock that was standard for all operations in space. Kira watched as his clock ticked steadily towards midnight.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Someone was recording everything; someone from Copernicus had been brave enough or stupid enough to move into position to record the entire battle. Or, to be more accurate, several someones, and the live footage was being broadcast colony and worldwide. Billions of sets of eyes were glued to the screen.

Cagalli sat at her desk, calmly watching, waiting, and hoping it would all turn out for the best, the cabinet gathered around her, Kisaka standing to her right and Johanna standing on her left.

Serenity watched with Meer and Shizuka, unable to tear her eyes away from the spectacle waiting to happen.

President Ward sat at her desk, watching the screens and wiping some sweat away, letting the tension of her new position slide off her shoulders a little as everything was put on the line.

Ian Kessel, trapped in his bed, lifted his eyes wearily, looking for the outcome.

Yuri, in the chambers of the Supreme Council, concealed his surprise and watched with the others as the fate of humanity was about to be decided in the unfolding conflict.

In a small apartment on Amaterasu Two, Chiaki Shirai watched with baited breath, her friends Risa and Atsuko sitting on either side of her.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow…"

**

* * *

**

Lunar Orbit

Midnight

"Commence Operation Eternal Freedom!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Just in case anyone thinks the situation with Suiren/Misuumi was resolved too quickly (and same for Sakura), I think you missed the part where they agreed to resolve things later, after the fighting was done.**

**Some people guessed at the importance of Sakura Noriega early on; in retrospect, revealing her knowledge of Suiren's origins was probably a bit blatant, but that ended up coming out on a whim. As far as Sakura herself goes, I've been setting this one up for awhile, foreshadowing her with those flashbacks for Kira and Makoto where she was hidden in the crowd; I knew no one would catch on, but it was fun anyways.**

**Where did Eve go? On Ascendant Justice right now, so don't ask. Law of Conservation of Detail.**

**Only three more chapters of that "Never-ending Tomorrow" stuff, as I'm sure you're all probably getting a tad tired of it; truthfully, it's gotten used a lot more than I intended.**

**I endeavoured to answer as much within the chapter as I could, so I hope everyone got everything that was going on; as for the Dauntless, it's in bad shape again, and it was a Chekov's Gun I set up all the way back in the epilogue of _SEED Dauntless_. Remember when they talked about gathering the remains? And yes, that was the machine she used back in Phase 13.**

**I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter! If you haven't voted on the favorite OMS poll, I recommend doing so now; it's not gonna stick around much longer, and it's still a close contest.**

**Please leave a review! I'll see you all soon with part 1 of the final battle.**

**Sayōnara, min'na desu!  
**


	48. Phase 48: Operation Eternal Freedom

**Writing this chapter kind of depressed me, because of the style I had to go with on it.**

**Anyways, I don't want to put any long A/Ns on the top of these chapters, so I'll just explain how I'm going about this: pretty much nobody gets any sort of attention if they're not currently fighting another major character, or something along those general lines. A few exceptions give an idea of what the overall battle is like, and although mentioned several times, Kira, Makoto and Treize only appear briefly at the beginning of the chapter, with focus instead given over to other characters. Still more will recieve focus in the next chapter, which will similarly be a bunch of fights between major characters.**

**I feel I have ruined the final battle already; still, I didn't have good material to go on here, and much of my creativity is eaten up on other things, including the sequel. Hopefully, I can salvage this, and it will prove enjoyable, even if it is ultimately an anticlimax (I hope not).**

**More discussion at the bottom.**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story; and Magus Zanin for acting as a second Beta-Reader and reviewer, as well as checking whether or not I Failed Physics Forever, outside of the acceptable breaks from reality.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.**

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Phase Forty-Eight: Operation Eternal Freedom

January 28th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Orbit over Daedalus Lunar Base

Crisscrossing beams of yellow, blue, red and green filled space, accompanied by the muzzle flash of projectile weapons and the explosions of numerous mobile weapons.

The battle began at midnight, with the allied forces opening up with their bombardment weaponry before their fleets broke down into their assigned task forces and rushed forward to engage the enemies at close-range, a move that had caught both groups of enemies entirely off-guard.

Durandal had promptly responded with a shot from Neo-GENESIS, targeted straight at Ascendant Justice. The allies had already cleared themselves from the blast radius, calculating where it would be fired based on the movements of the ZAFT forces, and the First Gate of Heaven defended itself with its umbrella shield.

The gamma ray laser crashed into the lightwave barrier with titanic fury, but the powerful defensive technology, significantly upgraded by Izanami since the days of the Port of Artemis, managed to hold… barely, and nearly twenty-five percent of the barrier collapsed, leaving the fortress vulnerable to another such shot on that facing, prompting Mustang to order a one-eighty degree rotation and technicians sent to work immediately on repairing the damage.

On Messiah, Durandal grit his teeth in frustration.

Lacking the patience to wait for their gates to open, the EX-Cs immediately busted free of Daedalus, fully intending to lay waste to all in sight as the three sides crashed together in a massive melee.

Near the _Eternal_, three blurs had already cut apart a dozen mobile suits each.

"They've got around two thousand between them, right?" questioned Treize, the Redemption back-to-back with the Freedom.

"_No, it looks like our Intel was off,_" said Kira, firing his rifles at a Windam and ZAKU, skewering both. "_But it's difficult to be certain. The N-jammer levels are through the roof, and there's so much heat out there that my sensors are blind._"

"_There goes the Full Burst,_" commented Makoto, her mobile suit practically an indistinct blur as she decimated enemy formations. "_We're going to have to target visually, with all this heat and interference, it's impossible to use the targeting computers._"

"Let's split up," said Treize. "The _Eternal_'s well-screened, it doesn't need us. Admiral, where do you want us?"

"_Treize, try to find a way through the reflectors,_" said Kira. "_Makoto, breakup the enemy formations so that they can't attack us in groups._"

"_My pleasure,_" said Makoto, spreading the Serenity's wings, casting off a massive curtain of light that practically screamed 'look at me! Shoot me, shoot me!' before zipping off and flashing past several enemy formations in rapid succession. Then Kira and Treize lost track of her as they broke apart.

**

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**

Elsewhere

"Holy shit!" cursed Heine, ducking under fire from a GOUF and attempting to return fire, only to hit a different GOUF. Crap! He didn't even know if that was on his side or the enemy's! "Zane, this brawl is out of control!"

"_I'm aware,_" said Zane calmly, destroying several enemy machines that attempted to attack him. "_Do your duty, old friend._"

Heine understood.

"Yeah… yeah I got it," he said softly. "Hey Aleksi, Tristan, how are you two doing?"

Static was his only reply, and Heine found himself growing concern; had they been shot down already?

"Damn it!" cursed Heine, spinning about, finding two targets he knew were definitely enemies and firing on them. He got the less agile Windam, but the Murasame managed to evade and return fire, only for Heine to finish the job.

**

* * *

**

Arzachel Lunar Base

Copeland was sweating profusely in his office as his forces were steadily beaten back. Someone had gotten in and managed to lockdown the nuclear stockpiles, among other things that kept even him from accessing them, leaving the forces of Arzachel to fend for themselves against the overwhelming forces allied against them.

In particular, the ZAFT mobile suits, especially the GOUFs, were annihilating the Arzachel forces, their normal tactics for dealing with ZAFT nullified by the Windams protecting them.

And everyone present knew that it was an assurance of victory, even against the lunar base.

The elite GOUF pilots could easily take on two Windams apiece with a strong chance of victory; guarded by the Atlantic, Eurasian and East Asian Windams, keeping them from having to deal with more than they could handle at one time, the GOUF pilots were racking up a much larger body count than was normal.

Almost unconsciously, Copeland's hand drifted towards the gun sitting on his desk.

Aboard the _Dallas_, Wilson had taken control of communications directly, coordinating his entire taskforce with efficiency that awed the captains of the various ships. Wilson was not a man who'd gotten where he was on loyalty or deskwork, but from work on the frontlines and elsewhere, clawing his way up the ranks from lowly crewman to one of only three officers in the entire Atlantic Federation (after the split from Copeland) to hold the rank of fleet admiral, and the only one of those that remained on the frontlines.

The man had managed all of this in less than a decade; it was a rise through the ranks only matched by individuals in extraordinary circumstances; namely, those tied to the _Archangel_.

Wilson had no such ties. He hadn't been catapulted through the ranks by some miraculous event. There had been nothing political about his promotions, something even the Angels couldn't claim for themselves. He'd earned each and every promotion he'd ever received—all nineteen of them. He wasn't naturally talented as a military genius; he'd observed, learned, adapted and innovated his skills in that field, and it was showing now as he predicted the movements of enemy ships and mobile suits with ease and effortlessly directed the forces under his command in countering them.

For every ship they lost, Arzachel lost a dozen. For every mobile suit they lost, Arzachel was twenty machines weaker.

The captain of one ZAFT vessel shivered fearfully, wondering what would've happened if this man had been the one to work with the Angels in their formative years.

**

* * *

**

Near Daedalus

Leon skewered an M4 on his Tempest, careful to try and pick out targets he knew to be his opponents.

He knew this battle was hopeless for Logos; but he thought he might've found a way around that problem. If he could just accomplish his earlier mission—the death of Treize or Haruka—then maybe Horizon wouldn't give him any trouble with regards to Hanako.

He'd figured it would be easy; that the two would be like a maelstrom of destruction, but there were several such maelstroms, not the least of which was the Serenity, its speed and melee orientation giving it a decided edge in this chaos; it hadn't taken long for people to realize moving in formation was a death sentence with her around.

Leon hadn't had any luck finding either of his two targets. He'd probably destroyed a half-dozen enemies by now, but he wasn't paying much attention.

At least, not until he felt a flash cross his senses, accompanied by a red light warning to raise his shield into position, deflecting the powerful beam blast. Leon's eyes narrowed as a white M3 in mobile armor form charged at him, readying to fire again. He attempted to evade, but all three shots found their mark, forcing him to defend himself with the beam armor.

"Yeesh, guess I just lucked out with that other machine," said Leon, firing a barrage of Firefly missiles at the M3, only to watch the mobile armor weave through it like a bird. His eyes widened, and he guided the missiles back around, though several wound up striking debris or other mobile suits, and attempted to strike his foe again, only this time, the pilot shifted to mobile suit mode for half a second, flipping about, shifted to mobile armor mode, and gunned down all of the missiles before shifting to mobile suit mode again and firing on him with the rifle.

Leon defended with his shield, eyes narrowing as he saw the rifle was held in the machine's left hand. Deciding not to move to close range just yet, he switched his sword out for his own rifle and opened fire. The M3 skillfully evaded his shots before returning fire, Leon sideslipping the blast, but still getting grazed, eyes narrowing further.

"This guy's good," he murmured, firing one last shot, only to see the M3 block with its shield. "Fine." He switched back to his Tempest beam sword before charging in.

His opponent shot off two more shots, first a standard rifle blast, then a wide-angle blast more befitting a beam cannon. Leon somehow dodged the first, but had to bleed off some of the power from the second with his shield, allowing him to get by with only superficial damage.

Then he was in melee range. He swung his Tempest, and nearly cursed when the rifle smacked up against the flat of the blade and pushed him away, the rifle only minimally harmed by the beams.

Annoyed, Leon swapped his sword out for a Vajra beam saber and charged back in, but his opponent had taken the opportunity to switch over to a saber as well, and the two plasma blades locked.

Leon attempted to angle his Draupnir to fire on the opponent, but somehow, the M3 pilot beat him to it, and a grenade smashed into the Valiant's face, knocking him back and giving the edge to his opponent.

"Okay… he's _really_ good," muttered Leon, swiftly pulling back and firing a barrage of missiles. "This might've been fun… but I don't have time to waste on you."

With that, Leon withdrew from the fight against the M3 as it destroyed his missiles; the pilot would've pursued, but got attacked by a pair of Windams, though they were swiftly dispatched.

Then, a white and blue-black M3 with cross-shaped decals pulled along next to its wingman.

"_Geez, Nanoha, don't run off like that!_" groaned Hayate. "_You know I'm a total klutz at aiming._"

"Yeah… sorry Hayate," said Nanoha, staring off in the general direction the Valiant had gone.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Nicol's skills were going to dull at the rate things were going.

The problem, naturally, was that everyone was terrified of him; even well-disciplined soldiers knew fear, but most well-disciplined soldiers were on Nicol's side. Despite increased militarism within its ranks, ZAFT was still more of a militia than anything, and most of the more in control soldiers of the Earth Forces had abandoned Djibril.

So it was only natural that most of Nicol's opponents would loose whatever competency they had in favor of being sputtering, spineless targets.

Somewhere deep in his mind, Nicol decided he would need to talk to Kira and Makoto about practicing in situations where he wouldn't get his ass handed to him in five seconds flat, or he wouldn't be able to live up to his own damn reputation.

The Shinigami split another Windam in half, only to spin about at incredible speed to bisect another mobile suit. Nicol spotted a GuAIZ R fearfully firing its rifle at him, and dropped his wings into place to deflect the shots before retaliating with his Naraku no Hashi.

A pair of massive beams split space, narrowly missing the Grim Reaper and drawing Nicol's attention to the Zamza-zah that had opened up on him.

In this chaos, it was difficult to get any sort of coordinated efforts going; in that respect, the Kyusai Team was tearing the opposition to pieces, but even they were being forced to hold it at the sidelines; it wouldn't be long before they broke down into smaller groups in order to lend their skills to the heavier fighting.

Still, all of this meant that taking down the heavy mobile armors of Daedalus was much more difficult than could be normally expected.

Nicol charged forward, his Blackfire Blitz uniquely suited to dealing with this opponent; the Zamza-zah opened fire… and then Nicol disappeared.

"Oh… shit…" muttered the Zamza-zah commander.

The Blackfire Blitz rematerialized behind its target, beam scythe already swinging.

"This is good," said Nicol softly. "Maybe we can end this quick…" Nicol trailed off as alarm klaxons suddenly blared, his advanced VI recognizing a threat that would normally have been ignored as Nicol jerked away from his former position, deploying Mirage Colloid again. Tracking the source of the danger, Nicol felt his jaw drop in surprise.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…"

Nicol was highly placed in Terminal Intelligence; he got a lot of information that slipped most others by. The Destiny Project may have slipped through his fingers, but the existence of the Providence ZAKU had not.

But he didn't think they had any combat ready prototypes. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he faced the enemy; fortunately, the Blackfire Blitz had an effectively unlimited operational time on its Mirage Colloid; unfortunately, it couldn't be maintain indefinitely, with periodic breaks necessary in its use. Still, this made it much more viable in combat.

Then, the DRAGOONs all took aim at his position, and the Grim Reaper bit off a curse as he dropped the cloak and instead activated the beam dispersion armor, stopping every shot dead.

"So much for that idea," muttered Nicol. "Fine, we'll just do this the old-fashioned way!"

Gripping the Shinigami in both hands, the Grim Reaper charged forward to meet the Providence ZAKU.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Perhaps it was some kind of twisted fate; maybe they'd both simply gravitated towards this.

It had been forty minutes since the fighting started; the situation was so confusing that no one was really certain where the advantage was. Not even the Angels had managed to close in on Messiah's defense ring, nor had anyone managed to get past the reflectors covering Daedalus.

Somewhere along the line, Luna had gotten separated from her teammates. And now, she floated face-to-face with Tristan's GOUF.

"Tristan…" said Luna softly, beam saber held in Stormblade's left hand, beam rifle in the right and pointed at her old teammate. "Please stand down."

"_Lunamaria…_" Tristan's voice sounded different. "_I can't believe it; why? Why would you betray us like this?_"

She didn't respond at first, turning the query over in her head as both started moving evading shots from Daedalus Windams and taking their harassers down.

"Because… because I couldn't follow the path the Chairman was laying out for us," she answered as she dispatched the last Windam before facing Tristan again, the two flying circles around each other, but neither opening up just yet. Her resolve strengthened slightly. "I made my choice Tristan; I've been looking after Meyrin since we were both little. We have a new home now; I won't give up protecting it. Nor will I abide the Destiny Plan."

"_You once told me you lost your parents to the war,_" said Tristan, finally opening fire, starting their battle as Luna blocked with her beam shield before retaliating with her Exigo beam cannon. "_How can you say that? We can bring an end to all war!_"

"That's not going to bring anyone back!" shouted Luna, firing two more blasts at Tristan in quick succession, only to see him dodge both. She then fired her rifle, but he deflected with his shield before firing another shot at her. The Shugotenshi's eyes narrowed slightly as she blocked with her shield again before snapping all of her weapons into place and firing with pinpoint accuracy, aided by the Stormblade's VI.

Tristan swore, expanding his shield to the fullest and attempting to absorb the assault; the powerful beam cannon blasted the shield right from his hands, and the solid slugs of the railguns smashed into his GOUF's torso, sending him tumbling through space.

"Tristan, just give up!" said Luna. "You can't hope to win!"

"_I swore…_" came Tristan's voice as the GOUF righted itself and seemed to glare at her. "_I swore to myself that I would help put a stop to all of this; I don't care if I was never a Red like you, and I don't care how powerful your machine is. You're not going to stop us!_"

The GOUF charged in, drawing one of its Vajra beam sabers.

"Tristan…"

Fearlessly, Lunamaria charged forward, firing her rifle as they closed in.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Andy blanched slightly as another dozen mobile suits were obliterated in a literal storm of beams fired from the flagship's arsenal of powerful weapons.

"This is like Jachin Due all over again, only we're not sitting in the middle of it," he commented. At the moment, the _Eternal_ was sticking to its flag role, though Faith was taking the occasional potshot at enemy warships using the Ragnarök.

The AI was primarily using the _Eternal_'s advanced sensors to make sense of what was going on and get some coordination in this chaos; so far, no one had managed to get close to any of the Destroys, and they were wreaking havoc all over the place. Several of the Shugotenshi had gotten lost in the mess, as had Kira and Treize. Makoto and Neo were probably the only ones easily tracked, the light of Serenity's wings hard to miss, and the sight of a shiny golden mobile suit equally apparent. He seemed to be having fun taking advantage of that, presenting himself as a bull's-eye and letting the enemy consistently kill themselves against the reflective armor of the Akatsuki.

"I've located the _Minerva_," said Faith suddenly. Andy nodded.

"How are things? Have we reached the point we're to move forward?" he asked.

Faith frowned.

"Not yet," she replied.

"The _Minerva_ poses a significant threat to our navy," said Lacus softly. "Meyrin, please try to contact one of our heavy battleships and give the order to intercept."

"Yes ma'am."

Lacus chewed her lower lip slightly. Suddenly, Faith jerked in surprise.

"The _Kusanagi _has already engaged the _Minerva_!"

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Talia had done a lot of thinking, wondering as to the Destiny Plan and the forces allied against it. In the end, she'd chosen to remain loyal to the current head of the Supreme Council, whoever that may be. Unlike the Atlantic Federation, the PLANTs hadn't turned on Durandal, and he was still in power.

That meant she was sticking to Durandal unless he were to be replaced; in the end, the head of the Supreme Council was the one who they'd placed their trust in, and it was her duty to honor that trust.

Locking horns with an _Izumo_-class battleship within the first hour of combat was not ideal, though.

"Tristans, fire!" ordered Arthur, Chen following the order and lighting up space with the bright green beam. The _Kusanagi_ managed to slip under, returning fire with its Gottfried.

"Evade!" cried Talia instinctively, though the order wasn't really necessary, Malik already swinging the ship hard to starboard with a -23 pitch angle, steering them away from the lunar surface.

"Incoming missiles!"

"Intercept them!"

"Parsifal, fire!"

Explosions blossomed around the _Minerva_ as its CIWS swatted the incoming missiles before the battleship returned fire with a spread of its own missiles. Aboard the _Kusanagi_, Samuel grit his teeth as he barked orders, determined to bring the _Minerva_ down; it was a symbol for ZAFT in much the same way the _Archangel_ had been a symbol for Orb. Bringing it down would deal a significant blow to ZAFT's morale, helping to end the battle that much sooner.

The problem was that the _Kusanagi_ was definitely outmatched here; the _Minerva_ was one of the fastest ships on the battlefield, with superior firepower to the modular battleship as well. The _Archangel_ made up for its loss of speed with superior firepower, the _Yomi_ cruisers balanced the two comparatively well, the _Athena_ battleships were essentially cut down _Minerva_s, and the _Eternal_ was just plain ridiculous.

None of that helped Samuel in his battle against Talia Gladys, though, as the _Minerva_ came about to bring the bulk of its firepower to bear once again, far faster than the _Kusanagi_ could. Both battleships had a small screen of mobile suits, the _Minerva_ guarded by ZAKUs and the _Kusanagi_ defended by a mix of M1s, Windams and ZAKUs of its own.

"Captain Gladys…" muttered Samuel. "I won't let this continue."

At this point, both parties knew the primary goal was to knock out the opponent's propulsion system so that the positron cannons could be successfully brought to bear; the laminated armor and anti-beam curtains wouldn't even slow the anti-matter weapons down in the slightest. This just made the mobile suit screen that much more important.

The _Minerva_ let loose a full barrage as the _Kusanagi_ fired another missile spread accompanied by fire from the Gottfried.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Aleksi relentlessly gunned down one mobile suit after another; her aim was steadily improving as the counterdrug to her medication took effect, and she was acutely aware of the battle environment around her.

She'd programmed the Impulse's computer to monitor her kills, in order to get a better idea of how she was performing, and in the time since the battle began, she'd already racked up over three dozen kills, against a wide variety of enemy machines.

She'd already gotten one recharge from the _Minerva_, and unlike Shinn, she wasn't being reckless with the Impulse's energy, so she was still pretty close to full in that regard.

A tingling in her senses drew her attention; nearly an hour in, and she finally found the first of her targets. She wasn't ready to settle things with her commander yet, but Lucius Raveshaw would serve well as a stepping stone.

She'd have preferred testing herself against someone from the Kyusai Team… but Raveshaw would work just fine to start, the blonde leveling her rifle and opening fire.

Lucius was not a Newtype by any measure of the word; however, he was an experienced pilot of the elite Kessel Team, gifted with the acute danger sense that came with the job, and his reflexes were sharp enough to dodge the attack by the Impulse, spinning about and returning fire without hesitation.

The Impulse blocked the shot easily, and Lucius' eyes narrowed. Unlike some others, he wasn't in the habit of trying to talk his opponents down, and so he didn't hesitate to open fire again. Aleksi dodged aside, firing off another shot, which Lucius blocked with his shield.

_His machine is a lot more agile than mine_, thought Aleksi. _I'll have to move into close combat if I'm gonna even things up._

The Impulse charged forward, greater thrust allowing it to close the distance. Lucius calmly swapped his rifle out for his beam saber as he lashed out with his heat rod, but Aleksi wove through it, slicing the whip in half with her beam saber, before slicing at the Raptor Command with it, Lucius intercepting with his own.

The two struggled, briefly, before pushing off from one another. Aleksi didn't hesitate to plunge forward again, this time stabbing her saber, only to have it blocked by the Raptor's beam shield. Immediately, Lucius brought his saber in an upwards swing, but rather than block it directly, Aleksi punched forward with her shield, slamming it into the Raptor's shoulder, throwing the attack completely wide. She followed up by kicking the Raptor in the torso, pushing off slightly to give her momentum for a spin, this time bringing her own saber in from an odd angle, practically at the Raptor's back, both the shield and saber too far away to possibly block the attack in time.

Aleksi cut straight through the Raptor Command.

"That really wasn't a good test," commented Aleksi, shooting off to find a more difficult opponent, wanting to make sure she was ready before seeking out Suiren.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Nicol's scythe knocked aside his opponent's tomahawk before coming back in for a killing blow, only to be forced away by fire from the DRAGOONs. Fighting Newtypes was a pain in the ass even in simulation; the only ones he'd ever fought personally who possessed the DRAGOON system were Kira and Makoto in simulation, and of course, Rau Le Creuset himself in the original Providence.

Every time had ended in his defeat.

The Grim Reaper did not allow that to deter him. He knew fear, but he also had the courage to overcome that fear. He was outmatched in power and awareness, but would beat that back with skill and forethought.

This time he would defeat the DRAGOON system. This was something Nicol knew to be true, and he knew that he would survive to continue the fight.

Nicol did not doubt himself or his victory; for the sake of all he cared about, he knew he couldn't die here, nor could he allow the Providence ZAKU to escape him.

The DRAGOONs fired another barrage at the Grim Reaper, but Nicol blocked instinctively using his dispersion armor, returning fire with the Naraku no Hashi. The ZAKU dodged his shot, then fired its rifle back at him, only to have the shot dispersed once again.

"You're gonna need heavier weapons than you've got to take Blitz down!" said Nicol, charging forward before activating Mirage Colloid again, then pulling hard to his right, before pulling up and to the left. His opponent didn't seem able to locate him again until Nicol was right in his face.

Unfortunately, the bastard managed to sense him at the moment of the attack, and caught the Shinigami as it descended. Nicol grit his teeth, casting out the Blackfire Blitz's wings, presenting the image of a demonic reaper he was so famous for, before wrapping the wings around the Providence ZAKU, catching his opponent off-guard.

Then, he fired up the Kuroihi, consuming both mobile suits in black fire.

_No one_ was stupid enough to get within fifty meters of that ball of demonic flame. It lasted only a minute before Nicol broke away, the Blackfire Blitz scorched by the constant stream of its own powerful flamethrowers, the Grim Reaper activating Mirage Colloid as he pulled away.

The pilot of the Providence ZAKU was confused; why would he be running? He didn't even do much damage, though it was rather uncomfortable in the cockpit right now.

Knowing he wouldn't have long, Nicol approached two of the DRAGOONs as quickly as he could, spreading his mobile suit's wings, dropping the Mirage Colloid in the process, before using them to catch hold of both DRAGOON units, angling them so that they wouldn't hit him if fired.

"Okay, let's see if this works," said Nicol, moving back towards his opponent as the Providence ZAKU resumed the attack, the two captured DRAGOONs firing wildly and throwing the Grim Reaper's maneuvering off as they fired thrusters, trying to escape.

Nicol grit his teeth, determined to pull this off successfully, continuing to charge forward, evading or dispersing the attacks coming his way.

The large DRAGOON activated its beam spikes—he now had less than three seconds. The Blackfire Blitz cut main thruster and instead used AMBACs to spin its body, using maneuvering thrusters to keep from spinning too far, while the DRAGOONs continued firing thrusters, the spikes beginning to cause severe damage to the parts of the machine they came into contact with.

The Grim Reaper opened his demonic black sheathed wings.

Instantly, the DRAGOONs shot off like they'd been fired out of a cannon, the small one shooting off into space, while the large one continued in the direction Nicol had been headed even as the Grim Reaper immediately altered course.

The Providence ZAKU raised its shield to defend from its weapon sailing towards it, an instinctive maneuver, the beam spikes piercing through the shield quickly. However, the pilot regained control, altering the course of both his machine and the DRAGOON pod.

Then, the Blackfire Blitz materialized right in front of its distracted opponent, and Nicol fired his Kuroihi directly at the cockpit, rapidly raising the temperature within, killing the pilot as it became too much.

Panting, Nicol backed away immediately, heading back towards Ascendant Justice. The use of his dispersion armor against the powerful weapons of his opponent had managed to drop the Deuterion Drive to extremely low power levels, and he needed to get his machine cooled and touched up after using the Kuroihi the way he had; even Mirage Colloid couldn't completely conceal all the heat the black Gundam was giving off. This was, of course, to say nothing of the damage sustained from the beam spikes.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

It was now seventy-six minutes in, and to Talia's immense relief, the standoff with the _Kusanagi_ was broken, the two ships losing each other in the chaos, not too surprising when everything had to be tracked visually. The _Minerva_'s captain did not want to seriously tangle with some of the ships here, not when they were still needed to bring down the enemy flags, most especially the _Archangel_ and _Eternal_.

Fortunately, their mobile suits seemed to be doing well, last they were able to contact any of them; Shinn and Zane had been out of contact for some time but could handle themselves well, while Nabiki was decimating the enemy forces, and Rey was handling himself well. Aleksi had come by for a second recharge earlier, wanting to make sure her power remained near full, and Heine had also recharged.

Truthfully, Talia was more troubled by Tristan. He'd been out of contact for nearly an hour now, and she was beginning to worry about him.

"Fire Tannhauser!" shouted Arthur; Chen followed the order, the positron cannon splitting space and smashing through an Izanami cruiser. Unfortunately, they were not making friends with that weapon, and an _Athena_-class battleship fired a barrage their way, coming about to hit them with its own positron cannon. Talia grit her teeth and ordered Malik to pull back, knowing they wouldn't stand a chance at this distance.

The real problem was that the _Athena_s packed even more firepower than her own vessel, and there were plenty of them present on the battlefield, screened by smaller vessels from Izanami's allies and enough mobile suits to send any sane soldier running in terror.

In this respect, it was probably a good thing for Durandal that most of the people under him were not what others would generally consider 'sane'.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The GOUF had now lost its rifle, one of its beam sabers, and its right Draupnir, while the Stormblade remained unscathed. The battle would've been over, if the Shugotenshi hadn't been trying to talk her opponent down.

"Tristan, please!" said Luna. "I don't want to kill you!"

"_And that's your weakness Luna!_" spat Tristan; he'd been descending deeper and deeper into this strange… 'insanity'… since their battle began. "_You can't do what has to be done! That's why Shinn and Rey were always stronger than you! That's why you abandoned the Chairman! Your weak, Lunamaria Hawke!_"

"You've lost it Tristan!" said Luna, blocking fire from his Draupnir with her beam shield. "If this is about Ayaka, then it's pathetic!"

"_SHUT UP!_"

The GOUF charged in recklessly, flailing at her with its Slayer Whip. Lunamaria easily evaded, staring at Tristan sadly.

"Fine then," she said, switching the hands holding her rifle and saber before charging forward, wings deployed in HiMAT mode. "Tristan! This ends now!"

Her Anser beam saber sliced apart his heat rod, then the GOUF's entire left arm as she flashed by him, blocking his attempt to counterattack using her beam shield.

The Stormblade's back to the GOUF's, Lunamaria finished her attack, firing the wingtip-mounted beam cannons, all eight skewering the off-guard GOUF. The Shugotenshi felt tears in her eyes.

"Rest in peace… Tristan," she said as the GOUF exploded. "I'm so sorry…"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Nabiki was beginning to get thoroughly frustrated with the battle; it was much like Daedalus, with her so locked down with countless enemy machines that she couldn't reach any sort of serious objective; in this case, the Dauntless Angel.

Spotting her target was easy; reaching her target was not. The chaos also seemed to prevent Makoto from realizing the sort of damage Nabiki was wreaking, otherwise the self-righteous bitch would've come after the Avenger by now.

The crazed FAITH agent was beginning to come apart, frustrated at the situation and her inability to reach Makoto. Her only consolation was the firm belief that she alone would had the right to kill Makoto—the belief that, inevitably, they would do battle, and it would end with the death of both.

This made it no less frustrating though.

However, as she fired another barrage at a group of allied mobile suits, a barrier formed around them, blocking the bulk of the shots while a shining gold mobile suit descended into the path of the blast from her bazooka, reflecting it directly back at her. Nabiki calmly shifted out of the path of the beam, eyeing the newcomer and wondering if the pilot could perhaps help her to draw the attention of Makoto.

In the Akatsuki, Neo swore slightly; the Akatsuki had even taken a direct hit from the main cannons of a Destroy without damage when he'd tried to close in on one earlier, but the Avenger's beam bazooka had actually inflicted some damage, though it was admittedly fairly light. He suspected this was because the Destroy's cannon already fired an extremely wide blast, dispersing its power considerably, while the Praemium 2 kept its power focused into a much smaller point.

Fortunately for him, Nabiki did not realize any damage had been inflicted. She remembered the reports about this mobile suit, and separated her bazooka before storing the two components on her machine's legs before drawing her beam sabers and recalling her DRAGOONs.

She knew she would need melee weapons to do any sort of actual damage to the Akatsuki. That was fine with her, as she didn't believe for a second she could keep Makoto at a distance anyways, so this would serve as excellent practice, especially with her enhanced capacity for learning quickly.

Activating Voiture Lumiere, Nabiki charged forward, swinging her sabers as soon as she in range.

Neo grit his teeth, narrowly avoiding one saber and blocking the other with his shield. Pulling back, he brought his DRAGOONs to bear and fired all seven of them at once, but the Avenger evaded several blasts, blocked another with its shield, and took the last two directly. The powerful armor held up, though, and the Avenger was only slightly scorched.

"Oh… damn…"

The Avenger, faster than its opponent, charged back in, forcing Neo to draw his double beam saber in order to defend himself, particularly when Nabiki started employing the hidden hands.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The Speartip Team had found an extremely valid target for their Jet Stream Attack: the Reckoning.

However, Hilda had overestimated herself and her team, and they'd paid the price—Mars was dead, and she and Herbert were fleeing for their lives.

"Damn it!" cursed Hilda, spinning about to fire her beam cannon at the Reckoning. Zane easily evaded the shot before raising his Coma double beam cannon and opening fire, the wide blast consuming several targets, though both DOMs evaded. Hilda grit her teeth, glancing around.

"Herbert, get out of here!" she ordered, drawing her beam saber and charging the Reckoning.

"_No, Hilda!_"

Her beam saber crashed against the Reckoning's beam shield. Zane released his Coma, taking hold of the Scindo beam sword instead, and counterattacked, only for Hilda to block with her own beam shield. Gritting her teeth, Hilda fired the Screaming Nimbus, but the scattered shot failed to do more than scorch her opponent's armor.

"_It's over, fool,_" said Zane coolly. All four of the Reckoning's hidden arms emerged, Lacerta 4 in hand, and stabbed into the surprised DOM pilot from four different angles.

"_HILDA!_"

Blindly, Herbert charged at Zane, firing his giga-launcher repeatedly. Zane calmly blocked the assault with his beam shield and sent all eight of his DRAGOONs crashing through the DOM Trooper, killing Herbert instantly.

"I expected more from the famous Speartip Team," commented Zane before flying away, intent on finding Treize.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

The Haretsu Suru crushed another Windam as a shot from the Daini beam cannon completely consumed a Blaze ZAKU Warrior and a shot from the Hitotsu beam rifle caught a GOUF Ignited in the back. To top this off, the Takusan were unleashing a storm of beam fire on one group of ZAFT pilots brave enough to come into formation, despite the presence of the Serenity on the battlefield tearing apart any enemy formation it could get its weapons at.

Shaking her head slightly, Minako recalled her Takusan; she was at half power now, and didn't want to get much lower than that.

Kira had pulled back a few minutes ago to resupply the ammo on his railcannons and CIWS, and he wasn't the only one resupplying right now, though it wouldn't take long. Thankfully, Minako had not needed such a thing, and Makoto was still well-supplied, due largely to her focus on melee combat.

Minako really had no idea where Treize and Misuumi were at this point; her cousin had been with the rest of her team up until they broke formation and moved into the heavier fighting, even that skilled group unable to keep together in the chaos. After that, she really had no clue.

A Launcher Dagger L fired its Agni at the Astarte, drawing Minako's attention as she shielded herself with the Haretsu Suru, pushing her thrust forward. When the beam 'broke' as the pilot ceased firing, the Astarte was practically on top of him, Minako lifting her mega sword and slicing the Dagger L in half.

She'd lost track of how many kills she'd gotten; all she really knew was that it was somewhere in excess of fifty.

A presence flashed across her sixth sense and Minako rolled away as two beams passed through the space she had just been.

"Leon…"

The Astarte turned to face the Valiant Kai, beam sword held in its left hand. Minako's eyes narrowed slightly as she eyed the modifications.

"I'm surprised," she said, opening a radio channel, certain Leon would be on it—the same one when they'd both been flying under Neo. "Whatever it is you're fighting for, it must be pretty important to you."

"_It's not just important… it means the world to me,_" said Leon. "_I'll go to any lengths to win her back… even if it means becoming the world's enemy. I guess, in that sense… I'm no different than Durandal._"

"I see," said Minako. "Well, it was a mistake seeking me out Leon. You can't win."

"_We'll see… I have to try. You understand._"

"I guess so."

No other words were exchanged as the two charged forward, swords crashing together, the Valiant sent tumbling away by the greater force of Minako's blow, Leon quickly regaining control in time to dodge another swing and fire off a barrage of missiles.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Ami panted, tired after an hour of constant fighting; she'd actually retreated to the _Eternal_ for a little while before relaunching as soon as she was able to do so. The Sincerity may have had effectively limitless operational time, but the same was not true of the pilot, even with the Extended enhancements.

Of course, it didn't help that she was struggling somewhat with the Sincerity's control system, now that she was flying without any sort of aid from Faith.

But she wasn't going to be grounded; not this time! She had a chance to help make up for everything she'd done as Stella Loussier, for even though she had moved on, she still wished to do something to make up for the lives she had taken, and this was her moment to do just that.

She fired another shot with the Murakumo, piercing the cockpit of a GOUF Ignited before swinging her heat rod at a Windam as it spun to face her after shooting down an M3. She continued her relentless offense, firing the Sincerity's machine cannons at a ZAKU, shredding the ZAFT mobile suit in seconds.

A GOUF charged at her, attacking with its Tempest, but she twisted aside, snapping the Murakumo into sword mode and sliced her assailant in half.

Then, her danger sense went off, and Ami pulled herself to the side as a pair of beam blasts tore through space, nearly grazing her machine's side as she turned to face the source.

The Saviour.

"_Stella Loussier, right?_" said Heine, transforming to mobile suit mode. "_The pilot of the Gaia. We still need to settle this._"

"I'm not Stella," replied the blonde firmly. "My name is Ami!" As she spoke, she charged forward, swinging the Murakumo at the Saviour, only to have Heine block her attack with a quickly drawn beam saber.

"_I see… but I know you were the one who piloted the Gaia,_" said Heine. "_Honestly, I'm a bit inclined to even the score, after Dardanelles and Orb. Though if they're any indication, I probably don't stand a chance._"

Ami's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm not gonna fight you again," she said as the two pushed off. The blonde shifted the Murakumo to standby, instead drawing one of the Type 90K swords. "This will be the last time. You're not going to stop me!"

"_Maybe, maybe not,_" said Heine as the two rushed forward and clashed again. "_But it's not gonna stop me from giving everything I've got to do just that!_"

**

* * *

**

The _Dallas_

It was almost over; after more than an hour of fighting, Arzachel's forces had been worn down to practically nothing, the allies infiltrating the base with mobile suits to clear the way for troop transports, despite many being tempted to just blow the entire base up.

That wasn't how they worked; they were not, after all, like Blue Cosmos or other groups ruled by emotions or the desire to slaughter their enemies. They're primary goal was capture, not death.

Before they sent marines in on foot, though, Wilson intended to send one last surrender request.

"To the forces stationed at Arzachel," he said coolly, not bothering to be heavy on the formality this time. "This is your final warning. Stand down. This battle has been pointless, with a great deal of meaningless bloodshed. I do not wish to see anymore unnecessary deaths, but we will not give up until the base has been destroyed or abandoned, and Wyatt Copeland is in our custody… or dead."

He waited a moment, wondering what would happen. To his relief, the bulk of the remaining enemy ships launched white flag flares, and reports started coming in that the forces within the base were surrendering.

"Disarm those surrendering and bring them into custody," ordered Wilson. However, they all knew it would not be over until Copeland was apprehended as well; his surrender was not among those they received.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Orbit

The clash was not going well for Leon, unable to overcome Minako's superior skill and machine. He'd gotten a recharge and resupply just shortly before this fight, but he'd already exhausted his supply of missiles, and ejected the weapon pods, a pair of concealed spare engines slipping into their place, reducing the Valiant's mass and providing a small increase in mobility.

Fortunately, his opponent hadn't unleashed her DRAGOONs on him… yet.

Their swords crashed together again, but this time, Minako shifted her grip slightly, and the Tempest was sent flying. Immediately, the Haretsu Suru pulled back before stabbing forward, Leon barely twisting out of the way.

_Too close! TOO CLOSE!_ his mind screamed at him, poignantly aware that if he'd reacted a millisecond later, he'd be dead.

Immediately, he discarded his worthless shield and drew both beam sabers, slashing them at his opponent, but the Haretsu Suru pulled back and batted both weapons away, Leon firing thrusters to pull back as the mega sword swung back in.

This was the first time he was facing the Astarte pilot one-on-one in a real combat situation. It was not going well for him; he'd never beaten her even when she wasn't taking things seriously.

This time, she wasn't playing around.

Leon fired his Igelstellungs at the Astarte, but the three-inch rounds bounced off the VPS without so much as scratching it. Gritting his teeth, he instead attacked with the Draupnir, but Minako pulled back and counterattacked with her Daini. He narrowly avoided the blast, but then realized the Takusan were starting to swarm him, opening fire from all directions, forcing him to activate the beam armor. Fortunately, it was considerably more efficient after the upgrades. Even still, he knew he was in trouble if he couldn't take any of the DRAGOON blades out.

Minako took advantage of the distraction provided by the DRAGOONs to blast the Valiant with both of her Renpatsujū, catching it at points in the shoulders unprotected by the beam armor, blasting off the outer layer and killing that section of his defense. Leon swore as the Astarte closed the distance again and swung its Haretsu Suru, which he blocked with his crossed beam sabers, even as the DRAGOONs surrounded him and shot forward, preparing to stab straight through the Valiant.

"FUCK!"

There really was no other word for it. Leon pushed off, narrowly avoiding death yet again. Minako had to hand it to him, if there was one thing he was really good at, it was staying alive. Not a bad choice if one had to pick only a single talent to have, which was not to say Leon wasn't a capable pilot otherwise, but his knack for avoiding lethal attacks was quite impressive.

As Minako recalled her Takusan and Leon shutdown the beam armor, the burning husk of a _Nelson_ battleship drifted between them, and the two were attacked by other machines, drawing them away from each other.

By the time the _Nelson_ had drifted completely past, the two were no longer in sight of each other. The battleship crashed into a damaged _Drake_ escort ship, setting off the smaller ships munitions and sending both up in a large fireball.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Though it was difficult to make proper heads or tails of the chaos, Faith was able to determine that the advantage was still firmly with the allied forces of Eternal Freedom, even though some of their better pilots had temporarily withdrawn. Both Makoto and Treize had retreated to rest up temporarily, and after finding Lunamaria again, Flay and Asagi had done the same along with her; the communiqués suggested Luna needed a break to regain her composure as well, after her battle with Tristan Palleon.

Neo, on the other hand, was currently doing battle with the Avenger; Faith had kept this to herself, not wanting to let Makoto rush off into battle with Nabiki. Besides, the Akatsuki was the worst possible opponent for the Avenger.

Kira and Ami, after short breaks during which their ammo was resupplied, had both returned to the battlefield. The Strike Freedom was currently dealing with several of the advanced prototypes their enemies had fielded to try and even things up, much as Nicol had faced down a Providence ZAKU earlier.

On the ship front, they'd been doing fairly well, Kira's formations holding up just as intended, with battle groups cycling in and out as necessary. The _Kusanagi_ had taken a few glancing blows from enemy ships, and a direct hit from one of the _Minerva_'s Tristans, but its laminated armor had held up well, and it was still perfectly combat capable. After awhile, the _Eternal_'s escort screen had been ordered into the fray as well, the four _Archangel_s bringing an entirely new level of firepower to the frontline.

With the current chaos, Messiah had also held back Neo-GENESIS, and repairs to the lightwave barrier were coming along quickly, though it was unlikely they could repair it fully in a combat situation like this one. A few enemies had tried to get at the asteroid fortress, but had fared no better than the allies attempts to get at Daedalus or Messiah.

Faith processed this data and the situation as quickly as she could, examining casualties as best she could, and hid a wince at some of the reports, most especially the loss of the Speartip Team. John would not be happy to hear that one.

Then, another report came in, this one informing her of Arzachel's surrender on the other side of the moon. That was good—it meant that the forces they'd sent over there would soon be able to come around and provide them with reinforcements (Wilson's suggestion, as others had wanted to let them off after the harrowing ordeal taking Arzachel would be). With the battle already in their favor, that would be the lynchpin ensuring victory beyond any doubt. If they were lucky, Djibril and Durandal might even surrender when the Ninth Fleet returned.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Victor had hidden himself on the edge of the battlefield and sniped in at opportune moments; as long as he was within twenty kilometers of his target, he generally was able to get in a good shot even in this chaos. It probably helped that the Raptor Shadow was designed to be able to visually target enemies with extremely high accuracy across extreme ranges.

He wasn't sure where his brother was, but guessed John would either be on the edge of the battlefield like himself, or mixing it up directly with Diana on his wing.

Taking aim, Victor gunned down a Slash ZAKU Phantom about two kilometers away. The time limit on his Mirage Colloid was going to be up soon; he figured that would be it at this point, and prepared to retreat to Ascendant Justice, not wanting to return to the _Yggdrasil_ while it was in the middle of the chaos, leaving the _Apollo_ and _Autumn Rose_ to screen the _Eternal_.

However, before he could begin moving, his pilot's instincts screamed at him to move, and he jerked his machine to the left, just as the Impulse fired a shot at the exact point he'd been a moment before. Victor swore as he attempted to pull away, only for the Impulse to anticipate his location and fire at him again. How the hell could the pilot tell where he was?

Realizing the trouble he was in, Victor deactivated the Mirage Colloid, drawing a beam saber as he prepared to do battle with the Impulse.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Lunar Base

Copeland let out a relieved sigh as all the mobile suits retreated, along with the ships, none of which had launched even a single troop transport. The forces at Arzachel had all fled as well, but he had not been captured, and it was a huge relief for him.

Maybe he could disappear; he did not wish to face prosecution for his actions, and feared death almost as much, despite briefly contemplating suicide in the face of the forces coming for him.

What he didn't realize was why the attackers and defenders had all fled: a dangerous surge had come up out of seemingly nowhere, a warning beacon of what was about to happen.

And then, the group of soldiers, young and old, who'd locked down the nuclear stockpiles, finished their work, setting off the nukes using the codes stolen from the base commander.

As Arzachel was consumed in a nuclear fireball, the Ninth Fleet started gunning for the horizon, hoping to arrive in time to aid in the battle, while the rest of the force attacking Arzachel rounded up the prisoners so that Wilson could hopefully provide reinforcements to their allies on the other side of the moon.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Airspace

After dealing with his assailants, Leon had tried to reacquire the Astarte, but had found himself unable to do so. He was currently flitting about the battlefield, hoping to find his target, and hoping that Minako's death would buy Hanako's freedom.

He was disgusted with himself for the thought, but that was how important it was to him.

As he took cover behind the wreckage of a destroyer to get himself a moment to breathe, the Valiant's comm. suddenly started beeping. Frowning, Leon glanced at it, and his eyes widened in shock as he realized it was the standard frequency Horizon used when contacting him. Immediately, he answered, expecting to see Raphael.

The face that greeted him was partially obscured by shadow, and framed by long, light hair. But it was definitely feminine.

"_Hello Setsuna,_" she greeted, a dangerous smirk evident in her tone.

Leon barely refrained from gritting his teeth.

"Eve," he replied. "This seems like a bad time for this." Eve laughed, a cold, cruel sound.

"_I thought it was the perfect time,_" she replied evenly. "_After all, it turned out the reports on your superior performance last time were just a mild fluke. Your use to us has come to an end._"

Leon's breath caught in his throat.

"What? No… I'm not done yet! Not until you release Hanako!"

Eve laughed again.

"_Oh Setsuna… you foolish little boy,_" she said softly. "_I'm afraid we can't do that. Raphael didn't realize that of course; he's way too soft for his own good._"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"_We never had Hanako in our custody,_" said Eve.

Leon's blood froze.

"Wha-? No, that's not possible!" he said, shaking his head. "I saw her, just the other day!"

"_You saw a clever illusion,_" said Eve, her smirk evident once again. "_Sorry to break it to you hon. You see, the real Hanako's been working for us for quite some time now. Even Prophet didn't realize that his precious new agent was spying on him before he even recruited her._"

"That's a lie!" shouted Leon. "What you're saying…!"

"_I assure you, it's the truth,_" said Eve. "_Hanako hasn't fought us at all on our experiments. Seth, the codename she received, has actually been rather compliant, even agreeing to test one of our new drugs out. Of course, it might've been because she thought she'd need the edge when she killed her mentor, in order to make up for her previous failure, of course._"

"What? What are you saying? Hanako wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"_Setsuna… you really should stop deluding yourself,_" said Eve, voice almost gentle and sympathetic now. "_Adam's on his way to deal with you. I just thought you might like to know the truth. If you can find her, talk to her, maybe she can persuade Adam to let you live. It shouldn't be hard to find her; you've fought her yourself, after all. She's the pilot of the Impulse now._"

Leon's blood turned to ice in horror as Eve laughed cruelly before cutting the transmission.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So… how many people saw _that_ one coming? I've answered your question about who Seth is as well. ^_^**

**Anyways, the chapter varies wildly between canon and non-canon character focus, with the deaths of several supporting characters mixed in. I'm sure no one's complaining about the death of the DOM trio either. Tristan may have been more of a surprise, but the DOMs are the only canon characters to die so far.**

**That's okay; I've still got two chapters to trim numbers in.**

**As for some of the other things, such as how long the battle is taking****—even the Angels are not perfect, and as described repeatedly, everyone's being forced to pick their shots carefully in the chaos of three large sides duking it out; in the days of the Three Ships Alliance, telling who was on what side was easy. Here? Not so much. Anyways, I don't want to waste too much time on this, so****…**

**Everyone, please leave reviews; I'd like to know what you think of this, and it helps encourage me to write, which I need now if I want to accomplish my goal of finishing this story before the month concludes.**

**Also, if anyone is interested in writing a one-shot for the Battle of Arzachel, please contact me. I'd do it myself, but I don't think I could manage that sort of thing, so if anyone thinks they can, let me know, because I really do want that to be written.**

**Hope to see you all soon, and please enjoy this story to its conclusion!  
**


	49. Phase 49: The Neverending Tomorrow

**Unlike the last chapter, this one came out fast and was _very_ easy to write. And I don't think I've had this much fun writing since I did _The Solstice of Angels_, so that's a plus as well.**

**Not gonna waste time up here, other than to note that, unlike last chapter, I feel a lot better about this one. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my betas and I did. ^_^**

**Oh right, one other thing: the poll for favorite OMS is now closed. The winner is Blackfire Blitz at 28 votes; 2nd goes to Serenity at 24; 3rd goes to Sincerity at 21.  
**

**Special Thanks ****to: Akatsuki Leader13 for allowing me to use his characters and develop this setting off of the one he established; Kiiroi Senko, for the use of Leon Vanyel and for serving as Beta-Reader and reviewer of this story; and Magus Zanin for acting as a second Beta-Reader and reviewer.  
**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. This will the final disclaimer of this story.  
**

* * *

Phase Forty-Nine: The Never-ending Tomorrow

January 28th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Daedalus Orbit

Now Neo was beginning to understand the value in having a dozen different contingency plans.

He knew, of course, that Nabiki Ombre's real target was Makoto. He also knew that trying to keep a safe distance from the Dauntless Angel was an exercise in futility. The Avenger was prepared for that, and with six beam sabers, it was a very credible threat to the Akatsuki as well.

His DRAGOONs unable to inflict any real damage to the Avenger's powerful armor, Neo was pretty much stuck on the defensive, double beam saber moving as quickly as he could to deflect the constant stream of attacks.

He'd honestly expected to have the advantage here; however, while he was the more skilled pilot, he was in an inferior machine and the bizarre personality control Nabiki was using more than made up for her lack of skill and spatial awareness.

Nabiki Ombre had prepared herself on every level she could to do battle with Makoto Taiyonoha. The Avenger and its disguised backpack had but one purpose, and the entirety of its design was geared towards fulfilling that purpose.

It was really mostly just a happy coincidence that it made the Avenger a nearly unbeatable terror; in truth, it would give any machine without a strong melee orientation hell, because only the strongest weapons could actually inflict damage to its thick armor at long range, and it could even take beam saber strikes. The only mobile suit weapons able to effectively damage it were the Destiny's anti-ship sword and the powerful composite swords of the Serenity.

Neo _could_ damage it… but it wasn't particularly effective. He let out a soft curse, attempting to pull back and counterattack with his DRAGOONs, attempting to focus them on a single point, but Nabiki perceived the attack, calculating her defense, and brought a beam shield to bear, evading damage despite being knocked back slightly from the released kinetic energy of the colliding beams.

"I'm not done yet!" said Neo, firing the DRAGOONs again. Nabiki evaded the assault this time before deploying her own DRAGOONs, creating a storm of fire that it took all Neo's concentration to keep his own units out of.

"_Call her…_" came the voice of the Avenger pilot, surprising Neo. "_Call the Dauntless Angel! HER LIFE IS MINE!_"

"This woman really is insane," muttered Neo as the Avenger closed to melee range again and struck with all six beam sabers simultaneously, forcing Neo to quickly spin his beam staff to knock the sabers aside before bringing it into another cut at the Avenger's body, cutting a small gouge in the outer layers.

**

* * *

**

The _Eternal_

Lunamaria put her helmet back on after downing an entire bottle of water.

This was real war; now she understood Kira and Athrun better. It was no wonder Athrun acted the way he had about Kira when the Freedom appeared at Dardanelles.

She didn't consider herself particularly close to Tristan; he and Jessie had actually been the pilots with whom she was most distant. That didn't make it any easier, knowing that she had personally pulled the trigger that ended his life. Her hands still trembled somewhat—it was so much harder than fighting other ZAFT soldiers, and while she'd faced greater hardship, never had she dealt with something quite like this.

"Luna, are you sure you want to launch again?" questioned Asagi, concerned for her teammate.

"No one's going to blame you if you want to rest," added Flay. Luna shook her head.

"No… no I'm not giving up," she said firmly. "I'll deal with this… but right now, we still have a battle to win. I'm not sitting on the sidelines!"

Flay and Asagi shared a concerned glance, but relented.

"Alright… let's go," said Flay.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Leon hadn't moved since the transmission was cut. Eve's cruel, evil laughter echoed in his ears, mocking him with everything that had been said. Everything that had been done.

A puppet of Horizon, a guinea pig in their experiments to expand spatial awareness and enhance abilities beyond the norm without the normal consequences. All for Hanako… all for the only family he had left… the only thing left to him in the world…

All for a sister who had long ago joined Horizon… who sided with those bastards who would see the world burn for their greed and ambition… a sister he'd nearly killed with his own hands mere days ago…

It wasn't long before that numbing cold was replaced by something else. Burning, hot, all-consuming… white hot rage filled his veins as his eyes snapped open, a crazed look overtaking his face as he let loose a scream of rage beyond any emotion he had ever felt before, beyond even his endless despair.

"_**ARGH!**_"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Shinn!"

One blade of Athrun's combined beam sabers crashed against the beam of Shinn's anti-ship sword, the Crimson Knight of Justice struggling with all his strength against the Dark Knight of Destiny.

He'd finally found the young man, and Shinn hadn't hesitated even a second before attacking with the Arondight.

"_No matter what you say, you're not changing what I'm fighting for Athrun!_" said Shinn, pushing the Infinite Justice back a bit. "_You've chosen your path and I've chosen mine! I'm not turning my back on it!_"

"The Chairman is just using you Shinn!" shouted Athrun.

"_I could say the same about you and Athha!_" snarled Shinn. "_We're all being used by different people! The only difference is who we've chosen to be used by!_"

"Shinn!"

The Destiny pilot broke the blade lock, activating the Destiny's Wings of Light as he pulled back.

"Shinn, they're not dead!" shouted Athrun. "Stella's alive!"

"_WHAT?_"

The Destiny froze.

"And she's not the only one!" continued Athrun. "Mayu's alive as well! She's in Orb, recovering from what they did to her at Lodonia!"

Shinn couldn't believe what he was hearing; Stella, alive? Mayu, in _Orb_?

"I see…" he said softly, relaxing slightly, a small smile forming on his lips. "Thank you for telling me Athrun. But…"

Shinn drew his beam cannon and opened fire, forcing a stunned Athrun to block with his beam shield.

"That doesn't change this battle!" shouted Shinn. "With the Destiny Plan, there will be no more war, no more pain and no more people being used the way they were!"

Shinn charged forward, swinging his Arondight at the Infinite Justice, Athrun barely blocking with his beam shield before counterattacking with his dual beam saber.

"_Shinn, it won't solve anything!_" cried Athrun, pursuing the Destiny. Shinn's response was to grab both of his beam boomerangs and toss them Athrun's way before shooting off after them. Instinctively, Athrun knocked one away with his saber before kicking the other away with his knee-mounted beam blade. However, Shinn used the brief opening to attack with one of the Palma Fiocina, blowing off a wing of the Fatum-01 and knocking Athrun off-balance.

The Destiny followed up with a swing of the Arondight, which Athrun blocked, only to be knocked down towards the lunar surface.

"Athrun, I've overcome my weakness," said Shinn. "Have you overcome yours? And if you have, are you so sure that you're still better than me?"

Looking back on it later, Shinn would find it amusing how his words at the time were so similar to what Kira Yamato had said to him during Angel Down.

Athrun had believed telling Shinn about Stella and Mayu would snap him out of the delusion he believed Shinn had fallen into. He was wrong, because Shinn wasn't delusional. He was merely someone who had suffered, suffered and suffered some more. For him, anything seemed better than the continued suffering or allowing others to feel that suffering.

His sister and a girl for whom he did not fully understand his own feelings… the knowledge that they were both alive did not drive Shinn to turn against Durandal. It bolstered his feelings for the Destiny Plan, his belief in bringing it to fruition, to create a better world for the only two people who mattered to him more than life itself.

And knowing that Orb was repenting for what had happened to Mayu by saving her from what Lodonia had done… Shinn's hatred began to ebb away.

His resolve strong, Shinn was ready to make a few sacrifices. The part of him that still respected Athrun, that still saw him as a comrade if not a friend, hoped that the Crimson Knight would not be among those sacrifices.

"Stay out of my way Athrun," said Shinn grimly as he retrieved his boomerangs while Athrun regained his bearings and moved to attack Shinn once more. "I don't want to kill you."

"_Don't be so cocky,_" said Athrun.

"I could say the same to you," replied Shinn evenly, holding the Arondight in a two-handed grip, and acknowledging, truly, the name he'd been given by allies and enemies alike. "Alright, let's settle this! One Knight against another!"

With that, the two charged forward, blades clashing. Immediately, Shinn pulled back slightly, firing up the right thrusters, shutting down the left, and sending himself into a spin that allowed him to slam the flat of the Arondight into the Justice's side.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Victor parried a slash by Aleksi with his beam saber, firing his CIWS as he pulled back, but the pilot of the Impulse was relentless in her pursuit, swinging her beam saber again, forcing him to parry once more before counterattacking with his heat rod.

The Impulse spun partially about, just enough to cut through the whip with its beam saber before breaking apart, the Chest and Leg Flyer going around him while the Core Splendor turned to him and opened fire with its CIWS, forcing him to defend with his shield. Aleksi soared past him, and he punched up his own thrusters to get distance between them as the blonde reformed the Force Impulse behind him.

Once had had sufficient distance, and knowing he could not outrun the Force Impulse, Victor spun about, taking aim with his beam sniper cannon, his focus absolute.

He fired. Aleksi sensed the attack, blocking with her shield and getting pushed back by the force of the attack.

The blonde continued to eye the Raptor Shadow coolly, considering how best to attack. She was faster, but like the Raptor Command from earlier, he was more agile. She was also at a serious disadvantage at long range. She had to overwhelm him in close combat.

That was fine—trying to take on Suiren at a distance was just plain stupid, and Aleksi knew that. The Golden Rose of War outmatched her in firepower, skill and Newtype awareness. Worse, Suiren had been her mentor, teaching Aleksi pretty much everything she knew. In all likelihood, killing Suiren would be an exercise in futility.

But she had her orders.

She needed every advantage she could get. The medication had artificially expanded her spatial awareness and enhanced her reflexes over a lengthy period of time. Because it was to be issued to Horizon sleepers, it was necessary that they not draw attention, so it also included chemicals that were found to suppress Newtype awareness. Theoretically, one could simply stop taking the medicine, since the enhancements were supposed to be permanent while the suppressant wasn't, but they weren't a hundred percent on that, hence the counterdrug that nullified those chemicals over the course of several hours.

Aleksi needed to combine that with her ability to learn quickly. Her only chance of defeating Suiren would be in her mentor's own area of expertise—melee combat.

Therefore, practicing close combat suited her just fine.

Snatching up her rifle, Aleksi sniped down a M3 and Windam to either side of the Talos III before she shot forward, switching her rifle for beam saber once again, dodging Victor's sniper shots.

"Damn," muttered Victor, drawing his Anser the second the Impulse moved into close-quarters again.

Sabers clashed together before Aleksi disengaged and lashed out with a kick. Victor twisted out of the way, firing both grapple stingers in his shield, which Aleksi blocked with her own shield. Then, to his surprise, she tossed her beam saber at him, which he blocked with his shield as Aleksi released her own, charging forward, drawing her second beam saber.

Aleksi knocked Victor's beam saber from his hand. He grit his teeth slightly, lashing out with his shield, forcing the Impulse to tumble away and give him the space to draw his second beam saber.

What he did not expect was the follow-up.

Aleksi detached the Force Silhouette and send it crashing into the Talos III's beam sniper cannon, crushing the weapon before she opened fire with her chest-mounted CIWS, causing the Silhouette to detonate and send the Raptor tumbling away. She charged forward and struck with her beam saber, Victor instinctively countering. Both of them lost their beam sabers, and Victor lost his shield as well.

Immediately, both sprung their anti-armor knives, beginning what was probably the first—and last—mobile suit knife fight ever. Victor twisted away from Aleksi's stab, while she allowed him to catch the Impulse's left arm; to her surprise, the Cultellus actually managed to pierce the VPS armor and leave a small gouge in the arm. Fortunately, there wasn't any real damage.

Both pilots flipped the knife in their right hands into a reverse grip, Aleksi attempting to slash the Talos III with the weapon, only for her opponent to block with his own, sparks flying. She grit her teeth as the two remained locked like that for a few seconds, explosions around them from mobile suits and missiles detonating. She fired her chest-mounted CIWS, but Victor broke the lock, tumbling away and lashing out with a kick. He flipped the left knife, gripping it by the blade, and tossed it at Aleksi, impaling the Impulse's right arm at the shoulder, causing the entire arm to lose power as he somehow cut critical connections, on top of piercing the VPS armor again.

"That accuracy is absurd, even for a Newtype," muttered Aleksi. Victor raised his remaining knife in front of him, charging forward again, CIWS blazing. Aleksi grit her teeth and charged forward as well, her own CIWS opening up.

The two evaded one another's fire… and when they entered melee range, Aleksi shifted, and slammed her disable right arm into the Talos III's body.

Then, she struck her off-balance opponent, stabbing her knife straight into the cockpit, the knife piercing Victor easily, embedded into his right torso just below the shoulder.

_Shizuka…_

Aleksi opened fire with her CIWS, shredding the Raptor Shadow and striking its powerplant, causing it to detonate. Face set in a grim expression, she turned and flew back for the _Minerva_, ejecting the Chest and Leg Flyer as she did so. Without thrust from a Silhouette, she'd have greater acceleration with just the fighter.

She did not notice another mobile suit pursuing her in the distance.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Fate, it seemed, had finally seen fit to bring them together for their own dance of death.

Treize eyed the Reckoning as Zane eyed the Redemption, each carefully assessing the opponent.

This time, they stood on equal footing. Neither of them would hold back, and neither of them had been damaged prior to this confrontation.

"I understand you now," said Treize. "But it changes nothing."

"_Of course it doesn't, monster,_" said Zane, voice just as cool. "_Chris was a thousand times better than you, and even he didn't let it change anything. The only question is whether or not you are as soft as he is._"

"I'm not," assured Treize. "I let you go last time at his request. This time, I won't. Only one of us is walking away from this alive."

"_Then let no more words be spoken!_" said Zane. "_Warrior to warrior; let us settle this sword against sword!_"

With that, Zane ignited his Scindo beam sword as Treize ignited his Gladius. The two charged, swords crashing together.

"I'm no warrior," said Treize as he pushed the Reckoning back slightly. "I'm a soldier. That means I'm not always going to fight fair… especially not after what happened last time."

With that, Treize deployed all eight of his DRAGOONs. Zane, not caught off-guard, launched his own, the two tumbling away as each opened fire and half of Treize's charged forward to try and slice the Reckoning to ribbons with their beam blades.

Neither of them hesitated, Zane slicing one DRAGOON with his Scindo while Treize returned the favor on one that charged at him using his Griffon beam blades. Zane proceeded to open fire with his beam pistol, Treize scattering the DRAGOONs while having a pair return the favor on Zane's own pods, which similarly scattered before opening fire on the Redemption, Treize either weaving through the shots or blocking with his beam shield.

"_Come now Treize, are you afraid of facing me on equal footing?_" mocked Zane.

"The man who has nothing to lose fears nothing," said Treize. "And the man who has everything to protect will shatter fear itself in the face of his determination!"

At that instant, the Redemption began to glow faintly, surprising both pilots. Treize's DRAGOONs all suddenly smashed into Zane's, obliterating both groups completely as another presence filled the former EX-Cs mind.

"Long time no see… Zane," said Christopher Dante.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Ami parried a slash by Heine before attacking with one of her own. The Saviour pilot rolled away, firing his cannons, but the Sincerity twisted precisely through the beams, the blonde opening her beam machine cannons and opening fire, forcing Heine to block with his anti-beam shield.

The Sincerity's sword snapped into rifle mode, firing pulses of low-level beam blasts at the Saviour, which shifted to mobile armor mode and shot away before tumbling on its nose and countering with a barrage from its own cannons. Ami wove through the barrage and again opened fire with her rifle. Heine shifted to mobile suit mode, blocking with his shield before returning fire with his rifle.

Ami blocked with her own shield as she charged forward, snapping the rifle back into sword mode and swinging it at Heine, who tossed away his rifle and drew his beam saber instead, the two blades crashing together.

"You're fighting differently," commented Heine through grit teeth.

"Handling Sincerity isn't easy," admitted Ami. "And I don't have an AI backup helping me this time."

"AI? I'd heard the rumors, but that's still a surprise!" said Heine, pushing back, only to have the Sincerity suddenly slam its knee into the Saviour, sending the two tumbling away from each other.

"I don't have it this time," said Ami. "So I'm honestly struggling with Sincerity a little. We should be on just about even footing."

"Sounds like it," said Heine. "Alright then… we both have our own goals. So let's end this quickly and not waste time." The Saviour discarded its shield to draw a second beam saber. "Alright Miss Ami! Show me your determination!"

The Saviour and Sincerity both went charging forward. One of them was dead already.

They clashed, Ami knocking away Heine's right saber with her shield. Heine knocked her sword from her hand, then tried to bring his saber back in for the killing blow.

Ami tumbled below and around him. The Murakumo snapped into place as she struck.

Time seemed to slow for both of them as the VPS sword cut into the Saviour's back and sliced through Heine's body as it cut into and through the cockpit.

"I'm coming, Sheena…" whispered Heine. "Thank you." His final words were for Ami's ears alone. And in her mind, she heard something else.

_Tell Lunamaria I'm proud of her…_

And the Saviour exploded. As Ami tumbled away, she was surprised to feel moisture in her eyes at the passing of a truly noble soul.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Leon tore apart a Windam using the Valiant's bare hands. His eyes held a crazed look of blind fury in them. He didn't care if it wouldn't actually do anything to hurt Horizon at this point; he was determined to ruin that last mission in any way he could. In this case, he intended to obliterate all three Destroys, Requiem and Djibril with his bare hands if that's what it took.

It wasn't rational. Rationality was not something most people in Leon's position would possess. Lacking in rationality would drive people to do crazy things. And, oddly, the crazier something was, the greater the chances of success were.

A Sword Dagger L charged him, swinging its anti-ship sword. Leon barely glanced at it before catching the sword with both of the Valiant's hands and, ignoring the shock of his assailant and the damage the beam was burning into his machine's hands, snapped the anti-ship sword in half.

"Don't get in my way," snarled Leon, flipping the broken piece of the sword he held and stabbing it into the Dagger L's cockpit, the pilot paralyzed by shock, before knocking the machine away.

It would've been easier to get to the Destroys if he hadn't made it so clear he'd turned against Daedalus. He didn't care, either.

Spotting his target wasn't difficult. Two of the Destroys were sticking close together so as to cover one another, but another one was on its own, wreaking havoc.

Leon immediately began flying towards the lone Destroy, intent on bringing it down, evading fire from the enemies around him and occasionally shooting one of them down.

Miguel smirked when he spotted the Valiant charging his way, seeing easily that it was an enemy. He would enjoy putting the mercenary down.

Taking aim, he fired both of his Aufprall Dreizehn. The Valiant dodged, but over a dozen Daedalus mobile suits were consumed in the blast. Miguel grit his teeth, annoyed by the last second evasion, and shifted to mobile suit mode.

He fired his circumference cannons, but Leon evaded and opened fire with his Draupnir, every beam bullet finding its mark, but not doing anything to the Destroy's thick armor. Leon grit his teeth, aware of the critical weakness of the Destroy, and equally aware that his opponent recognized it.

Eyes searching, he found something else, and went charging at a Sword Windam. The pilot spotted him, and shot off his rocket anchor, but Leon kicked it away.

"ARGH!"

The Valiant drew one of its Stiletto and drove it into the Windam's chest. Leon put his machine's feet on the Windam as he snatched up its sword, then pushed off, sending the Windam tumbling away as the Stiletto exploded, taking out the powerplant and quite effectively killing the damn thing.

Spotting another Sword Striker equipped mobile suit, Leon roared as he charged it, dodging fire from the Destroy, and sliced the Dagger in half with the Schwert Gewehr he held in a one-handed grip, using his free hand to snatch up the dead pilot's own anti-ship sword as he passed.

Leon continued to fire his main thrusters near full as he turned about, heading straight at the Destroy.

"Prepare to die you son of a bitch!" roared Leon, dodging the massed fire from the Destroy, including the massive blasts from its Scylla II. Miguel couldn't believe what he was seeing, having never encountered a foe so thoroughly enraged before. The Valiant flashed past the Destroy, Leon slicing its head in half and cutting a deep gouge into the shoulder armor. Flipping over, he stabbed both swords into the back of the Destroy's neck, leaving them there as he continued flying forward, evading the increasingly wild fire of the Destroy.

A Windam pilot flew at him, attacking with his beam saber. Leon ducked under the slash, snapping out a hand to grab the Windam's wrist, twisting it about and snapping the right arm off at the elbow. He then slammed the Valiant's open palm through the Windam's cockpit, loosing another scream of rage as he spun about, flying back at the Destroy, and slammed the Windam into the massive mobile weapon's backpack as it was spinning around. Leon quickly backed away, while Miguel deployed both Sturm Faust and attempted to attack the Valiant from three directions.

Leon glanced from one arm to another, springing his remaining Stiletto and tossing all three of them into the thrusters of one arm.

They exploded; the arm survived, but its thrusters were knocked out, leaving it tumbling through space while Leon dodged fire from the Destroy and remaining Sturm Faust, most of the Daedalus pilots wisely fleeing the confrontation. Leon moved in close to the other Sturm Faust and kicked it in frustration. It didn't do any damage, but damn it, it felt good! He took both of his Vajra and stabbed them into the arm, leaving them there as he pushed off and opened fire with the Draupnir.

The arm exploded. Miguel stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Then, the Valiant rushed to the other Sturm Faust, grabbed it, and began charging the Destroy. Miguel realized that the clearly deranged pilot was going to use the arm as a battering ram. He immediately opened fire, but Leon defended using the still active reflector on the arm. Scowling, Miguel dropped the reflector, and Leon shot away as a trio of idiotic Windam pilots, each equipping a different Striker pack, attempted to assail him. Miguel's attention followed the Valiant, so he reacted too late as the Sturm Faust crashed into his already heavily damaged Destroy, sending him crashing against the positron reflectors over Daedalus, vaporizing most of the backpack before Miguel regained control.

During that time, Leon elbowed the cockpit of one Windam, causing it to collapse in and crush the pilot, stealing the Agni while he was at it. Aiming it at another Windam, he pulled the trigger, consuming the too-slow pilot in the blast. Ripping the hyper impulse cannon from the Windam's limp hands, he charged at the last one, who tossed the Midas Messer at him. Leon deflected with his beam armor, then used the Agni like a club, slamming it into the Windam to knock the pilot off-balance before firing on the cockpit with his Igelstellungs, killing the pilot. He then tore the Schwert Gewehr away from the dead Windam and charged back at the Destroy.

Desperately, blindly, Miguel fired everything he had at the Valiant. Leon evaded and returned fire with his stolen cannon, blasting the Destroy's undamaged shoulder. He locked the Agni onto a weapon rack where his weapon pods had been stored, over one of the extra thrusters, and held the Schwert Gewehr in both hands.

Miguel reacted too slowly this time, and the anti-ship sword stabbed straight through his machine's cockpit.

Leon twisted the sword slightly, just to be utterly certain, then tore it free and flew off, leaving the immobile Destroy to crash into Daedalus's positron reflectors.

Then, a presence flashed across his danger sense, and he spun about to see a mobile suit shadowed by a partial Mirage Colloid behind him.

"_Hello Leon,_" said Adam. "_Not bad… not bad at all. It's a shame your days have come to an end._"

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Gladius and Scindo crashed together, the two pilots staring at each other on their display screens.

"_Chris?_" questioned Zane.

"Yeah… I'm back," said Chris. "I have to say…"

"It's interesting sharing control," finished Treize. Zane's eyes widened in shock. "Chris, that was a reckless thing you did with the DRAGOONs."

"Sorry, but I want to fight fair," said Chris, drawing a sigh from Treize as Zane just continued to stare, barely comprehending what he was seeing.

"If you insist."

"I do," said Chris. "I owe you this much, Zane."

"_Chris? You're sharing control of your own body?_" questioned Zane, incredulous.

"I don't have the strength to do this on my own," admitted Chris. "Zane, I'm already dead. This life is his now."

"Chris…"

"No, Treize," said Chris, cutting his other self off. "I'm here for this and to say goodbye to Flay."

"And what about your son?"

"_SON?_" Zane's eyes widened further.

"I don't know," said Chris. "I don't think I have the strength to do this very often. We're both kind of at fault for that."

"Sorry."

"Whatever." Chris turned his attention from Treize to Zane. "The two of us are part of each other. We'll fight you as one. And this time… if you really want to die… then I guess that's it. I'm sorry."

"_So am I,_" said Zane, the two breaking apart. "_You gave me a second chance Chris. I'm grateful for that. Destiny is what I chose to do with it, for myself. I was uncertain at first; I thought Durandal a fool. I don't know when it started, but at some point, I came to appreciate it. So…_"

"Yeah," said Chris.

"Zane," added Treize.

"Let's end this!" they said together, with one voice as the two old friends charged one another.

**

* * *

**

The _Minerva_

Although the battle had begun on somewhat equal footing due to the multiple factions involved, it was slowly moving decidedly in Izanami's favor, the allied Fleet of Eternal Freedom able to absorb losses better than their enemies, and they were armed with superior technology and innovative tactics to boot.

Talia knew this; she knew her ship was being hunted, and half the mobile suits originally screening them were gone.

They were in serious trouble.

"_**Minerva**__,_" crackled a familiar voice over the comm. Aleksi. "_I need replacement flyers, a recharge and the Destiny Silhouette._"

"Wait, the Destiny Silhouette?" questioned Abi, shocked. They'd received it while at Messiah, but only as a 'just in case' sort of thing. "Aleksi, that's too power-intensive to use here!"

"_The Raider's pursuing me!_" said Aleksi, drawing gasps of shock from the bridge crew. "_I need all I can get. I'm only going to use the silhouette while I'm close to the ship, okay?_"

"Yeah, got it," said Abi, inputting commands on her console. "Launching flyers now, readying Deuterion Beam."

Clotho saw what was about to happen, and pushed more power to thrusters, teeth grit in frustration. He'd seen what Aleksi did to Victor, and could feel rage burning in his veins. The sniper was among those Clotho considered a friend, and Shizuka, like all the Taiyonoha, had helped to look after the former Biological CPUs in the months following Jachin Due.

He knew Aleksi was only doing her duty; that wasn't going to stop him from making her pay for killing Victor.

However, by the time he got close enough for his longest range weapons and opened up, Aleksi had already reformed and equipped a new silhouette he did not recognize. To his surprise, the Impulse blocked with a beam shield as it faced him, eyes flashing.

"_Clotho…_" said Aleksi calmly, drawing one of her anti-ship swords and charging forward.

"There's no one to help you here," said Clotho, matching her charge and opening up with the beam guns on his right composite weapon unit.

"_You're right… too many are busy with your own allies or the forces of Daedalus,_" said Aleksi, dodging fire then swinging the Excalibur as they reached melee range, Clotho blocking with his left beam shield before swinging the Mjolnir Kai at the Impulse, only for Aleksi to catch the Phantom Raider's arm at the wrist. "_However… I'm not the same girl I was last time we met. Sorry to say this… but I'm going to have to kill you now._"

Clotho's eyes narrowed.

"Same to you."

He fired the beam cannon in his machine's mouth, but Aleksi dodged, breaking their lock. He launched the Mjolnir out on its wire at her, but Aleksi dodged, drawing one of her beam cannons and firing on him. Clotho blocked the attack with his beam shield before shifting to mobile armor mode and opening up with all of his guns at once, forcing Aleksi into an elaborate dance through his fire.

His eyes widened slightly as he noticed that she was right—she _was_ moving differently. Her evasion, her blocks, even her attacks were different. As she stored her Excalibur to draw a second beam cannon, Clotho shifted to mobile suit mode, swinging the Mjolnir Kai, allowing its powerful anti-beam coating to absorb the shots sent his way.

Aleksi stored her cannons, drew both anti-ship swords, and charged Clotho's way. To her surprise, the Phantom Raider suddenly disappeared.

"Mirage Colloid?"

Aleksi didn't let panic take her, though. Instead, she closed her eyes, sensing for danger.

Finding a target under Mirage Colloid was not easy, even for the strongest Newtypes. However, if that target was intent on putting an end to you, then it was possible to sense that intent just before the actual attack. If Victor hadn't been low on the Colloid, he would've gotten away from her just fine.

Then, sensing the attack that was about to come, Aleksi spun about, tossing one of her anti-ship swords that way. Shocked, Clotho pulled under the spinning sword, but Aleksi used her now free hand to draw her rifle and opened fire in the Phantom Raider's direction. Clotho blocked the shot coming directly for him with his beam shield, dropping the Mirage Colloid in the process.

"Alright, fine, we'll do it the old-fashioned way," said Clotho, firing his beam guns on full auto, forcing Aleksi into another elaborate dance as she returned fire, forcing him to block repeatedly with his shield.

The blonde moved forward, drawing both Flash Edge 2 and tossing them Clotho's way. He shifted to mobile armor mode and shot away, only to have Aleksi fire at him with her rifle, forcing him to dodge again.

"What the hell is up with her? I knew she was smart, but her reflexes and accuracy were never this good!"

His eyes suddenly widened as the VI warned him that he was being tagged by a laser designator. The _Minerva_ launched a barrage of missiles his way. He grit his teeth, shifting to mobile suit mode and shot them all down, but Aleksi used the distraction to close in with him and slice off the Phantom Raider's right arm.

"Damn!"

"_Sorry Clotho!_" said Aleksi, pulling back slightly and ejecting the Destiny Silhouette, replacing it immediately with a Blast Silhouette. "_But this is the end!_"

She fired a barrage of missiles, then both Kerberos and Deluge, before shifting back to firing missiles, followed up by repeated blasts from the Kerberos and Deluge.

Clotho found himself so busy defending that he couldn't do anything else, not even shift to mobile armor mode to flee. He didn't realize Mirage Colloid would allow him to escape, but it didn't matter as the _Minerva_ and surrounding mobile suits also opened fire. Missiles and shells started connecting with the Phantom Raider, knocking him off-balance and rapidly draining the Raider's power.

"_Die, Clotho Beur,_" whispered Aleksi, a sinister note in her voice that only Clotho would hear as she blasted him with both Kerberos.

_Sorry… looks like I failed you…_

However, as the Kerberos connected, Clotho, in a final act of defiance, launched the Mjolnir Kai at the Impulse. Aleksi wasn't able to evade from her firing position, and the powerful spherical breaker smashed through the Impulse's chest as the Phantom Raider exploded.

But Aleksi simply ejected the Chest Flyer and requested a replacement from the _Minerva_, along with a recharge, and one of each Silhouette.

"_Um, Aleksi…?_"

"Just trust me," assured the blonde. "We need to take out some critical targets if we want to win. I'm gonna need all of the silhouettes if I'm gonna pull this off."

"_Okay…_"

Aleksi was certain she was as ready as she'd ever be to face Suiren. Now, she just needed to find her old mentor.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

Tolle let loose a storm of beam gatling fire, accompanied by fire from his and Shiho's beam cannons, annihilating a group of Windams and Dagger Ls and drawing the attention of the two Destroys they were targeting.

"You ready Shiho?" questioned Tolle.

"_Of course,_" replied the brunette. "_I owe Yzak a world of pain._"

"Yeah… let's go," said Tolle, shooting forward alongside Shiho, the two breaking away from each other as the two EX-Cs retaliated.

"_That style of combat… the one on the right is Yzak!_"

"Got it, I'll take care of Dearka," said Tolle, charging the left Destroy and opening a comm. line on the frequency Neo had told them the EX-Cs would use.

"Alright you bastard!" said Tolle. "You broke her heart not once, but twice! Now I'm going to keep this simple and make things perfectly clear: I'm gonna beat you down and drag your half-dead body back to her so she can finish the job if it's the last thing I do. GOT THAT?"

Rache did not reply. Tolle did not wait for the son of a bitch to reply, and simply snapped into firing position, letting loose with a full barrage of the Eclipse Buster's headcrest-mounted hyper beam cannon, backpack-mounted high-energy beam cannons, leg and shoulder-mounted micro missiles, chest-mounted gatling guns, and hand-carried double beam gatlings.

It all smashed into the Destroy's reflector. Tolle did not care, evading the return fire by shooting down, moving him into position to fire below the reflector.

"_You're just a puny knockoff mobile suit! GO DOWN!_" shouted Rache.

"Gladly! But not until I've dragged you back to Miriallia!" retorted Tolle, firing another barrage of missiles, all sixty of them smashing into the Destroy's body.

"_I don't know who the hell you're talking about!_"

"Which is half the reason I'm doing this!" replied Tolle, swapping his gatlings out for the composite beam rifles stored on his back, the same ones used by the Verde Buster. He dodged fire as he shot forward. The Destroy shifted to mobile suit mode as it became clear it would need the greater freedom of movement. Tolle could've put both bayonets through the cockpit, but his intent was to capture Dearka.

So instead, he shot up slightly, under the reflector, stabbing the bayonets into the Destroy even as Rache attempted to pull away, dragging partially through its thick armor and snapping off a shot from his headcrest cannon, managing to strike the reflector generator from under the reflector, knocking it offline.

"Let's see how you do without _that_!" said Tolle, pulling away slightly. He evaded fire from all the Destroy's cannons, locked onto twenty specific targets simultaneously, then fired a trio of missiles at each one.

Rache had no idea where the missiles were going. His attack had generated a lot of heat at specific points on his machine, especially the backpack, so there wasn't much chance of evasion.

Each missile struck its target as Tolle shredded an attacking Windam with his gatlings, and the Destroy was badly shaken as every last one of its Nefertem 503, the plasma cannons mounted on the circumference of the backpack, were all destroyed at once.

"_WHAT THE HELL!_"

Tolle could admit—he honestly hadn't expected this to go so well. But it seemed even the EX-Cs could only do so much against an enemy at close-range while in the Destroys. He'd chosen the Eclipse Buster for several reasons, including his opponent, but mostly because it had an excessive level of firepower.

And he really, _really_ liked all that firepower. He'd have gone with the Assault Shadow Strike if he hadn't intended to capture Dearka.

Nearby, Shiho was paying back all the pain Yzak had caused her on Silber's Destroy.

Unlike Tolle, who took out the reflector by going under it, Shiho had charged blindly forward, armed with her Galatine anti-ship swords, dodged missile after missile after beam blast, and sliced the Aufprall Dreizehn before stabbing the reflector generators.

Silber roared in annoyance, shifting to mobile suit mode and deploying his Sturm Faust. Shiho grit her teeth, snatching up her beam SMGs and opening fire on one of the arms, only to have it block with its positron reflector. Silber fired a barrage from his circumference cannons, but it was difficult focusing all of them on a single point so close, and they were intended to deal with large groups anyways, so Shiho only had to deal with one, which she blocked with the beam shield of a Laurus 2 as she continued to fire on one of the Sturm Faust, dodging its return fire.

The EX-C, annoyed, fired his Scylla II and Zorn Mk2, but Shiho shot outside the blast radius, while one of the Sturm Faust failed to defend with its reflector quickly enough and was destroyed, which annoyed Silber further as Shiho smirked.

"Yzak's wild fighting and emotional actions, but none of your old rationality," she commented. "You don't stand a chance in hell!"

With that, she shot down again, drawing a Galatine and slicing the remaining Sturm Faust in two. Silber roared in frustration, firing all of his weapons again. Shiho dodged, keeping ahead of the massive Scylla II blasts, and returned fire with her SMGs, the numerous bullets dissipating against the Destroy's powerful armor. Once the attack from Silber came to an end, she soared back in, drawing her Galatine again.

The Destroy dodged left, but Shiho had counted on it dodging to the side, and swung both Galatine at the right section of its backpack (her left), slicing the entire thing off. She immediately spun about, far faster and more agile than her opponent, and cut off the other half of the backpack.

"You can't win Yzak!" shouted Shiho, moving up to attack the head as the Destroy, now looking much more like a mobile suit, attempted to move away, firing its few remaining weapons at her desperately. But they were large, clumsy, and the Sentinel was a small and extremely agile target.

The Destroy's head came off, leaving it with only its chest-mounted Scylla II as she stabbed both Galatine into its shoulders and drew her Anser.

Tolle was doing well for himself also—after another shot from Rache's Scylla II and Zorn Mk2, Tolle mimicked his earlier assault on the circumference cannons with a barrage of missiles from the shoulder launchers, set to thermal tracking and targeted at his opponent's cannons.

For its size, the Destroy was surprisingly fast and agile.

_For its size_.

Rache tried to evade, but was ultimately too slow, and the missiles again found their mark, destroying all of his strongest cannons. Teeth grit, he deployed the Sturm Faust while pulling back and shifting to mobile armor mode, firing missiles at the Eclipse Buster as Tolle evaded fire from the Sturm Faust.

"I'd have expected you to learn from back at L4," said Tolle. "Compared to the DRAGOONs from Jachin and all the simulations, these are still slow, clumsy and useless! Just like that machine you're in!"

Tolle charged at one of the Sturm Faust, slamming his beam shield into its reflector, momentarily breaking a whole in the reflector through which he fired his hyper beam cannon before pulling away, dodging fire from all sides again before combining his rifles and firing on the remaining Sturm Faust. The reflector again blocked it, so Tolle instead stored the rifles and drew his beam gatlings, using them to shoot down the incoming missiles.

Then, the Sturm Faust opened fire, presenting him with an opening as he flipped beneath the barrage. Tolle fired back with all of his cannons, each beam tearing through the arm like tissue paper.

Then, he turned his attention to the Destroy's main body as it opened fire with its Aufprall Dreizehn, now that the Sturm Faust were no longer potential targets. He dodged the massive blasts and gunned down the missiles as he moved closer, before opening up with his gatlings, shredding the cannons.

"Those missiles are all you have left!" said Tolle. "And now you have _none_!"

As he spoke, he fired off a barrage of all his weapons and took out the Destroy's missile launchers. Simultaneously, Shiho's Anser beam sabers sliced the outer surfaces of Silber's Scylla II, disabling them and disarming him as well.

"_Rache…_" said Silber, snarling. "_Self-destruct your machine._"

"_Yeah… no problem,_" replied Rache.

Tolle and Shiho's eyes widened, unable to believe what they heard. And there was only one way to stop it…

"_Sorry I'm late,_" cut in a new voice suddenly.

"_Wha-?_"

The Twilight Crusader's Drache Giftzahn embedded themselves partway into each Destroy, clamping down tight.

"_This may be a little painful,_" said Louisa lightly as the Forbidden Templar and Sacred Guardian covered her. She activated the Twilight's powerful composite virus/electric burst generator, striking Rache and Silber with the pain of being electrocuted as their nervous systems were scrambled and a powerful virus infected the OS of their machines, dumping itself into system after system.

By the time Louisa withdrew the claws, both EX-Cs had fallen unconscious and the viruses had eaten both OSs to oblivion, leaving nothing behind… though not before shutting down the N-jammer cancellers.

"_We'll cover you, get them out of there before they hit the reflectors!_" said Liz.

"Gotcha!" said Tolle, rushing to the cockpit of Rache's Destroy as Shiho rushed to Silber's. "What took you guys so long anyways?"

"_We got tied up with a Destiny Impulse and a few leftover ZAKU prototypes,_" answered Shani, slicing a Windam in half.

"Got it."

Upon reaching the cockpits, both Tolle and Shiho carefully cut them open using bayonets and sabers, not having time to search for the emergency open lever.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

The Redemption and Reckoning clashed, sword against sword as the two pilots struggled for dominance. Zane was steadily pushed back as the Redemption continued to glow from the increased power flow triggered by the BIO-Sensor. They pushed off, then charged in from new angles, this time blocking each other's blows with their beam shields. Each was intentionally refraining from using anything but their primary weapon and shield for this fight. It was likely the last time that Chris and Zane would fight, and both of them wished it to be an honorable battle. Treize conceded that, and as the other, darker half of Chris, fought alongside his better half as a single entity.

Had they been using the full range of their weaponry, the Redemption would be easily beating back the Reckoning. But they weren't, and so Zane stood a chance despite the disadvantage he should have.

Then, the Redemption suddenly kneed the Reckoning, at the same time Zane brought his own leg around in a kick, knocking both mobile suits away from each other. Chris/Treize recovered first, charging at the Reckoning and slashing. Zane managed to parry, but the Redemption struck again, forcing him to block with his shield this time. Another strike, then another and another. Zane was trapped off-balance, and eventually, the Redemption would be victorious.

It was only a matter of time now.

**

* * *

**

Daedalus

Djibril was running through the base, escorted by a few soldiers who knew the halls better than him. He hadn't had any contact with Arzachel since before the battle began, and had no idea what was going on out there.

He needed to get to the _Girty Lue_. When the last Destroys were defeated, proving again the worthlessness of the EX-Cs, Djibril had known that Daedalus was lost. He had to escape; as long as he was alive and free, the war was not lost. His death would mean the defeat of all of them, and Durandal would win, which was simply unacceptable!

Djibril was descending into his own brand of arrogant madness. He failed to understand his own lack of importance, and that the war was already over.

Logos was gone, and Blue Cosmos was dead as well. It was no longer a matter of 'if' the terrorist organization was finally destroyed, but rather of 'when'.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

_Danger!_

Kira's senses screamed at him, but he knew that this was not the real danger. Bringing the Strike Freedom to an abrupt stop, Kira began a dizzying pattern of maneuvers, easily slipping through the storm of beam fire unleashed by the Legend's DRAGOON system.

"_Kira Yamato!_" roared the Legend pilot, firing his beam rifle. Kira blocked with his beam shield.

"Rau Le Creuset," greeted Kira easily. "Or should I say… Rey Za Burrel? Misuumi told me she showed you how to hide yourself."

"_You were meant to die at Shinn's hands,_" said Rey, firing again, but Kira wove through the fire. "_Until Orb, I felt no need to show myself to you._"

Kira snapped off a shot with his rifle, which Rey blocked with his beam shield.

"Even Le Creuset himself wasn't a match for me when he had a superior machine," said Kira. "And he had far more experience than I did. But Shinn is different from me; no matter how good he is, no matter how close the Impulse was to the Strike, he and I are different people. He can't duplicate every feat I've pulled off."

"_How arrogant!_" said Rey, drawing a beam javelin and shooting towards the Freedom as Kira ducked under fire from a DRAGOON. His javelin crashed against Kira's beam shield. "_As to be expected of the Ultimate Coordinator!_"

"It would be false humility to deny what I have done, for good or ill," countered Kira, throwing the Legend off and snapping off two quick shots, taking out a pair of smaller DRAGOONs. Rey grit his teeth as he gathered the DRAGOONs and let loose a storm of fire with them. "And as for you… Misuumi told me everything. Why haven't you listened to her? You're not Le Creuset!"

"_For this battle, I am!_" shouted Rey, firing again. Kira blocked the entire barrage with his beam shield before snapping into full burst and letting loose a counterattack, swatting three more DRAGOONs, including one of the large pods. Rey's eyes widened, unable to believe the ease with which Kira was fighting the Legend at its full strength, and without even using his own DRAGOON system!

"We all have one life to live: our own!" said Kira. "Your life is no different! It's not his!"

Rey grit his teeth.

"_You're wrong! I am a curse on this world! Humanity! The world! Both will be reborn under the Destiny Plan, and abominations such as you and her and I shall vanish from the world for eternity!_"

"If I'm special, it's not because of what I am," said Kira grimly. "But because of who I am! Now… I'm asking you, not as enemies, but as people… what do you want? What do you want, not for Le Creuset, not for Durandal, but for Rey Za Burrel?"

Rey gasped in surprise. Simultaneously, Kira annihilated the remaining DRAGOONs, leaving the Legend effectively defenseless.

"Misuumi told me all about you…" said Kira softly. "Like we said: the world of the Destiny Plan is void of happiness. War is a terrible thing… but it is still a choice. Rey! The Destiny Plan seeks to take away from everyone the freedom to be themselves! Isn't that choice what you want for yourself?"

Rey didn't answer, eyes wide as words he'd never heard before were spoken to him.

"When you find the answer… seek me out then!" said Kira. "But for now… you're not stopping me!" With that, Kira deployed all eight of his DRAGOONs, surrounding the Legend with them and opening fire. Rey did nothing to defend himself as the beams smashed through the Legend's right arm and left leg, shearing off the left arm at the elbow and blowing a hole through the right ankle, obliterating his machine's head and vaporizing the backpack. The explosions sent the Legend tumbling through space and reached the cockpit, blowing open panels and causing Rey's head to slam against the headrest of his seat, knocking him unconscious while a piece of shrapnel hit his helmet visor, breaking a small hole in it and causing a small shard of glass to embed in his forehead.

Kira recalled his DRAGOONs and turned to leave when he was suddenly swarmed by ZAKUs, GOUFs, Dagger Ls and Windams, the Messiah and Daedalus forces setting aside their own fights to try and bring down the White Angel.

"Damn!"

The Strike Freedom began dancing through their fire, but the pilots maintained their tight control. He couldn't even track how many of them there were. He tried snapping into attack position, but his danger senses warned him of an attack from behind. He fired while on the move, but his opponents were also keeping largely on the move, and balancing speed and mobility. Well, if they were smart enough to gang up on him, they'd logically be smart enough to handle evasion properly in such a situation. Kira was dodging so many attacks that he couldn't even compensate.

"_You too Kira?_" came Makoto's voice lightly. He quickly located the Serenity and saw that Makoto was in much the same position.

"How many?" he asked, voice equally light as he blocked with his beam shield and returned fire, this time catching his target right above the cockpit.

"_Oh, you know, a hundred here, a hundred there, I lose track somewhere past the first seventy or so,_" replied Makoto. "_Kira…_"

"Yeah…"

Spreading their wings, the two Angels altered course, quickly bringing them together, almost back-to-back. The eyes of all their assailants widened simultaneously.

"_SHIT!_"

"_Oh crap, oh crap, oh __**CRAP!**_"

"_Mother FUC–_"

That was all they managed to get out.

The Strike Freedom and Dauntless Faith, the Devotion and Serenity, snapped into firing position, covering one another's backs, rifle in each hand, railguns in attack position, all twenty DRAGOONs deployed.

Spinning back-to-back, they opened up repeatedly.

More beams than could be counted lit up space, followed seconds later by a dozen explosions, then a dozen more, and continuing on until the enemy completely broke apart, fleeing the titanic might of the Angels united.

The two recalled their DRAGOONs, and the Serenity grabbed the Freedom's wrist.

"Let's go Kira," she said, giving him a soft smile as she spread her wings and shot off towards the _Eternal_, slamming both of them into their seats as they trailed afterimages.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Nabiki pushed Neo away, tired of dealing with the golden mobile suit. She'd seen the devastation wrought by the Freedom and Serenity; the battle was approaching its conclusion.

"No more," said Nabiki. "I don't care what you do. Just get out of my way!"

Neither had managed to get the opponent's DRAGOONs. Nabiki brought all her weapons to bear, and fired. Half the shots were reflected, but as Neo blocked with his shield he was pushed back, much as when he'd been blasted by a Destroy, and sent tumbling away from his opponent, who turned towards her chosen wingman and shot that way.

As this was happening, Shinn and Athrun continued their clash, and the Crimson Knight was definitely losing, much to his own surprise.

Despite being in the superior machine, despite having the support of the VI, Athrun was being pushed back. Admittedly, some of his wounds were still quite sore and slowing him up, but it was more than that. Shinn was truly beating him back.

The simple truth was that Shinn was a natural pilot; it was not without precedent that he'd been compared to Kira Yamato, after all. He learned quickly, was incredibly talented, and once he learned not to overestimate himself, the comparison to Kira became even more apt. Athrun's injuries negated his greater experience, and so, Shinn's greater ability and talents were negating the Infinite Justice's advanced technology, and giving Shinn the edge.

Their weapons crashed together, and Athrun attempted to lash out with his knee-mounted beam blade, but Shinn pulled back, then charged back in, slamming the Arondight into the Infinite Justice's shield, knocking Athrun away again. The Crimson Knight grit his teeth.

"Shinn, I'm not letting you win here!" cried Athrun, an emerald jewel seed flashing through his mind and shattering.

The Justice charged forward, reacting more quickly to Shinn's speedy attacks, knocking his sword away and nearly slicing the Destiny's arm off, but Shinn's reflexes were too sharp, rolling away and shooting into the distance with the Wings of Light. Realizing Athrun was taking the advantage, Shinn decided a shift in tactics was in order, exchanging his Arondight for his beam cannon and rifle, firing both in rapid succession as Athrun rushed forward.

The Crimson Knight dodged the shots or blocked with his beam shield, then when he was a little closer, drew his beam boomerang and threw it Shinn's way. To his surprise, the Destiny pilot neither evaded, nor blocked with his shield. Instead, the Dark Knight released his rifle, raised his open right palm, and fired his palm-mounted cannon as the boomerang approached, destroying it, then immediately snatched his rifle back up and opened fire on Athrun with it again.

Then, to Athrun's surprise, the Destiny holstered its weapons again and charged forward, drawing its Arondight in the right hand and a Flash Edge 2 in the other. Their weapons crashed together, and Shinn started to push Athrun back.

"Athrun! I'm not gonna kill you!" said Shinn, surprising the Crimson Knight. "But if I am to be defeated here, on this day… then it won't be by you! Don't ask me how, but somehow, I know this is the truth!"

"_Shinn!_"

Shinn put a bit more pressure on Athrun's twin beam saber, angling the Destiny's body so Athrun could not attack with his Griffon beam blades… then lifted the Flash Edge 2 away from Athrun's saber and sliced it through one of the sabers, Athrun reacting a split second too late. Shinn pushed the Justice away, and Athrun opened fire with his beam cannons.

"Athrun, you taught me some things… but Suiren taught me more… and Kira Yamato taught me even more!" said Shinn. "You were… a friend. And that is why I will defeat you here and now!"

Athrun was practically in disbelief as Shinn demonstrated just how much he'd taken his many lessons to heart at long last. The Arondight again collided with Athrun's shield as Shinn pursued his quarry.

"We've chosen our paths," continued Shinn. "And those paths have pitted us as enemies. I'm not going to try and talk you away from yours, because I know what it is to believe in something so strongly that everything else seems like falsehood. You owe me the same respect. And because of our paths, like Kira Yamato at Crete, I have no choice: I must defeat you!"

"_Shinn, this won't work!_" said Athrun as the two charged, a part of him wondering when Shinn had become philosophical.

"That's not for you to decide!" roared Shinn, his focus absolute, his determination absolute, his faith in the Destiny Plan unwavering for the world it would bring his sister and Stella, not recognizing the one flaw that would bring him crumbling to defeat.

But Athrun didn't see it either, and the two struck.

However, while the Justice's left arm was sliced clean off, the Destiny was unharmed, with Athrun's right arm held in the strong grip of the Avenger.

"_Sorry to interrupt,_" said Nabiki as the two Knights gasped in surprise. "_But I can't let the Destiny be damaged here. You should probably retreat, Athrun._"

Then, the Avenger's knee slammed into the Justice's torso, sending the Crimson Knight tumbling through space.

"Nabiki, what's going on?" questioned Shinn.

"_I need you,_" explained Nabiki. "_The Angels are about to assault Messiah. I need you to deal with the White Angel so he doesn't interfere when I face the Dauntless Angel._"

Shinn was quiet for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go."

And with that, the Destiny and Avenger shot away, towards Messiah, while the Akatsuki grabbed hold of the damaged Justice.

"_Hey kid, let's get you back to the ships,_" said Neo.

"Okay," said Athrun after being quiet for a moment, letting the Akatsuki carry him away. He'd failed…

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

"Good, very good!" complimented Adam, grinning down at the Valiant, which had only a stolen Windam shield and beam saber left to defend itself. "It's a shame you weren't more loyal, like Hanako. You could've gone far in Horizon."

"_Shut up,_" snarled Leon. Both knew the Valiant was less than a minute from losing all power. "_I'm going to find her… I'm going to show her Horizon for what it is!_"

"She knows what Horizon is," said Adam. "Leon… I feel sorry for you. I really do."

"_Why?_"

"Because… you're not as alone as you think," said Adam softly. "But you were the one who suffered most. And for that, I am sorry. All I can give you now… is a quick death. Again, I truly am sorry."

"_Adam._"

The Horizon ace paused as he was about to go on the attack again.

"Yes Gabriel?"

"_Prophet is in danger,_" said Gabriel. "_And we've already lost Jester. Retrieve Prophet and Seth and get out of there._"

Adam blinked in surprise.

"Understood. Finding Seth may be hard, but I'll get it done."

"_Good._"

Gabriel cut the transmission, and Adam returned his attention to the Valiant.

"Well Leon, this is it," he said. "Sorry I couldn't give you a more fair final fight. But I need to go."

With that, Adam deployed his DRAGOONs, surrounding the Valiant and opening fire from all sides. Leon attempted to defend, but he was too exhausted, and the Valiant too low on power. Beams crashed into it from all sides, shearing off head, arms and legs. An explosion ravaged the Valiant's cockpit, Leon crying out in pain as several panels exploded, sending shrapnel smashing into his body.

Adam took one last look at the Valiant, snapped off a quick salute of respect, recalled his pods and left, disappearing fully under Mirage Colloid.

Within the Valiant, Leon, his eyes having lost all of their anger, reached out with the last of his strength toward the disappearing Adam and the battle that he could still see through his barely functioning main screen.

As darkness began to eat at his consciousness, a cold, hollow feeling suddenly sprung up in his heart. It was a feeling he recognized all too well, a feeling that he'd lived with for the longest time. It was his despair, coming back full force without anything to suppress it; without anything for him to fight for.

He let out a small, bitter laugh. _I suppose this is how the world wants me to pay for my sins… by robbing me of even the comfort of a simple dream… by having even that dream abandon me at the very end…_

"Hanako…" whispered Leon as darkness claimed him.

_Why…?_

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile

The Impulse was hideous—Aleksi had improvised everything, attaching the Kerberos cannons to the side of her Force Silhouette, and docking the anti-ship swords on the Impulse's legs. It got her the rough functionality of the Destiny Silhouette without the high-level power consumption, which is what she needed right now.

"Shiori, where's the Commander?" demanded Aleksi, pressing her beam saber furiously against the younger pilot's beam sword.

"_Go to hell bitch!_" said Shiori. "_I can't believe you betrayed her like this!_"

"Don't try and judge me!" said Aleksi, pushing the beam sword back. "And don't make me kill you!"

"_I'm not telling you a damn thing!_" said Shiori, struggling to push Aleksi back. She'd gotten separated from her wingman, which is why Aleksi had picked her out as a target to interrogate for Suiren's location. "_I will not betray Lady Misuumi as you have!_"

Aleksi's eyes narrowed, feeling rage rip through her at the way Shiori referred to the Commander. To her, returning to the Taiyonoha was like the Commander betraying the person she'd been, and that stung Aleksi greatly.

"Very well, Shiori," said Aleksi. "Then I'm afraid your life is now forfeit!"

However, before anything else could happen, the two sensed a powerful presence flying towards them, and Aleksi broke away as the Rose opened fire.

"Aleksi," snarled Misuumi, cold fury in her veins at the depth of her old protégé's betrayal. Her aunt's fiancé, Clotho, and now Shiori? On top of everything else… there really was no turning back for Aleksi, not in Misuumi's eyes.

"Commander," said Aleksi softly.

"_Commander, please, let me handle this!_" said Shiori.

"No," said Misuumi. "Aleksi is mine. Get going Shiori. Regroup with Mai."

Shiori hesitated.

"Go!"

Finally, the young GOUF pilot turned away, leaving Misuumi and Aleksi to face each other.

"Aleksi… how deep, how far does your betrayal truly go?" asked Misuumi.

"And what about you Commander?" demanded Aleksi. "I thought you hated them!"

"Reine hated them; Suiren wanted to move past that hatred." Misuumi stared at the Impulse. "Aleksi… why?"

"Why?" Aleksi's bangs covered her eyes. "Because I believe in the future of humanity."

"What?"

"It's because… humanity is stagnating… we need someone, _something_, to pull us towards the Horizon we have stopped seeking!" proclaimed Aleksi, lifting her head to reveal her eyes, which had a strange sort-of-glow to them.

Misuumi gasped, not missing the way Aleksi had said the word 'Horizon'…

"You… you're with Horizon?" Misuumi couldn't believe it. "Aleksi… why… how could you?"

"I told you Commander," said Aleksi softly. "I'm looking for that Horizon too. I'm going to find it. And… and if I have to… to k… k-kill you… then… I will… believe me when I say I'll do it!" There were tears in Aleksi's voice.

Misuumi's features hardened into a cold glare.

"Aleksi… I'm sorry," she said. "This is my fault. It seems I failed you."

"Suiren!"

No more words were exchanged as the two charged forward, Aleksi discarding her shield and storing her Vajra, drawing both of her Excalibur instead, twin anti-ship swords crashing against twin beam swords.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

Asagi and Flay both grit their teeth as they struggled to keep the enemy off of the two redheads in their team, Asagi using her machine itself alongside the Mirage Colloid manipulation while Flay aided her with the Yume while trying to dock the Sunblade's beam pistol with the Stormblade's beam cannon.

"Damn," muttered Asagi, changing tactics and casting a Geschmeidig Panzer sphere around her teammates while charging an enemy ZAKU and slicing it in half with her beam saber.

Luna docked her rifle with the beam cannon at the same time Flay completing her own dock, forming the Stormblade's mega beam launcher. This one had the same power output as the one on the Astarte, but could be fired considerably more often, because it drew power from two Deuterion Drives… of course, that was offset by the disadvantage of requiring Stormblade to dock with one of its companions.

"Alright, we're ready!" called Luna, aiming the weapon at an enemy destroyer that was currently duking it out with one of their own destroyers. Flay refocused herself on controlling the Yume, while Asagi shifted her Mirage Colloids to a new purpose.

"Ready!" she called. "Go ahead! Fire!"

Luna didn't hesitate, firing the Triad's most powerful weapon. It gutted the destroyer almost instantly, but then, the beam began to bend, cutting through several enemy mobile suits before crashing through a Daedalus carrier. It didn't stop there, either; Asagi grit her teeth as she continued to manipulate her Mirage Colloid, keeping it wrapped around the blast to reduce dropoff from 'almost nothing' to 'zero' while creating an array of mirrors, using Mirage Colloid scattered from the other machines that used the powerful tech in order to help her.

The beam crushed dozens of enemy mobile suits, and took out half a dozen warships before the Triad were forced to let it go, Asagi no longer able to maintain the tight control and the Stormblade no longer able to maintain the fire. Immediately, Asagi brought as much of the colloid gas around the Triad as she could, deflecting potential counterattacks.

"Well… that went well."

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere

As they neared the _Eternal_, Makoto slowed down and released Kira.

"All of the Destroys are down," said Makoto. "And the chaos…"

"Yeah," agreed Kira. "It's time. Lacus! Launch the METEORs!"

Meyrin relayed the order, and Lacus's face set in determination.

"You heard them," she said. "Establish quantum link, fire reverse thrusters and push the METEOR thrusters up!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Quantum link established!" said Meyrin a few seconds later.

"Release docking clamps!"

Following orders, Meyrin released the docking clamps on the METEORs. Instantly, the two weapons platforms shot away from the _Eternal_. Utilizing the quantum control link, Kira and Makoto seized control of the METEORs, and moved into position, pushing up their own acceleration to be only slightly slower than the platforms as they approached.

Then, the two docked, missile launchers opening, arm units releasing locks to allow the Strike Freedom and Serenity to manipulate them.

Kira and Makoto brought up their targeting computers, located potential targets, identifying them visually, then locking onto the enemies.

Then, they opened fire, dozens of missiles and eight huge beam blasts soaring through space to obliterate numerous enemy mobile suits.

The METEOR-equipped Freedom and Serenity soared forward, their target obvious to all:

Mobile Space Fortress Messiah.

"Contact our escort," ordered Lacus. "Kira and Makoto have cleared the way. The _Eternal_ is moving forward to attack Messiah!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The _Eternal_'s thrusters fired, pushing the flagship forward at unmatched speed. The _Apollo_, _Autumn Rose_, _Winter Lily_, _Summer Dahlia_ and _Storm Saffron_ lurched forward, intent on providing the best escort they could to the insanely fast and powerful warship.

**

* * *

**

Over Daedalus

The Redemption sliced off the Reckoning's right hand at the wrist, destroying the beam sword along with it.

"It's over," said Chris.

"_Yes,_" replied Zane lightly. "_Somehow, I shouldn't be surprised. Chris, you're sure about this?_"

"Yes."

"_Then you better live up to his memory Treize,_" said Zane. Treize nodded.

"I will… I promise both of you," he replied. However, their sensors detected something emerging from Daedalus.

"The _Girty Lue_," murmured Treize, surprised. Zane's eyes widened, before the Redemption suddenly shot off towards the stealth ship.

"Zane… I'm sure you want to see this too," said Chris. "After all… this bastard was a part of the Bloody Valentine as well!"

Zane couldn't refute his words.

On the bridge of the _Girty Lue_, Djibril's eyes widened as the Redemption suddenly appeared in front of the ship.

"Hello bastard," said Chris. "I need to pay you back for what you did to me."

"Yes," added Treize. "Sir… have a nice day in hell."

The Redemption drew its Militis beam spear from its shield, unfolded it, and tossed it right through the _Girty Lue_'s bridge, slicing the shocked and terrified Djibril's body in half.

"_Now… finish it,_" said Zane, floating up behind the Redemption and presenting himself, arms held to the side. "_I can't escape what I am… I can't even kill myself. So… I need you to end it. Please._"

"Escape? Escape what?" questioned Chris, surprised as they turned to face the Reckoning.

"_Horizon. I am but another puppet in…_"

"_You've said too much, Prophet!_" cut in a voice suddenly. A shadowed form appeared behind the Reckoning, grabbing hold of it. Chris cried out for his friend, but suddenly, DRAGOONs flew in from all around and crashed into the Redemption, exploding as others opened fire from range.

"_ADAM!_"

"_Sorry Prophet, but you're still valuable to Gabriel,_" said Adam. "_We've already lost Jester. We can't afford to lose you and Seth._"

"_What? Heine's dead?_" Zane was shocked by the loss of his friend, but shook it off quickly as he remembered he was being dragged back to his torment. "_ADAM, you BASTARD! Chris! CHRIS!_"

"Wha… what was that?" questioned Treize, pulling off his helmet and clutching at where his head was bleeding. "Chris?" Silence. Treize's eyes widened—this was too soon! "CHRIS!"

Silence answered him.

**

* * *

**

The _Archangel_

"There she is," said Murrue softly. "Talia… it's time to end this."

The _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ were moving directly towards each other, loading missile tubes and charging all weapons. One of these ships was not going to escape this. Each turned a few degrees to port, so that the two ships would pass each other by.

As they began to pass, the order was finally given.

"FIRE!" shouted Murrue and Talia simultaneously.

**

* * *

**

Messiah

The Angels were a true terror, charging forward and ready to launch their assault on the ZAFT fortress.

Within the fortress itself, Durandal's eyes were wide as he watched the two Angels soar his way with their METEORs. Where were Nabiki and Rey? Had they been defeated already? And even when they'd each been swarmed by somewhere in excess of five dozen mobile suits apiece, they'd simply regrouped and annihilated all of them.

What were they? How could they be so strong? It was like he was being assailed by literal gods! Never before had calling them the True Children of Divinity seemed more appropriate, and at the worst time imaginable!

As they reached the defensive shield, both Angels activated their beam swords. They simultaneously cut into the defense ring, then broke apart, Kira going left as Makoto went right, stabbing their swords into the ring and dragging it along.

The ring broke apart and began to fall away as a chain of explosions lit up in the path of the assault. The massive beam field flickered briefly… then vanished.

"Load all missile tubes with anti-fortress warheads," ordered Lacus, surprising the entire bridge crew by giving out orders personally. "Ready assault cannons."

Neo-GENESIS was currently out of their line of fire. That didn't mean they could not inflict tremendous damage to Messiah—even being an asteroid fortress would not protect it from the fury of the White Queen and her Divine Angels.

"All weapons hot ma'am!" announced the fire control officer.

Lacus closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, centering herself.

"Open fire."

The Nephilim flashed; at the same instant, twin explosions erupted on the surface of Messiah, rocking the fortress like a rickety old sailing ship in a typhoon. An instant later, dozens of high-caliber beams struck, several streams of positron impacted in rapid succession, and two-hundred seventy-four anti-ship and anti-fortress missiles collided with the giant space rock, detonating on impact.

Personnel were sent flying as explosions tore through outer sections of Messiah. The control room was in chaos as personnel tried to get back to their feet and Durandal tried to shake off his dizziness.

Then, the Angels shot into Messiah as the _Eternal_'s remaining anti-fortress missiles were loaded and the escort caught up, adding their own fire to the assault on the asteroid.

Within the hangar, Kira and Makoto both let loose with everything they had, another hundred and fifty-four missiles and eight massive battleship-caliber beam cannons.

Explosions began to tear through Messiah's interior. Operators tried desperately to contain the damage, but numerous personnel were felled by the explosions and fires tearing the fortress apart from the inside out.

"_YAMATO!_" "_MICHIRU!_"

Sensing the danger, both pilots ejected the METEORs, using the weapon platforms as shields against the assault of Shinn and Nabiki as the two charged into Messiah.

"This is it Kira Yamato!" cried Shinn, charging at the Freedom, switching his beam cannon for his Arondight. "This will be our final battle!"

"It all ends here, Michiru!" shouted Nabiki, firing on the Serenity with all her weapons.

"Kira, we need to get to Durandal," said Makoto, dodging the massive barrage.

"I know," replied Kira, dodging Shinn's furious swing. "But these two…"

The Angels let loose a perfectly synchronized attack with all their weapons, forcing their opponents back as Kira and Makoto looked at each other in their display screens. Words were not needed for them to know what would happen next.

"Good luck Kira. Give him hell."

"You too Makoto. Protect that promise."

No more was said. The Angels broke away from each other as their assailants attacked again, heading deeper into Messiah in two different directions.

"Shinn, deal with Kira Yamato," said Nabiki. "I'm going to settle things with Makoto Taiyonoha. Good luck."

"Thanks Nabiki," said Shinn, somewhat touched by the genuine concern in her voice. "Good luck to you too."

With that, the Dark Knight of Destiny and Black Knight of Vengeance dove deeper into Messiah, in pursuit of the White Angel of Freedom and the Dauntless Angel of Faith.

* * *

**Author's Notes: This will be the final A/N of the "main story"; there won't be any on the next chapter, but you'll get them with the epilogue.**

**Anyways, I followed the same formula as last chapter, focusing mostly on individual personal battles. I have now brought my "body count" for this one battle to ten: Lucius Raveshaw, Tristan Palleon, the DOM Trio, Victor Cain, Heine Westenfluss, Miguel Kacricon, Clotho Beur and Djibril. Originally, either Yzak or Dearka was gonna die, but then I realized the Twilight Crusader made capture pathetically easy; having them die would've been ridiculous.**

**As for the others… well, killing Victor was something I decided on awhile ago. Clotho was somewhat similar, and when deciding how, I knew it would be Aleksi who put an end to each of them. Miguel****… well, after all the _shit_ he's been through, Leon deserved a true Crowning Moment of Awesome; his may be the greatest in the entire fic. Heine's death at the hands of Ami/Stella, in a manner so markedly similar to canon, was something else I decided on awhile ago. It was incredibly satisfying using his character, but even I'm a bitch at times. And Djibril****… well, was there any other way to go? ^_^**

**For those who didn't catch on, Shinn was always held back by his ego more than anything. He's gotten over that, and compounded with everything mentioned above, it allowed him to beat Athrun. He only escaped effectively undamaged because of Nabiki's intervention, but Shinn definitely won that fight; it was really sad that he didn't have a final showdown with Kira in canon, so I'm gonna do it myself. Another thing was creating alterations to the fight with Rey; Kira reacted with fear and shock to the Le Creuset reveal in canon, but that would be ridiculous here. It was ridiculous there, given how easily he beat Rey down, and I brought it to only a single scene. I further adjusted the way in which he targeted Rey's beliefs and convictions, which just felt silly in canon, but here I have him picking Rey apart. Kira may not have needed words, but he's grown, and unlike the end of the last story, he now knows how to talk an opponent down.**

**Of course, we also have the return of Chris. That one was _really_ fun, and then****… oh, I am a bitch, aren't I? Anyways, there's also Zane and Heine as Prophet and Jester. I honestly have no clue who those two were in Akatsuki Leader13's story, so I picked my own for Prophet here with Zane. Somehow, I suspect plenty of you already saw it coming.**

**Alright, let's wrap this up: as I said, there will be no A/Ns on the Final Phase, so these are my last words to you until the epilogue. So, I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy the next. Please leave a review, because I really want to know what everyone thinks!**

**See you all again when the Final Phase is out.**

**It's been A Long Time Coming****…**


	50. Final Phase: A Long Time Coming…

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity**  
_Final Phase: A Long Time Coming…_  
Early Morning, January 28th, C.E. 74  
Battle of Luna, Concluding Battle of the Second Bloody Valentine War

* * *

The _Archangel_

"Bring us to heading 074, pitch angle 18," ordered Murrue as her vessel continued its dance with the _Minerva_. Without question, the crew followed orders, Arnold steering the majestic assault ship away from their target, allowing the _Minerva_ to bring itself in on their tail.

"What are they doing?" questioned Talia softly, before shaking it off. "Ready Tannhauser! This time, we'll finish Angel Down!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Back aboard the _Archangel_, Murrue glanced over her shoulder at Sai.

"Do you have a firing solution on the _Minerva_'s bow?" she asked.

"Yes, but why?" questioned Sai.

"Ready the Valiants to fire on my command," said Murrue instead of answering his question. "Arnold, prepare to bring the ship about to heading 332, pitch angle -13, on my mark. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," replied Arnold coolly. He could swear he felt beads of sweat on his forehead.

"The _Minerva_ has deployed its positron cannon!" cried Jackie.

"Fire!"

Sai did not hesitate, the linear cannons flashing. Of course, the _Minerva_ crew had seen what was about to happen, and Malik was already turning the ship. Nevertheless, the high-velocity rounds smashed into the ship near the bow, throwing it off-course as Murrue gave confirmation for her next maneuver, the _Archangel_ pulling up and away from Daedalus as it came about and delivered a long-range broadside, forcing the _Minerva_ to dive closer to the Logos base.

"Bring us fully about," ordered Murrue. "Load Korinthos, and prep smoke missiles."

"Uh, yes ma'am."

* * *

The _Eternal_

"Faith, what's the status of our mobile suits?" asked Lacus as the flagship and its escort ships let loose another barrage at Messiah. The rosette was chewing her lower lip slightly, and trying desperately to hide her nervousness.

They had to destroy Messiah… but both Kira and Makoto were in there right now. It was taking the entirety of her iron will to keep from ordering a halt to their attacks, which were coming slower now as they kept the assault almost exclusively to their heavy cannons.

"The Buster and Sentinel are en route to Ascendant Justice under cover from the Twilight, Forbidden and Guardian," said Faith, knowing who to mention and who _not_ to mention. "The Akatsuki is taking the Justice there for repairs; it lost an arm fighting the Destiny."

Lacus nodded, carefully concealing her concern.

"And the others?"

"The Sincerity and Astarte are trying to get through the reflectors protecting Daedalus," said Faith. "Currently, the Triad are en route here. The Blitz has relaunched from Ascendant Justice. The Redemption reports that Djibril is dead, and the Reckoning has withdrawn from the battle; he's currently heading for Ascendant Justice for repairs as well." Faith refrained from mentioning Horizon right now. "The Rose is engaging the Impulse, and I can't locate the Surge."

Lacus nodded again, frowning in worry.

_Kira… Makoto…_

* * *

Elsewhere

Misuumi parried the Excalibur, then slammed the Rose's head into the Impulse's before snapping her Signum into position and firing, sending Aleksi tumbling away, crying out instinctively. The heterochromic blonde's mismatched eyes were cold enough to freeze hell as she stared down at her former subordinate.

The Rose's Orca cannons snapped into position and opened fire. Aleksi recovered enough to roll away, but then Misuumi fired her railguns again, forcing Aleksi to continue her spin before flipping over and firing a barrage of missiles at her former superior.

Misuumi fired her CIWS, shooting down several missiles as her grip on the right Tempest tightened… and then she swung the beam sword through the last few missiles.

"Aleksi… you can't win," said Misuumi. "I'm going to ask this just once: surrender."

"_I am Seth, an Agent of the Horizon,_" replied Aleksi, turning the Impulse to face the Rose. "_And you… you are a Child of Divinity, a symbol of that which we seek to move past._"

"Do you even realize what Horizon really is?" demanded Misuumi, diving down and moving onto the attack. Her Tempest crashed against Aleksi's Excalibur.

"_I know what Horizon is! And just like everything else, there is darkness and a price that must be paid!_" replied Aleksi, pulling away so that the Rose couldn't launch more point-blank attacks with its numerous cannons. "_It's no different from your 'Never-ending Tomorrow'!_"

The Impulse charged back in. Swords clashed before Misuumi changed the angle slightly, sending both Excalibur flying from the Impulse's hands. Quick as lightning though, Aleksi snapped her missile launchers into place and blasted the Rose, sending the Tempest flying away as well, the Rose and Impulse tumbling away from one another, Misuumi snapping into firing position and letting loose a full barrage at the Impulse, Aleksi evaded with her enhanced reflexes.

The counterdrug was taking full effect now; Aleksi's reflexes and awareness made her a dangerous foe even for Misuumi. The older blonde grit her teeth slightly, feeling the pressure Aleksi's presence put on her, and not blind to the sinister nature now hiding just below the surface.

She didn't know when it began, but… Aleksi, once one of the purest people she had ever known, with hands more suited to tending a garden than to taking lives… had become corrupted by war. Her presence suggested a parasite to Misuumi, something that leeched life to feed itself.

She doubted even Aleksi herself realized how far she had fallen.

"Aleksi…" Misuumi sighed softly as she dodged the return fire from the Kerberos. "I'm sorry… I guess I'm the one at fault for this; I should've stopped you before your hands could ever be stained by blood."

"_Commander…_" Aleksi's breathing was heavy through the comm. "_I want this. I was born for this…_"

"No… you were born to be a healer," said Misuumi. "I never told you that. But… maybe you're right in a way. You… are no longer Aleksi. You are Seth Shimizu… and that name never seemed more appropriate. Seth was born for this… but Aleksi was not. And the greatest mercy I can offer…"

A spiraling ruby and emerald jewel seed flashed through the Golden Rose's consciousness and shattered in a nova of light.

"…is death!"

* * *

Meanwhile

As the VI carried him to Ascendant Justice, Treize focused himself inwards, trying to find Chris.

"_Hey…"_ came the voice of his other self finally. Treize would've been relieved if it hadn't been so weak.

"Chris, what…?"

Finally, Treize's faint reflection became clearer, revealing Chris, as badly injured as Treize himself.

"_Heh… sorry about this,"_ said Chris.

"Chris, what's going on?" questioned Treize.

"_Honestly? I think I'm dying,"_ replied Chris. His tone suggested he was talking about the weather, not the end of his own existence.

"What?"

"_I guess Makoto was right… I never got over everything,"_ said Chris. _"I don't have much to do but think in here, you know? So… I think you were those parts of me that never really got over everything that happened. I got off easier than Kira and Makoto because I kept pushing everything to the back of my mind; that trauma is where you came from, and then after the __**Minerva**__… after that, you were taking other parts of me into yourself. And other things started coming along… I guess soon, I'll no longer be something distinct; I'll fade into you completely. You'll probably start getting my memories during that time."_

"Chris… that doesn't sound like you're dying," said Treize. "Sounds like I'll be the one to disappear."

"_Doubtful… like I said, I've done a lot of thinking. Bits of me might show up, but the memories will probably always be distinct from yours. Your feelings for Flay are probably inherited from me. I'd say I'm sorry about taking such a chance away from you, but honestly? I'm not sorry; it's done you good, and you can take care of her. It's helped her too. Just don't forget that you promised her a chance."_

Chris's presence seemed to fade a bit more. Nothing more needed to be said; Chris would live on within Treize, but Treize would soon be alone.

"_I'm an echo now… could you…?"_

"Yes… I will," said Treize as Chris disappeared again. "I promise… I'll tell all of them the things you couldn't stick around to say."

* * *

Messiah

"All that firepower is wasted in here!" shouted Shinn as he caught up with the Freedom and swung his Arondight.

"No more than your anti-ship sword," replied Kira evenly, turning the sword away with his shield, then lashing out with a kick, which Shinn ducked under.

"Right… of course," said Shinn, putting some distance between them so he could draw his beam cannon, opening fire. Kira countered with a shot from his Callidus cannon, the particle blasts collided and effectively cancelling each other out. "Are you going to correct me for speaking incorrectly now?"

"No," said Kira, unable to help the slight chuckle that escaped his lips. "Shinn… you've really improved."

"Thanks… I think." As they spoke, Kira deployed his DRAGOONs and had them swarm the Destiny; they were in one of Messiah's large, hollow chambers, within which some pilots actually trained in the more cramped conditions. Shinn tried to strike the DRAGOON wings, but Kira's handling of them was too precise. "You really _are_ the best; this control is insane!" However, Shinn then finally managed to get one of the DRAGOONs, prompting Kira to recall them and draw his beam sabers instead.

"Yes, well…" Kira sighed. "Alright Shinn. You're right: this will be our final battle! And I think I have one last lesson for you!"

"That assumes you win this fight!" retorted Shinn, firing his rifle as he closed back in with Kira. The Strike Freedom cut the shots with its beam sabers, and Shinn stored the rifle, drawing his Flash Edge 2 instead as he reached melee range with the Freedom.

Kira parried Shinn's beam sabers with his own, but then the Destiny slammed into the Freedom, sending the two mobile suits through one of the chamber entrances and back into the even more cramped corridors of the fortress.

* * *

Meanwhile

"That speed won't save you here!" roared Nabiki, firing a blast down the corridors of Messiah, forcing Makoto to duck into a side corridor barely large enough for the Serenity. Nabiki wouldn't be able to fit in, but Makoto wouldn't be able to maneuver either, so she activated her smaller dagger DRAGOONs and sent them back down the corridor. Nabiki growled, bringing her beam cannons to bear and shooting at the small attack drones, but the Dauntless Angel moved them out of the line of fire, then deployed their beam blades and used them to slice up the Praemium 2; even Nabiki's reflexes couldn't overcome the difficulty of moving that bulky weapon in the face of such speedy attackers.

Nabiki growled, deploying her own DRAGOONs and sending them down the main corridor as Makoto emerged from cover. The DRAGOON pods opened up with all sixty-four beam guns, forcing Makoto to block with both beam shields.

"Ahh!" cried Makoto as the blast sent her flying down the corridor. However, she didn't release control of her DRAGOONs, instead making them fire on the Terminus Kai. Nabiki raised one of the Avenger's arms into the path of several beams while shifting the Avenger down slightly, letting her armor absorb the beams. As Makoto shot back down the corridor towards Nabiki, shields raised to defend against the DRAGOONs as she deployed her sword units, the Dauntless Angel instead sent the daggers to crash directly into the Terminus.

Realizing what her opponent was about to do, Nabiki pulled both the Avenger's arms in, crossing them over the chest before activating her beam shields, blocking the charge of the eight daggers. Meanwhile, Makoto gunned down four of Nabiki's DRAGOONs, then flipped her daggers over and had them come back to help mop up the weapon pods. Nabiki growled in annoyance again, snapping her Occultus Armo into position and opening fire with them and the Terminus Kai as she drew her beam sabers.

DRAGOONs crashed together, sliced one another apart, and were shot down, unable to maneuver effectively in the cramped conditions. Makoto recalled her three surviving sword DRAGOONs, drawing her Exia II as she entered melee range and Nabiki struck, Makoto parrying the sabers with her composite swords before the two machines crashed together.

* * *

Elsewhere

Ami pulled her sword free of a Windam as it exploded before she turned to face Daedalus again.

"Please let this work," she muttered softly. "Sincerity… activate the Hyperion System!"

Instantly confirming the verbal command via voice recognition, the Sincerity began to glow as its pilot prepared to put her plan to work.

"Divert power to thrusters," muttered Ami, making a quick modification to Hyperion's standard operation. "Done!"

The Sincerity charged straight at Daedalus, Ami raising her shield before her as the thrusters glowed brightly. Her anti-beam shield connected with the positron reflector—really more of a giant beam shield despite the name—and broke a small hole in it, the Sincerity soaring through in the instant before it closed back up.

"Deactivate Hyperion System Mode," ordered Ami, the glow fading as she restored the default settings on the system. "Alright, I'm in. Now…"

Ami went over what she recalled of Daedalus before turning in the direction of her target and flying that way.

This was it; her chance, her moment, to make up for all the sins she'd committed. From Armory One to the Destroy, the lives she was responsible for were countless. She needed to put her mind to rest; to put Stella Loussier to rest, and this was how she would do it.

Up ahead, she spotted several 105 Daggers equipping Aile Strikers. They spotted her and immediately opened fire. Ami defended with her shield.

"Don't get in my way!" she shouted, returning fire with the Murakumo. The Dagger pilots defended with their shields, but the Sincerity was quickly on top of them, and Ami struck with her VPS sword and VPS heat rod, slicing through their defenses like tissue paper. One Dagger managed to evade; the pilot drew a beam saber and charged her, slashing at the Sincerity. Ami spun away from the slash, and retaliated with a stab from the Murakumo, the sword piercing straight through the shield and Dagger instantly.

"I told you: don't get in my way," said Ami grimly before shooting off towards her target again, thoughts again on everything she'd done.

And Heine…

In a new way, Ami understood the depth of the tragedy that was war. As her brother had said, the people they were fighting believed heavily in their own cause. And Heine had not been a bad person… he was actually a very good person, she'd felt as much.

But that hadn't stopped her from killing him; he'd been her enemy, fighting for a cause she was impossibly opposed to.

And that was the real tragedy of war, one that so many failed to see. There was nothing glorious about it, nor were the excuses true justification for what people did in war.

Now, Ami understood as she'd never understood before.

There was something else she understood though: she was free to turn away from this at anytime. Free to do as she wished… and she did not want Destiny to rob her of that freedom, nor for others to lose that freedom and become slaves to something greater, as she had (even if it would not be as sinister as what she'd been enslaved by).

Daedalus was practically abandoned, all its forces fighting outside. Last she'd seen, the battle was almost over.

_There!_ she thought to herself, arriving at her destination. She stared at the plain, non-descript wall of the corridor, snapping the Murakumo into attack position.

"Here goes."

* * *

The _Archangel_

The two symbolic vessels exchanged fire again; the _Archangel_'s port Gottfried got blown off by a well-placed shot from the Tristans, but Sai gave as good as Chen, vaporizing the _Minerva_'s Isolde.

"Charge straight at them," ordered Murrue. Arnold obeyed the order, bringing the _Archangel_ onto a head-to-head collision course with the _Minerva_. "Load smoke missiles into forward missile tubes and Korinthos into aft missile tubes."

"Yes ma'am," said Sai, firing off the remaining Korinthos and immediately loading all twenty-four missile tubes.

"Fire smoke charges!"

Missiles shot free of the _Archangel_'s forward firing missile tubes; the _Minerva_'s CIWS shot about half of them down, but Murrue had planned on that happening, spreading the smoke more as the remaining missiles detonated, leaving a smokescreen between the two ships.

Talia hesitated half a second, trying to guess at what her counterpart might be thinking.

And it was half a second too long as Arnold followed orders and sent the assault ship into a barrel roll right over the _Minerva_. Sai aimed the remaining Gottfried at the landing pad to the rear of the bridge and the Valiants at the Tristans, firing the linear cannons point-blank at the same time he vaporized the landing pad.

And as the _Archangel_ finished its barrel roll and moved past the _Minerva_, he fired the Korinthos loaded into the aft-firing missile tubes, sending a dozen anti-ship warheads at the _Minerva_, too close for the CIWS to shoot them down, smashing into the ship.

"Tristans 1 and 2 are offline!" cried Arthur as the vessel shook and the damage reports flashed across his console, coming in so quick and across so many systems that it seemed like the computer itself was panicking. "Heavy missile launchers 1 through 13 are offline. Captain!"

Talia, face grim, was about to order Malik to fire thrusters to full and pull away from the _Archangel_… but then a new voice came over the comm.

"_Did you forget about me, Captain Gladys?_" said Saul Kessel. An incredibly fast heat source zoomed their way, light casting off from its wings in a manner reminiscent of the Destiny as the Hyper Surge aimed its revolvers and opened fire repeatedly, shooting out each and every one of the main thrusters. Saul surged by, shooting a pair of CIWS before they could begin to track him, then pulled under the ship, shooting the four thrusters on the ventral bow of the vessel and taking out its last pitiful propulsion.

"All thrusters are offline!" cried Malik. "We're going down!"

Still with a great deal of momentum, the _Minerva_ fell victim to gravity, descending swiftly towards the lunar surface. Fortunately, their momentum carried them beyond Daedalus and its reflectors, and the _Minerva_ crashed in the vicinity of Messiah, the battleship tearing a gouge through the moon's surface as it did so, coming to a stop more than a kilometer from where it had first impacted.

"Saul, what's your status?" questioned Mir, even as she established a link with the Surge to check for herself.

"_Undamaged,_" assured Saul.

"Well, at least that makes _someone_," said Mir. "Return to the ship. You must be exhausted by now."

"_Yeah, I am,_" said Saul. "_Thanks._"

* * *

Elsewhere

The Rose's Vajra flashed through the Kerberos in the blink of an eye, destroying Aleksi's primary ranged weapons. The Impulse pilot grit her teeth, drawing one of her own Vajra and expanding her shield as the Rose shot back in. She blocked the Rose's right saber with her shield and attempted to catch the other with her own, but Misuumi shifted angles at the last instant to knock the Impulse's block wide… then sliced off its arm.

Aleksi attempted to pull back, but Misuumi delivered a kick to the Impulse's chest, sending her tumbling towards the moon as the Rose snapped all of its cannons into attack position and fired a barrage. Eyes wide, Aleksi did the only thing she could: she ejected the Chest and Leg Flyers, using them as a barrier as she shot away in the Core Splendor.

"Seth… I told you I wouldn't let you get away," said Misuumi grimly, shooting after the Core Splendor. "You've betrayed everything Aleksi was. I won't stand for it."

"_You did the same thing Commander!_" snarled Seth, apparently frustrated by the hypocrisy she felt was inherent in Misuumi's words.

"I returned to my roots," replied Misuumi. "Reine En Creuset is dead, and Suiren Kyusai is a part of who I am now. And if you consider that a betrayal of everything I was, then prove it to me! Shoot me down, _Seth!_"

But the Horizon agent couldn't, and they both knew it; Aleksi's survival hinged on whether or not she surrendered.

However, the bridge of the nearby _Tsukuyomi_ suddenly detonated, and several additional explosions sent the _Izumo_-class battleship careening between the Rose and the Core Splendor. When it passed… Aleksi was gone.

"What?" questioned Misuumi, eyes wide with shock. How…?

She shook it off, turning her attention to the _Tsukuyomi_, but she saw other mobile suits already coming to its aid along with a _Nelson_ and _Nazca_. Knowing she could do nothing, Misuumi turned her attention elsewhere.

_Gil…_

The Rose flew off towards Messiah.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Talia stared at the screen displaying Messiah and let out a small sigh.

The fortress was almost assuredly lost; but there was something she needed to do there.

"Our battle is over," said Talia. "All hands, abandon ship."

"Yes ma'am," said Arthur, turning to face Talia as the rest of the bridge crew stood to their feet.

"This may be a bit selfish of me to ask, but please make sure everyone is safe Arthur," said Talia.

"What?" gasped Arthur.

"I have something to take care of," explained Talia.

"Uh… yes ma'am," said Arthur. Talia smiled at him.

"Take care of everyone," she said. "I'm sorry."

With that, she turned and left the bridge.

"Captain…" Arthur straightened slightly and saluted Talia as she departed.

* * *

Elsewhere

With a slight groan from the blond, Rey's eyes struggled open. He struggled weakly to figure out what the situation was, eyes widening as he saw that Messiah was under direct assault from the _Eternal_ and its escorts, with more ships beginning to add their own assault to the fortress.

If that were the case…

"_What do you want?"_

Struggling slightly, Rey activated thrusters, sending the Legend towards Messiah.

As he did so, something happened below him. His eyes widened slightly as he shook off the last dregs of unconsciousness in shock.

* * *

Ascendant Justice

This was not an appropriate time for this; Shiho did not care as she punched Silber right across the jaw, not even caring about the damage and pain caused to her right hand in the process.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed at him. Silber groaned in response. "That was only a _taste_ of what's coming your way. You're lucky I need to get back to the battle."

The Izanami guards shifted slightly, a little scared of the obvious fury that left the brunette trembling as she barely suppressed it.

Rache got off a lot easier then Silber, but that was probably because Miriallia was on the _Archangel_.

"Let's go Shiho," said Tolle, putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "You can vent on any idiots left out there."

"Yeah… yeah, your right," said Shiho, closing her eyes and taking a breath to center herself as Tolle ordered the guards to take the two EX-Cs to maximum security cells.

"Let's go."

* * *

Daedalus

The Murakumo easily sliced through the wall and everything behind it. Ami shifted it to standby mode and shifted her shield to storage position as she grabbed the cut with the Sincerity's hands and tore the wall open, revealing what was behind it.

Power cables. Immediately, the blonde opened fire with her machine cannons, inflicting more damage.

"Sincerity, activate Hyperion System," ordered Ami, knowing she had to move quickly. As soon as the activation was complete, she shot off, heading for her next target. It took her only half a minute to get there, and she repeated the process from her last target before shooting off for yet another.

Repeating the process of destroying the cables for the third time, Ami then proceeded to aim her Type 90K sword-rifles straight up and opened sustained fire, working to cut her way straight out of Daedalus.

Outside, everyone's eyes widened in shock as the positron reflectors over and around the mouth of Requiem flickered and vanished.

The shock did not last long.

"This is Setsuka Hirano of the _Seraphim_ to all ships!" called the captain of the Last Archangel. "Requiem's defenses have fallen! Now hit it with everything you've got!"

The assault on Messiah ceased momentarily as the _Eternal_ and all ships around it swung around to take aim. Daedalus ships recognized the signs and their only chance, turning and fleeing. The vessels of Messiah began to pull away, intent on regrouping with the _Gondwana_ and the forces screening it.

Within a moment of the reflectors failing, the Sincerity burst out of Messiah, catching Minako by surprise as the Hyperion faded. Immediately, the brunette grabbed the blonde's mobile suit and pulled her away from Daedalus as all the other forces of Eternal Freedom fled from the base as well.

Then, every ship of the allied forces opened fire with everything they had, sending literally thousands of missiles and beams soaring through space while nearly eight dozen positron streams lit up the void and a pair of massive detonations at the cannon's mouth lit up space from the shots of the _Eternal_'s Nephilim.

Then, the full assault connected. Before their eyes, Requiem detonated in a massive explosion to rival any nuclear blast, the cannon vaporized and the explosion consuming Daedalus utterly.

Taking advantage of the distraction, a small shuttle and the Legend slipped into Messiah.

* * *

The _Minerva_

Not all of the Daedalus forces had surrendered or fled. Some had spotted the downed _Minerva_… and found themselves unable to pass up the chance to finally destroy the battleship.

"This is Arthur Trine, Deputy Captain of the _Minerva_," called Arthur over the radio. "To Izanami and its allies! Our vessel is disabled and we are attempting to evacuate, but have fallen under attack by mobile suits from Daedalus!"

As he spoke, a shot exposed the bridge partially to the vacuum of space. Arthur grit his teeth, rushing to a locker and tearing out a spacesuit, beginning to pull it on even as he felt air rushing past as it was sucked out of the bridge.

"To _anyone_ who can hear me, _please_, retrieve the lifeboats!" said Arthur desperately, still wearing the comm. headset he'd taken from Abi.

He was the only one left; the rest of the crew had reached the lifeboats while he organized the evacuation, but the only one that had launched so far had been destroyed.

Putting on the helmet as another shot widened the hole, Arthur locked it and rushed to the fire control station.

"Please, save the crew," begged Arthur. "They were just doing their duty; don't let them die simply because of what that duty entailed."

As he spoke, Arthur loaded the remaining heavy missile tube and all the interceptor missile tubes still online. He launched the missiles at the mobile suits surrounding the _Minerva_, trying desperately to hold them off until there was a chance for the crew to escape. He also seized control of the CIWS, trying to focus them as best he could, since the computer auto-tracking was also offline.

To his relief, he spotted an Izanami battleship and its escorts, a pair of cruisers and a pair of destroyers, break away from their previous course towards Messiah and start towards the downed _Minerva_, their mobile suits shooting the _Minerva_'s way.

"Thank you," said Arthur before closing the comm. line and continuing to fire on the Daedalus machines. The ship had already sustained heavy damage, and it was only getting worse; teeth grit as he realized there was no more time, he rerouted all controls to the XO console after firing a missile barrage, then rushed back to his console and sent the signal for the lifeboats to launch.

If they didn't launch now, they really wouldn't have any chance… Arthur knew that the _Minerva_'s munitions stores would detonate soon, when the fires now spreading through the ship reached them.

"I won't let you bastards hurt any more of the crew!" swore Arthur, not flinching as the remaining heavy missile launcher was destroyed, along with half the interceptor missile tubes and two of the CIWS. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure they get out of here safely!"

Within one of the lifeboats, Abi screamed in terror as a Windam appeared outside the window and pointed its rifle at them. However, before the pilot could pull the trigger, a Murasame crashed into it, the pilot pulling back slightly to shift to mobile suit mode and slice the Windam in half with his beam saber.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" roared the Murasame pilot. GOUFs, ZAKUs, M1s, M2s, M3s and Windams swarmed the Daedalus mobile suits. A Windam pilot grabbed Abi's lifeboat.

"_It's okay, we've got you,_" he said reassuringly. "_We'll get you out of here._"

The _Minerva_'s remaining weapons were gone by this point. There were no more lifeboats or lifepods. Arthur stood on the bridge, the last of the crew aboard, and reactivated the comm. line.

"Thank you," he said again, raising his hand in a salute no one else would ever see.

Then, as the Rose, Sincerity and Astarte flew into Messiah and the Eternal Freedom mobile suits carried away the lifeboats, the fire reached the munitions stores and the _Minerva_ exploded, leaving another crater in the lunar surface.

* * *

Messiah

The Freedom and Destiny clashed, sabers locking for only an instant before the pilots broke and sought to take the advantage, Kira by delivering a kick to the Destiny's torso, and Shinn by firing his Palma Fiocina directly into the wall, sending debris crashing into both machines as they fell away from each other.

This was it: the ultimate symbolic battle of their ideals. As the two faced each other, Shinn stored his Flash Edge 2, drawing his Arondight again, not caring about the impracticality of it in the extreme close-quarters. Kira responded by shifting his left beam saber into a reverse grip.

The two charged. Saber crashed against anti-ship sword, Kira shifting and spinning away and lashing out with his left beam saber and a backwards stab, catching the Destiny's right shoulder. Shinn spun right, pulling the shoulder out of the way before any heavy damage was inflicted, using the momentum to swing his sword at Kira's back, but the Freedom ducked and rolled forward, coming back up facing the Destiny again.

The two clashed again; the beam saber in Kira's right hand went flying, but he managed to bring his other saber around in a lightning-quick slash, cutting the Arondight. Shinn responded by spinning away slightly and drawing his Flash Edge 2 as Kira moved to a two-handed grip on his remaining Super Lacerta.

The two charged forward again, Kira releasing his left hand from the beam saber to give himself better control, swinging the saber left and right in quick succession, knocking Shinn's beam sabers away. The Destiny's CIWS opened up, bullets pinging uselessly against the Freedom's armor as Kira's beam saber destroyed the left shoulder armor.

The two pilots then butted heads, pushing against each other, Shinn's teeth grit in frustration as Kira calmly increased the pressure, deactivating his beam saber as he grabbed hold of the Destiny's wrists, forcing the arms out wide so that Shinn couldn't counterattack as Kira pushed him steadily off-balance.

The Dark Knight fired up his Wings of Light, turning the tables. Kira realized he would lose if this kept up, and so responded by bending over backwards. The loss of opposing force sent Shinn flying forward suddenly. He cut the Wings of Light, crashing his feet into the bottom of the corridor to slow him as he turned to face the Strike Freedom again, only to realize Kira had pulled away and left his DRAGOONs to attack the Destiny.

Shinn blocked the barrage with his beam shields, then drew his rifle, shooting down two of the DRAGOONs, taking advantage of the distance and line-of-sight issues that would keep Kira from controlling the system as well as normal.

The remaining DRAGOONs fled to rejoin Kira, but not before managing to blow a hole through the Destiny's right ankle, destroying it and the foot. Shinn grit his teeth, taking off in pursuit.

"We're not done yet Yamato!" said Shinn.

Turning a corner, he found the Freedom right in front of his face, and the Destiny got punched several times before Shinn recovered, grabbing the Freedom's right arm just below the elbow. He was about to fire the Palma Fiocina when Kira crashed two of his DRAGOONs into the Destiny, knocking Shinn off-balance and causing him to lose his grip.

Shinn threw himself backwards, flipping to quickly reorient himself, then rushed forward and attempted to attack with the Palma Fiocina again. Kira ducked under the attack, letting Shinn fly right over him. Shinn activated one of the Wings of Light to help him spin about… and got the strangest sense of déjà vu as the Freedom smacked the Destiny with its wing, sending him crashing into the wall.

Kira followed that up immediately with his DRAGOONs, destroying the Destiny's beam cannon, rifle and left hand before Shinn recovered, spinning about and grabbing one DRAGOON, crushing it in the Destiny's hand as Kira recalled his last two DRAGOON wings.

Shinn backed off a bit, panting as he grabbed one of his fallen Flash Edge 2 in the Destiny's remaining hand. It, the CIWS and the one palm beam cannon were the only weapons he had left. Looking their machines over, he saw that he'd actually done some damage to the Strike Freedom: the wing that had hit the Destiny was bent out of shape, and it was missing its left railcannon; there was also some clear damage to its left arm and the right half of its torso. Shinn wondered when he'd managed that.

However, the Destiny was a lot worse off. It was already over.

But…

"Will you allow me this?" questioned Shinn, raising his beam saber and turning the power as high as he could, bringing it to the length of a full beam saber.

"Yes," agreed Kira. Messiah shook around them, throwing debris about.

Then, with amethyst and ruby jewel seeds flashing through their minds and shattering in novas of pure power, the White Angel of Freedom and Dark Knight of Destiny charged each other and slashed with their sabers.

As they landed again, the activation of their Seeds faded, and the Destiny fell to its right knee, right arm gone at the shoulder. The Freedom had parried his attack and struck back in the space of a single second.

"Will you kill me?" asked Shinn softly. He'd already long since accepted the possibility of his own death, and he realized now that the Destiny Plan was a lost cause.

"No," said Kira.

"Why not?"

_Because you deserve to live_, thought Kira, but he didn't say it. Instead, he gave a different, but equally valid answer.

"Ami and Maia would be sad."

* * *

At the same time…

"Michiru!" cried Nabiki as the Serenity flipped over the Avenger and the strike with its six beam sabers, somehow squeezing her machine into the small space between the Avenger and the roof.

The Vengeance detached itself almost immediately, Nabiki shooting back after Makoto and attempting to attack with her beam sabers. However, two of the Serenity's sword DRAGOONs launched and parried the strikes, knocking Nabiki off-balance as Makoto recalled the two and turned to face Nabiki again, Exia II held in hand.

The two clashed, Makoto knocking Nabiki's sabers wide, then coming in for a direct attack, but the Vengeance bent back, narrowly avoiding the blades before Nabiki shot forward again, attacking with both sabers. The Serenity flipped back, Makoto shifting the Exia II to rifle mode and firing on the Vengeance as Nabiki switched back to cannons and opened fire, taking a step back towards the Avenger.

Neither of them managed to hit, and with power running low again, Nabiki recombined with the Avenger, shooting down the corridor before spinning around to face Makoto again and firing all four Occultus Armo.

Her Terminus Kai was already gone; it had cost Makoto her remaining dagger DRAGOONs, but she'd destroyed it.

Makoto blocked the barrage with her beam shields.

"Nabiki, please, listen to me," begged Makoto as she was pushed back slightly. Nabiki continued firing all of her cannons, with Makoto doing nothing but defending.

"Shut up!" spat Nabiki, even as a flash of pain cut across her mind. She was losing control at the worst possible time… she wouldn't stand a chance against Makoto soon; her precise control of all six beam sabers would be lost in mere moments. "Just shut up!"

"Please Nabiki," said Makoto, tears in her eyes. "I promised… I promised I would look after you when you were released."

"And you broke that promise!" screamed Nabiki, tears forming in her own eyes. "You didn't come for me; you killed him… betrayed him…" Sobs racked her body as she continued to fire, stepping steadily forward as Makoto backed away steadily, continuing to absorb the attacks with her beam shields.

"You weren't supposed to be released yet," said Makoto, trying to explain herself. "Umbra's still there… they're all still there! You weren't supposed to be released until something was done about them! Erik didn't want you to suffer his fate!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Nabiki, her fire letting up momentarily as she released stored energy for her hyper burst. She couldn't use the full attack of course, but she was still able to hyper charge her beam cannons for a single barrage, which blasted the Serenity back into a wall.

"Nabiki…" said Makoto weakly as she shook off her dizziness from the impact and the Avenger continued to advance. "Nabiki, please… I don't know if there's anything I can do, but please… let me try and make it up to you. Please."

"Nothing you can do will make up for what you've done!" screamed Nabiki. "If I was Erik's world, he was mine! You took away my reason for living!"

"He wanted more for you," said Makoto, pulling herself from the wall, ignoring the damage the impact had inflicted. "You know… he cared more about you than he did anything else."

"You're wrong," sobbed Nabiki, halting her advance for a moment. "He loved you… he loved you and left me behind…"

"But it was for you that he died," said Makoto softly. "To protect the world… for your sake."

"ARGH!" screamed Nabiki, pain flashing across all of her senses.

"Nabiki!" cried Makoto in worry, reaching out for the Avenger.

Within her mind, Nabiki felt herself being torn apart. She knew… she _knew_ Makoto was telling her the sincere truth, holding true to the meaning of her name. Part of her wanted to accept it, but the greater part needed vengeance.

"SHUT UP!" screamed Nabiki, activating all six beam sabers and charging forward. Makoto grit her teeth and charged forward as well, spreading the Serenity's wings.

The Dauntless Angel of Faith and Black Knight of Vengeance clashed. Makoto's swords proved far quicker than her opponent's did, Nabiki unable to maintain the control she'd had previously. The Exia II sliced through the barrels of the lower Occultus Armo, then ascended, slicing off both the main arms and the upper Occultus Armo in a single motion as Makoto again flipped over her opponent.

The Serenity turned to face the Avenger as Nabiki screamed in despair.

"Just kill me!" she begged. "Just put me out of my misery!" As she begged, sobs racking her body, Nabiki curled her legs against her chest, clutching desperately at her skull as pain continued to rack her mind.

"Erik wanted me to save you; to protect you," said Makoto. "It was the only promise he ever demanded of me. The only thing he ever truly asked of me other than to save him from becoming a monster. I won't break that promise. I won't!"

"Fine…" sobbed Nabiki, reaching out and inputting a key code on the Avenger, disabling the failsafe of its N-jammer canceller before inputting the self-destruct code. "Then we'll both die here… Makoto… I love you."

"_WHAT!_" cried Makoto, eyes wide at the confession, wondering _where the hell __**that**__ had come from_; then, the implications of what Nabiki said hit her.

"The failsafes are off," explained Nabiki softly, curling up, wrapping her arms around her legs. "We'll die together."

_Why me? Why is it __**always**__ me? __**Why**__ the __**hell**__ are these people saying they're in love with me and want to __**die with me**__!_

Makoto had no time to contemplate that; an emerald jewel seed soared through her mind and shattered, her Exia III snapping into attack position as she charged the Avenger and stabbed straight through its back.

Both of them froze like that for a moment as Makoto's Seed went inactive again, before the Avenger's power faded entirely, its N-jammer canceller pierced by the Exia III.

Nabiki didn't notice, eyes rolling back into her head, her mind shattering into the embrace of death as the woman known as Nabiki Ombre finally died, feeling at peace for perhaps the first time in her life.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Ami? Maia?" questioned Shinn, the Destiny straightening up as he turned to face the Freedom, Kira doing the same. "Who…?"

"Stella and Mayu," answered Kira. Shinn gasped in shock.

Suddenly, the Freedom surged forward, grabbing the Destiny by the chest and slamming it against a wall.

"Shinn," said Kira softly as the Destiny pilot coughed slightly from the impact. "Do you realize what the Destiny Plan really was?"

"I already know its futile now," said Shinn. "Please… at the very least, don't attack my beliefs."

"I'm going to attack them for your sake," said Kira. "Shinn… the Destiny Plan would rob us all of our freedom to be who we want to be. You've already heard that much. But… do you realize what that would mean for our sisters?"

"Our sisters?" questioned Shinn, shocked.

"Stella… or rather, Ami… is my younger sister," said Kira softly. "I pulled her away from the Destroy after I took out the cannons. Destroying it… was one of the hardest things I ever did. But I knew I couldn't allow her to continue. What she did that day… it still haunts her a little."

Shinn couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You… you're stronger than I am," said Shinn. "I couldn't have done the same…"

"I know," said Kira. "And I sort of envy you that. But you haven't answered my question. Do you truly realize what the Destiny Plan would've meant for them?"

"A world without war," said Shinn simply. "After what I've been through… after what was done to them… those sacrifices are ones I was willing to make."

"So… you'd do to the world what Blue Cosmos did to them?" questioned Kira. Shinn's eyes suddenly widened in shock. "You were going to take away the freedom of all people, make them fit into a mold and task for which they were well-suited, but had no say in, no choice but to do as told. Just like what Lodonia did to our sisters."

"No… that…"

But Shinn couldn't refute what Kira was saying when it was laid out so plainly; and Shinn realized with sudden horror that he really had become the sort of monster he'd been fighting against.

"Now you understand Shinn," said Kira softly. "We've all suffered a lot. But not only is the Destiny Plan cruel… it takes away all our hope. Shinn… you're a better person than that."

"_Kira!_"

The two turned in surprise to the source of the voice as the Sincerity came around the corner suddenly.

"Stella…" whispered Shinn in shock.

"Shinn?" questioned the blonde. "Um… its Ami… please don't call me Stella."

"… Okay," agreed Shinn after a few seconds.

"Maia's waiting in Orb," said Kira. "It's going to take a lot of work." Messiah shook around them. "Think you can handle it?"

Shinn looked up at Kira. He glanced at Ami… then back to Kira and nodded.

"I can…" he said. "I will!"

Kira nodded slightly, then lifted the Destiny and pushed it gently towards the Sincerity.

"You two get going," said Kira. "I need to get Durandal."

"Wait!" called Shinn as Kira was turning away. Suddenly, he received a data packet from the Destiny. "This is a map of the fortress. The Chairman's probably still in the command room."

Kira nodded. "Thanks Shinn," he said before shooting away, leaving his sister with the Dark Knight.

"Stel… um… Ami…"

"Not now Shinn," said Ami. "This place is falling apart. Come on; let's go… we'll talk later."

Shinn was quiet for a moment before the Destiny straightened up.

"Yeah… yeah, okay," he said, turning to leave with Ami.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Nabiki? Nabiki!" cried Makoto, pulling her sword from the Avenger's body and rushing around to the other side. The Avenger remained motionless, of course, and Makoto let out a small curse, knowing something was terribly wrong. Releasing the restraints that secured her in the pilot's seat, Makoto opened the cockpit, pushing out immediately, grateful that she'd chosen to wear a pilot suit (as had Kira, Misuumi and Minako, none of them stupid enough to go without in a major battle like this).

She floated down next to the Avenger's cockpit, found the emergency switch, turned it, and pulled, opening the hatch.

She pulled herself over to look inside and gasped at the sight before her, Nabiki floating lifelessly above her seat. Desperately, Makoto pulled Nabiki out, looking down at her in concern.

"Nabiki! Nabiki! Please, wake up!" begged Makoto, not wanting the girl in her arms to be dead.

"Makoto!" cried Minako's voice. The Astarte came around a corner, spotting the Serenity and Avenger, and rushed over. "Makoto, are you okay?"

The redhead didn't answer.

"Nabiki… please…"

To her surprise, the form in her arms shifted slightly. Her eyes struggled open slightly, and found Makoto. The girl smiled slightly, reaching up and trying to touch Makoto's cheek.

"Aisuru…" she whispered softly before the united persona of Erica and Ayame, all that was left of Nabiki, fell back into unconsciousness. Makoto was shocked by what she heard, but shook it off, straightening up, Nabiki's body in her arms as she pushed off towards the Astarte.

"Minako," she said. "I'm fine. I need you to her out of here."

"Huh? Makoto, what are you…?"

"I promised I would protect her," said Makoto softly. "But I still have something to do. Kira's counting on me to finish Messiah off." She fired thrusters, coming to a stop outside the Astarte's cockpit. "Minako, please."

"… Okay," said her cousin softly, opening the Astarte's cockpit and climbing out slightly to take the girl from Makoto's arms. "But you better stay safe."

"I will," said Makoto, smiling slightly. "Count on it."

Minako nodded before stepping back into the cockpit, settling Nabiki's body in her lap before closing the hatch as Makoto floated back to the Serenity, climbing back into the cockpit.

The Astarte lifted off the corridor floor and flew away, back towards the fortress harbor. Makoto closed Serenity's hatch before shooting towards her destination, intent on finishing things at last, and trusting that Kira would escape.

* * *

Elsewhere

Durandal sat in his seat, the only one left alive in Messiah's command and control center, staring at the special screen designed to look like a window and show him an incredible view of the stars… though now, it was as broken as everything else in the chamber.

They had caused him so much trouble… Kira Yamato… Makoto Taiyonoha… Lacus Clyne. Setting aside many other individuals, it seemed to Durandal that those three were special in a way that no one else was; he wondered what it was about Lacus that could put her in a group with the Angels of Divinity.

As he considered their power, his thoughts turned to mythology; he could admit that he viewed the Destiny Plan in a biblical fashion: that is, he saw it as taking away what humanity had gained when the first humans feasted on the apples from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was this act that banished them from the paradise that was the Garden of Eden, and by reversing that act, he sought to return them to that paradise.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

But it seemed the status quo of mankind was protected by divine beings as well, ones who it seemed disapproved of the arrogance inherent in the biblical God.

Maybe that was it; an intriguing thought. Perhaps those three were avatars of the great gods of eastern mythology. Kira Yamato, the Storm God Susanoo given form; Lacus Clyne, the Moon God Tsukuyomi in a form befitting the beautiful moon; and Makoto Taiyonoha, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, blessing the world with her presence.

Durandal snorted—it was perfectly fitting to their arrogance. He glanced over at his chessboard; the explosions had saved him the trouble of moving any pieces himself.

The White Bishops had fallen from the board, as had most of the pawns; but the many Knights, the King, the Queen and both of White's Rooks still stood. In contrast, all of the Black pieces had been knocked over or fallen from the board altogether, and the Black King had rolled to a stop at the feet of one of the White Knights.

He knew things were at an end, but he could still do one thing:

He could kill Kira Yamato.

* * *

Meanwhile

Misuumi rushed through the corridors of Messiah, intent on confronting Durandal… and if it came down to it, killing him.

She hoped it would not come to that.

_Please Gil… please, see reason…_

"Reine?" whispered a familiar voice weakly, bringing Misuumi up short. She turned to the source of the voice, gasping in horror as she rushed over and pulled the fallen beam off of the person beneath it.

"Talia! What are you doing here?" questioned Misuumi. Talia smiled, blood coming from her forehead and the corner of her mouth. Her spacesuit was also covered in blood and shrapnel, and Misuumi did not need a medical degree to tell the woman would not survive.

"I… I had to confront Gilbert," she explained; on her way, though, an explosion in the corridor had left her in her current position. Pulling off a glove, she reached out to stroke Misuumi's face. "But I guess this is good enough. Reine…"

Misuumi reached up, touching the hand that was stroking her face gently.

"Please… don't call me that anymore," she said softly. "My name is Misuumi. I've moved on."

Talia smiled weakly. "I guess so…" she said. "I knew… I realized it as soon as I realized you were with Izanami. I'm happy for you."

"Talia…" There were tears in Misuumi's eyes.

"Can you help me?" asked Talia. "I want to see Gilbert."

"Okay," said Misuumi, lifting Talia in her arms, saddened by how light the woman felt, even though she knew it was only because of the gravity here.

* * *

Messiah Control Room

The main doors of the chamber opened, Kira stepping through and walking towards the command chair, which turned as he approached to reveal Durandal. As Kira came to a stop, Durandal stood to his feet.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised," he confessed. "I didn't think you would make it this far, Kira Yamato."

The two faced each other for a moment before Kira raised his handgun, pointing it at Durandal.

"I see," said the Chairman. "But are you sure that's the best choice?" He raised his own handgun, readying himself to shoot Kira.

"Please," said Kira, surprising Durandal. "Surrender. It's over."

"It is _not_ over," said Durandal. "The world never changes; without the Destiny Plan, the world shall be plunged back into darkness and chaos. This is a truth we both know."

"Makoto said everything that needed to be said when she gave our reply," said Kira. "We have the ability to choose a better path, but only if we have the freedom to choose at all. And we still have faith in humanity. That's why we want a tomorrow."

"But no one makes the right choices; people forget, and then they make the same mistakes again," said Durandal. "They say they'll choose a better path and change the world this time. But nobody can guarantee it; certainly not you, nor the young ladies. Because none of you know what the future holds."

"I know what you're saying," said Kira as Rey silently entered the room behind him; he also sensed two other people approaching from another direction. "We all do. But no matter how much we suffer, we don't want a world where nothing changes."

"How arrogant," said Durandal. "And how appropriate for an Ultimate Coordinator."

"You're the one who's arrogant," retorted Kira. "I'm nothing more than a single human being. The same is true for Lacus… and for Makoto."

A side door opened, and Misuumi stepped through, carrying a bleeding Talia in her arms. All three occupants of the chamber gasped in surprise.

"Talia…" breathed Durandal softly.

"Reine…" murmured Rey.

"Gil… Rey…" said Misuumi softly as she walked into the chamber. "Talia, we're here."

"Ugh," groaned the ZAFT officer, lifting her eyes open and finding Durandal, whose gun had lowered in surprise. She gave him a weak smile. "This isn't how I intended to see you Gilbert."

"Talia," whispered Durandal, taking a single step forward. Rey walked over to Kira and Misuumi, looking the captain over in concern. She gave him a weak smile as well.

"Hi Rey."

"Captain…" Rey looked away.

This was not going anything like how Durandal had expected.

"Gil… please surrender," said Misuumi, facing the Chairman. "It doesn't have to be this way."

Durandal lifted his pistol again.

"Talia is dying in your arms," he said. "And still you want a world filled with meaningless bloodshed?"

"I want a world where I can be who I choose to be," said Misuumi. "War is but a small price to pay for that."

To everyone's surprise, Rey lifted his own handgun… pointing it at Durandal.

"Gil," he said softly as the Chairman stared at him in shock. The fortress shook from another internal explosion. "I've made my choice as well. Their cause… that freedom to be who you want to be… that's the kind of world I want."

"Rey…"

"Gilbert," breathed Talia, voice weak. "Please listen to them. I know you. You can still offer so much to the world…"

"Please," added Kira. "Give up the Destiny Plan. Don't take the coward's way out; you can help us bring about a better tomorrow."

Durandal stared at the four of them, all asking him to give up, even the people he'd counted on most of all.

In the face of that, Durandal's hand lowered, grip on his gun loosening.

However, fate was cruel to all of them, as a fire reached a nearby ammunition storage room, creating an explosion that rocked the entire asteroid, knocking Kira, Misuumi and Rey off their feet, Talia falling to the floor and crying out in pain as beams near the chamber ceiling broke and an entire console was ripped from the floor, smashing into Durandal's body and crushing him into the opposing console, tearing a cough of blood from his mouth.

"Gil!" cried Rey and Misuumi as soon as they got their bearings back, rushing over to the Chairman. Kira saw what had happened, and got back to his feet, kneeling down to pick up the coughing Talia and carry her over there as well.

"Oh… damn," cursed Durandal softly, feeling just how bad the damage was. He blinked as Rey and Misuumi appeared over him. "Fate… you are a cruel sadistic bitch." Kira reached them, carrying Talia, who reached out weakly to Durandal. He saw her, smiled, and weakly lifted an arm to take her hand.

"Gil, are you okay?" asked Rey. Another explosion shook the fortress.

"Dead of blood loss," said Durandal with a slight wince. Knowing both of them were dead, Kira laid Talia next to the Chairman gently. The two gave him small, thankful smiles.

"I can't believe this," murmured Misuumi, tears in her eyes. "For it to end like this…" She was shaking as she laid her hand on Durandal and Talia's joined hands. Rey laid his on top of hers, looking to be in similar condition. Even Kira, with no attachment to the two, was struggling to hold back tears, sorrow lacing the air throughout the chamber.

"Somehow… I always knew it would end like this," said Talia softly.

* * *

The _Eternal_

"Kira… Makoto…" whispered Lacus in worry as explosions continued to rock Messiah. All of the ZAFT forces had pulled away as the Fleet of Eternal Freedom formed a wall facing Messiah. Treize, Athrun, Saul, Neo and many others who had pulled back to rest had relaunched, in spite of the damage some of them had sustained, and stared at Messiah.

Then, two mobile suits suddenly emerged, the Destiny and Sincerity soaring out of Messiah's harbor. Athrun gasped in shock, and many pilots prepared themselves for battle, but then saw the damage the Destiny had sustained, realizing it wasn't even able to fight anymore, and was simply floating passively next to the Sincerity as the two turned to face Messiah.

"Ami, where's Kira?" asked Lacus, grabbing the phone on her chair and contacting her sister-in-law-to-be directly.

"_He went to confront Durandal,_" said Ami. Lacus choked back a gasp. "_Don't worry… he'll be fine! I know he will!_"

A moment later, the Astarte also exited Messiah.

"_Minako? Where's Makoto?_" asked Sakura from the _Autumn Rose_.

"_She said she was going to finish Messiah off,_" replied Minako, turning to face Messiah, not even worrying about her cargo right now. "_Come on Makoto…_"

* * *

Messiah Control Room

"You three should get out of here," said Durandal, coughing as he choked on a bit of blood. "Rey…"

The blonde stared at the Chairman and Talia.

"No," he said softly. "I'll stay. Kira… Misuumi… you two get out of here."

"What? No way!" said Misuumi, snapping to her feet. "Rey, I'm not leaving you!"

"This is my choice," said Rey softly. "This is what I've chosen for myself. I won't survive much longer anyways."

"That's not true," said Kira. "I think we can do it."

Rey closed his eyes.

"Rey…" whispered Talia.

"You two are my family… this is where I'd like to die," said Rey. Durandal gave the blond a weak smile.

"No, Rey," he said. "You've got your whole future ahead of you. Misuumi, if you would…?"

In an instant, Misuumi's knee was buried in Rey's gut, the blond nearly passing out from pain.

"Get going," said Durandal. Misuumi nodded.

"Gil, Talia… goodbye," she said softly, tears floating from her face as she turned and began to walk away, cradling Rey gently.

"Gil… mother…" groaned Rey.

"Live Rey," said Durandal. "Kira, a moment if you would? Misuumi, get going."

Understanding that the Chairman wanted to speak to Kira alone, Misuumi nodded and left, carrying Rey. Kira stepped closer to Gil and Talia, kneeling down next to them.

"Yes?" he questioned.

"First…" said Talia, drawing his attention. "I have a son, Gerard. Could you please ask Captain Ramius to go see him some time? And to tell him that I'm sorry."

"I will," promised Kira.

"Thank you."

"Kira Yamato," breathed Durandal softly. "You are strong in your beliefs. So… prove to me that you're right. A man named Gabriel… he threatens this world."

"I know," said Kira. "He was Asher Hyata. Sera gave her life to prepare us for him and his Horizon Federation."

Durandal chuckled weakly, regretting it almost immediately as pain tore through him and he coughed again.

"I see… clever Sera," he said softly. "Well… look after Rey. Make sure someone better than me guides the PLANTs from now on. Don't let anyone else suffer for my crimes."

"I promise you all of that," said Kira. Durandal nodded.

"Protect this world to the end of your days," said Durandal. He smiled weakly. "For the Never-ending Tomorrow."

Kira nodded.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow," he said. "Goodbye Chairman, Captain."

With that, Kira stood and left, listening to their soft farewells. He had to get out now; Makoto would finish Messiah off soon.

Once Kira was gone, Durandal and Talia focused their attention on one another; Talia was in much better condition, and still able to move, so she dragged herself a bit closer to him.

"Well… I never expected us to die like this," said Durandal softly. "But… I'm happy."

"Scoundrel," said Talia fondly. An explosion rocked Messiah as Talia pulled herself to lay lightly atop the man she'd never stopped loving.

"I leave this world… in good hands," said Durandal, eyes drifting closed. Talia said nothing, letting her own eyes drift closed, the two happy to pass away in this manner, embracing one another as Durandal weakly wrapped an arm around her before his eyes closed completely.

In the instant before his consciousness faded completely, Durandal thought he saw an unmasked Rau standing over him, giving a warm, approving smile.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Okay…" said Makoto, looking at the mission clock. "Kira… you better be out of here."

"Right here," came a new voice suddenly. She looked over her shoulder in surprise and saw the Freedom approaching her. "You were supposed be done by now."

"Okay, so I was giving you a little extra time," said Makoto. "How'd things go?"

"Durandal and Captain Gladys are dead," said Kira softly. "Misuumi has Rey and they should be out by now."

"Okay, got it," said Makoto.

* * *

(www youtube com/watch?v=0oIw98ti4bc)

Meanwhile

As Kira had said, the Rose was currently shooting out of Messiah, Rey resting in Misuumi's lap. She turned about to face Messiah, which was still floating despite the tremendous damage, a tribute to the incredible toughness of the fortress.

"Makoto… Kira…" whispered Misuumi as she heard questions about the two filling the comm. "Come on… come on… where are you?"

Behind Ascendant Justice, the Ninth Fleet finally arrived; too late to contribute to the assaults on Daedalus and Messiah… but there was still a large ZAFT fleet floating around the _Gondwana_, passive for the moment, waiting with baited breath like everyone else.

Then, it finally happened.

* * *

Messiah

The fortress rocked around them as Kira and Makoto each drew one of the Serenity's Angelus mega swords before combining them, each with a single hand on the handle while they supported each other and input the modifications for their attack.

_I've gone for too long  
Living like I'm not alive  
So I'm going to start over tonight  
Beginning with you and I_

"These maps should be helpful," commented Makoto. "Ready Kira?"

"Ready," replied Kira.

"Here goes," they whispered in unison.

_When this memory fades  
I'm gonna make sure it's replaced  
With chances taken, hope embraced  
And have I told you?_

Then, the White Angel of Freedom and the Dauntless Angel of Faith tightened their grip on the Caelum Angelus… and ignited the Vesica Caelum at full power, the strongest mobile suit weapon in existence, if only for that brief moment when it was wielded by the Strike Freedom and Dauntless Faith as one.

* * *

The _Eternal_

Cries of shock and awe filled the comm. lines as eyes widened in all directions at the sight before them.

_I'm not going 'cause I've been waiting for a miracle  
And I'm not leaving  
I won't let you, let you give up on a miracle  
When it might save you_

A beam blasted out of Messiah, piercing right through Neo-GENESIS, obliterating the superweapon completely. The beam dragged itself about slightly, inflicting more damage before it disappeared, but not before everyone knew what it was.

It was absurd, of course… but oh, so fitting to the Divine Angels.

_We've learned to run from  
Anything uncomfortable  
We've tied our pain below  
And no one ever has to know_

The beam sword reappeared, this time cutting through Messiah's thrusters. It only cut two of them, but that was enough to set off a chain reaction as each thruster detonated one after another. The hearts of many clenched as the beam sword faded again, leaving them waiting with baited breath.

Messiah rocked about like it was being struck repeatedly by the Nephilim. A minute passed. Two. Messiah began to fall towards the moon.

_That inside we're broken  
I tried to patch things up again  
To calm my tears and kill these fears  
But have I told you, have I?_

And finally, from the harbor, twin Angels shot forth, wings spread wide and casting off light. Cheers erupted from the entire Fleet as their greatest heroes returned undeniably victorious.

Cries of "For the Never-ending Tomorrow" filled the comm. lines with unparalleled vigor as Messiah crashed into the moon, breaking apart completely while the Angels turned to face the _Gondwana_ and its fleet.

_I'm not going 'cause I've been waiting for a miracle  
And I'm not leaving  
I won't let you, let you give up on a miracle  
When it might save you_

Then, as the _Eternal_ slid up side-by-side with its Angels, who were in turn joined by the Redemption, Justice, Rose, Astarte, Sincerity and Destiny, a new voice came over the comm. lines.

"This is Lacus Clyne of the _Eternal_, Flagship of the Fleet of Eternal Freedom," said Lacus. "I would like to address the officers of the remaining forces loyal to the Destiny Plan or Logos. Given the present circumstances, we believe it would be pointless to continue fighting in this region. Therefore, we are disengaging. I am now asking for your support in a ceasefire between all our forces, so that we may begin negotiating an end to the war."

_It's not faith if, if you use your eyes  
Oh why?  
We'll get it right this time  
Let's leave this all behind  
Oh why?_

As Lacus repeated her announcement, everyone was waiting, wondering what would happen.

The remains of the Valiant gently came to rest near the crater where the _Minerva_ detonated, its cockpit open and empty.

And like that was a signal, at that instant, the _Gondwana_ fired a trio of flares; the return signal for its mobile suits. The remaining ships from Daedalus began firing their own return signals.

Then, the _Eternal_ fired its return flares. The _Archangel_ followed suit, and all other ships began to do the same. Soon, the sky over the dark side of the moon was filled with countless lights and colors.

_We'll get it right this time  
It's not faith if you're using your eyes  
Oh why?_

Kira looked at his display screen, showing Lacus's face. He smiled at her warmly, and she returned the smile. Neo smiled warmly at Murrue, who likewise returned the sentiment.

Treize struggled slightly, but he too found the strength to smile at Flay, who smiled back gratefully.

_You know, I've gone for too long  
Living like I'm not alive  
So I'm going to start over tonight  
Beginning with you and I_

Misuumi looked at Rey, who stared back at her. The two shared a small smile of their own. Shinn was similarly sharing a smile with Ami, glad that it was finally over, his hope for the future restored. Liz and Louisa shared their own weak smiles, though Louisa's showed the pain of losing Clotho clearly.

Makoto stared, eyes watering, at the display screen showing the Astarte's cockpit.

_I don't want to run from  
Anything uncomfortable  
I just want, no  
I just need this pain to end right here_

A lot had happened; many good people had been lost, but it was the price they'd chosen to pay. Many people dear to those present had died.

Lucius Raveshaw; Tristan Palleon; Hilda Harken; Mars Simeon; Herbert Von Reinhardt; Victor Cain; Heine Westenfluss; Clotho Beur; Arthur Trine; Talia Gladys; Gilbert Durandal, and many, many others.

_I'm not going 'cause I've been waiting for a miracle  
And I'm not leaving  
I won't let you, let you give up on a miracle  
'Cause it might save you_

But Makoto found her heart warmed, and a smile overtaking her lips as Minako was pushed aside slightly, Nabiki giving Makoto a grateful, loving smile.

_Yeah, it might save you  
Oh, it might save you_

Across the world, within the PLANTs, within Copernicus and within Izanami, cheers erupted as billions of united voices cried out their victory.

"For the Never-ending Tomorrow!"

_It's not faith if, if you use your eyes  
If you use your eyes  
If you use your eyes_

"It's our world," whispered Makoto, echoing the words Kira spoke at the end of the last war.


	51. After Phase: A Fleeting Moment of Peace

**Well, here it is: the epilogue of _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity_. It's been a long trip; longer than the last story was. _Gundam SEED Serenity_ began on September 28th of 2009; it is now March 27th of 2011, a year and a half since the first post, and a year since the big reveal of Treize Zabiarov's identity.**

**This is, by far, the longest story I've written. It's been a fun time all around, and I'm glad to be closing it on this day. It's my 20th birthday, and I couldn't think of a time I wanted to close the story on more.**

**So now, I want you all to enjoy this final chapter of _Gundam SEED Serenity_; I'm proud to say that this is one of the five longest stories in the entire SEED section of this site.**

**Edit: Fanfiction seems to have dealt with their issues, and this story is now properly marked.  
**

**Special Thanks to: Akatsuki Leader13, who first allowed me to rehash his story, _Gundam SEED: a Retelling_, the starting point for all of this; Kiiroi Senko for allowing me to use Leon Vanyel for this story, and for beta-reading and reviewing this story; Magus Zannin and Tellemicus, who both beta-read and reviewed this close to my story.**

**And most of all, thanks to all of you who have read this story, reviewed this story, and yes, even those who criticized this story. Thank you for sticking around with me to the end.  
**

* * *

After Phase: A Fleeting Moment of Peace

February 5th, C.E. 74

**

* * *

**

Memorial Garden, Orb Union

It had been one week since Operation Eternal Freedom and the Battle of Luna; in the distance, the sun slid gently over the horizon, bringing the light of dawn to this part of the world.

Shinn Asuka stood alone, staring at the memorial stone. This was where it all began for him, all those years ago. It was here that his parents died and he lost Mayu… this was where his despair began.

And it was time to leave the past behind him entirely.

He hadn't gotten much chance to talk to Ami or many of the others. Lunamaria had surprised him, and he'd learned of Tristan's death from her. He found it strange that he was comforting her on that, and a part of Shinn realized that maybe it was for the best.

Unlike Shinn, there had been no hope for Tristan.

Currently, the leaders of all the world nations, including PLANT and Izanami, were at Copernicus, negotiating a formal end to the war. Shinn didn't worry about it too much, though he did know that Lady Serenity was heading the negotiations, which wasn't a surprise for anyone, as Izanami remained the single strongest world power, and the Earth Alliance was but a distant memory.

Upon arriving in Orb, Shinn went to see Maia; the meeting had gone better than he'd expected after the last time he'd seen her. She'd given him a fond, if somewhat weak, smile and called him by name. She knew who he was and acknowledged their relation, but had told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't just Mayu anymore, and that even she didn't know what would happen. She was spending most of her time in rehab now, and would soon be transferred to Izanami.

That had been yesterday afternoon; after allowing Shinn to hold her for the first time in years, she'd asked him not to visit if she didn't request it. She'd asked much the same of most others, because she wasn't certain what her future held, and only Ami was allowed full visitation now.

There were others too… Shinn had been shocked to learn the truth about Heine, Zane and Aleksi. Especially that last one; her betrayal stung him in ways he would never have believed possible.

Rey had been taken directly to Izanami; Shinn had been told that a scientist there had been researching cloning technology, and would be working with a Dr. Walser to cure Rey's condition. The true nature of his friend had been a massive shock for Shinn, but at this point, he was simply glad Rey was still alive.

As for most of the others… Shinn really wasn't certain about any of them. He hadn't seen Athrun since the battle; nor had he met Kira Yamato face-to-face yet. He hadn't seen Misuumi either. And he still had no idea as to Nabiki's fate.

"Mom… dad…" murmured Shinn, kneeling down and resting a hand gently on the memorial stone. "I've done… many, many things that I now regret. I've learned a lot, and I think I've grown. I was never able to let go of you or Mayu, and I hope you can forgive me for that weakness… and forgive me for moving on now. I have my whole future ahead of me, and a world that I want to protect. If I don't want to repeat my mistakes, then I need to move on."

Hearing footsteps behind him, Shinn straightened up, looking over his shoulder to see a brunette woman a year older than him walking his way, a bouquet of white roses in her hands.

"Hi Shinn," she said.

"Yuki…" murmured Shinn. Yuki Trinity gave him a soft smile before stepping past him and laying the bouquet at the base of the memorial. She stepped back, clasping her hands together and murmuring a small prayer for the deceased.

The two stood there in a comfortable silence, staring at the memorial as the light of dawn continued to slide their way.

Then, more people approached, drawing their attention to Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, accompanied by Misuumi Hino Kamakura, Minako Rei Arata and Ami Hibiki. A bit behind them came Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, the latter carrying a bouquet for the memorial as well.

Shinn glanced away, remembering his one brief encounter with Minako, when he returned Stella to the Earth Forces. However, she'd kept her promise to him. As Lacus laid the flowers on the base of the memorial, Shinn turned to look at the entire group and smiled slightly.

"Thank you," he said. "For all of this."

"It's no trouble Shinn," said Yuki, glancing at Ami briefly. Shinn looked them all over.

"Commander," he said softly. Misuumi shook her head.

"I'm not your superior anymore Shinn," she said. "And even if we were in the same military, the situation right now is such that no one is anyone's superior."

"I see," said Shinn softly. "Um… how are the negotiations coming?"

"Mom says they're going well," said Makoto. "Better than last time, certainly. It's a shame Cagalli is out there as well."

They all looked back to the memorial.

"No matter how bad things get," said Kira suddenly, drawing their attention. "And no matter how many times people wipe away the flowers… as long as there are others to plant them again, hope is still strong."

Remembering the words and meeting Kira referenced, Shinn felt tears forming on the edges of his vision.

"There will always be hope… for a better tomorrow," said Ami softly.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right," said Shinn. "Thank you… all of you… for everything."

Lacus smiled softly.

"Come to the embassy later," she said. "Today's my birthday, so we're going to have a small celebration… for that… and for everything else we have to celebrate."

"Thank you… I will," said Shinn. With that, Kira and Lacus left, Ami rushing over to join them.

"I always hated this place," said Shinn softly, turning back to the memorial. "And I hate it even more now… but I think I'm ready to leave it all behind."

"Where will you go? What will you do?" asked Minako.

"If you'll have me… I was actually thinking of Izanami," said Shinn, surprising all of them. "Everything I have left is there."

"We won't turn you away Shinn," said Makoto. "This is a time to forgive, even if we can never forget."

Shinn nodded slightly. He glanced at Yuki, who smiled at him gently. He found himself returning the smile, and as he turned to leave, he found Yuki was staying at his side, walking away from the memorial with him.

"We should probably stop them from making the mistake I did," commented Makoto, turning to face the memorial stone with her cousins and sisters, the sun continuing to ascend on the horizon.

The three were silent, sharing in the calm.

At long last, the Taiyonoha were finally at peace again. The terrible price had been Minako and Misuumi's parents, Makoto's father, and Shizuka's fiancé. But that was life… and war.

For their own part, Misuumi was trying to handle things with her team, while Makoto and Minako had been catching up with Sakura. There was also Nabiki… or rather, Erica.

Nabiki's psyche had shattered in Messiah, and the parts of her that wanted to live had effectively fused in order to survive. Erica was the embodiment of her memories of Erik, while Ayame had been a safeguard of her sanity and memory. The new Nabiki had practically attached herself to Makoto at the hip, happy to be free of the torment that had gripped her for years.

Makoto really wasn't certain how to deal with all of it, but…

"It's not over," said Misuumi softly. The three all had faint smiles.

"No… it's not," agreed Minako.

"It's just beginning… our future." Makoto turned her eyes skyward. "Amidst the starry sky."

**

* * *

**

Maius Four

Saul Kessel stood in the hospital room with his mother, Rebecca Kessel, sister, Diana Kessel, and girlfriend, Naomi Kotara, the four staring down at the paralyzed Ian Kessel lying on the hospital bed.

"Hi dad," said Saul softly, stepping up to the bed, Naomi staying at his side. "So… we won. We stopped the Destiny Plan and we stopped Logos. You saw all that. But… damn it dad…" There were tears in Saul's eyes. Naomi took his hand, giving it a slight squeeze. "Listen… I… I'm proud to have been your son." There were suppressed gasps from his mother and sister. "I'm proud of you… even if I think what you did was stupid, I'm still…"

Saul looked into his father's eyes. He could see the acceptance and approval there… and the gratitude and pride as well. Tears were falling from Saul's eyes now.

If he could've, Ian would've told Saul that he felt the same. Diana and Rebecca walked around to stand beside the bed opposite Saul and Naomi, all of them staring down at Ian.

"Ian," said Naomi softly. "I know you were always a little uncertain about me… about whether or not I could understand. I hope… I hope I meet your approval though. I want to make Saul happy… so…"

The greatest torment of all was being unable to express anything at all. Ian blinked, feeling tears forming in his eyes, the only way he had of expressing emotions, and he hoped that they would understand that he did approve of Naomi, despite the trouble he had given her and Saul, all in the hopes of helping the two in his own strange way.

"We'll take care of the PLANTs Ian," said Rebecca, leaning forward and stroking her husband's face. "I promise you that we'll take care of our homeland."

"Father…" said Diana softly, leaning forward as well, and taking his hand in her own. "Can you feel this?"

Ian's eyes told them that yes, he could, and all four of them wrapped their hands around both of his.

And they knew that it was time. Ian blinked a few times, telling them that he was ready.

Rebecca called the nurse back in. None of them moved from Ian's side, continuing to hold his hands as the nurse switched off his life support, giving them a small bow before leaving.

It was strange… and heartrending, as all of them felt as though they could actually feel Ian's life slipping away.

His eyes drifting closed, Ian Kessel finally passed away. And with that, his wife, his daughter, his son, and the girl his son loved, all stopped holding back their tears, letting their emotions show on the surface plainly, if only for a short time.

**

* * *

**

Izanami

With Serenity heading peace talks at Copernicus and Makoto down in Orb, Shizuka Taiyonoha was left to oversee Izanami.

There were tears in her eyes as she stared at the picture of her and Victor at the Marshall Islands, back when they visited Malchio's orphanage for Lacus's birthday, exactly one year ago.

Shizuka fingered the ring she wore, part of her unable to believe that he was dead. But…

They'd known this could happen, of course—he was a soldier after all, and Shizuka had dealt with loss before. But never quite like this…

A part of her wondered if Naomi would be disappointed in her for 'letting' Victor go… but somehow, she knew that wasn't the case.

She would grieve. Shizuka would grieve Victor's loss… but she would not let this stop her. She would not let it mar the rest of her life. That would be an insult to Victor's memory.

But for now… she would grieve, mourn, shed tears, and let depression fill her and run its course.

Only then would she be able to properly honor Victor's memory.

**

* * *

**

Cat's Eye Café, Orb Union

"It's only been four months," commented Lunamaria Hawke softly, pushing the straw of her milkshake idly. "But it feels like a lifetime."

"War is like that," replied Shizuru Vashti, glancing at Lunamaria and her sister, Meyrin Hawke. "A day of conflict is like an eternity… and a decade of peace… is like a moment far too fleeting."

"Yeah," murmured Luna. "An entire war… in only three months…"

"We were lucky this time," said Shizuru softly. "Especially after Break the World… no one was in any condition for a protracted conflict, except maybe Izanami, but only because they were out of it until the end there." She shook her head slightly. "But worrying about 'what ifs' that we were lucky enough to not have happen is pointless."

"Yeah, you're right," said Meyrin.

The three fell silent after that; it wasn't awkward, but rather, comfortable. They knew it was unlikely they'd see each other very often in the future. Shizuru's parents were living in the PLANTs; she wasn't going to be leaving them for at least a few more years. The Hawkes, though, were going to Izanami. Today was likely to be a day for farewells, as many different people would be going their separate ways.

It would not be easy; but everyone knew they would get through it.

**

* * *

**

Mizaryū Beach

Treize and Flay walked along the shore, Alexander holding his mother's hand as the three of them stared out at the sunlight reflecting off of more and more of the water as time passed.

Treize had related what had happened with Chris to Flay, the Taiyonoha and the Dantes, with the exception of Alexander, the too-smart and barely two years old boy still too young to truly understand, let alone handle, such knowledge.

It hadn't been as hard on Flay as either of them had expected; somewhere along the line, she had accepted both that he was not Chris… and that Chris wasn't coming back. She'd lost Chris before, and in a way, she'd gotten false hope when she learned about Treize's origins.

But she'd gotten over that… and just as she'd told herself once before, Chris would want her to be happy. Hell, Chris himself had pretty much said as much.

There was a bright future waiting for all of them; even with that nearly unspoken threat still waiting for them, they would be prepared for it.

Flay had the utmost confidence in Kira, Makoto and Serenity. She knew the three of them would find a way, even in the face of the potential loss of a portion of Izanami's military force as officers and pilots who'd refused to follow the Seirans returned to Orb. It was something they'd all been expecting to happen eventually.

And she'd be right there, supporting them all the way… for the sake of a better tomorrow for her son.

Subconsciously, Flay reached out and took Treize's hand, squeezing it slightly. To the surprise of both, he squeezed back gently in response.

**

* * *

**

Izanami Embassy

Several hours later

It was exactly four years ago that the Tragedy of Copernicus occurred, destroying the UN and giving rise to the Blue Cosmos-dominated Earth Alliance. This thought did not enter the minds of anyone present, however.

Because for them, a far more important event had happened on this day exactly nineteen years ago, Lacus Clyne was born.

With the war passed, things were a lot brighter for all of them. Meer Campbell had come back from Izanami for this one event; she'd been considering getting surgery to restore her original appearance, but hadn't decided on anything definitively just yet.

For now though, she was just incredibly excited by the prospect of attending her idol's birthday celebration.

Although it was now being redesigned for use as Izanami's embassy at Orb, the Taiyonoha Estate hadn't received any work yet, so it was a comfortable place for everyone to be staying—everyone being in excess of fifty people in this case.

Shinn was the last of the guests to arrive. He rang the doorbell, feeling somewhat uncertain about all this. However, the door opened within a minute, and his eyes widened in surprise at who he saw there.

"N-Nabiki?" he questioned, shocked. Actually, he almost hadn't recognized her—he'd never seen such a drastic change in any person, excepting the Extended, of course.

What first struck him was just how _young_ she looked; he was used to her seeming closer to the age of Talia than his own, but now her bearing made her look his own age.

That wasn't all of it, either: her features were softer, and her eyes held a light warmth to them he was not accustomed to.

What disturbed him, however, was the French maid outfit she was wearing.

"Ah, Shinn, you're here," said Nabiki, smiling pleasantly, further pushing Shinn to believe he was having a bizarre dream. "Come on in. And um… it's Erica now."

"Uh… o… kay…?"

Shinn quickly stepped inside, carefully trying to avoid looking at 'Erica' as he sought out someone who could explain what was going on.

"Shinn," came Misuumi's voice, drawing his attention. The Destiny pilot sighed in relief as he spotted the blonde, rushing over to her.

"What was Nabiki doing at the door?" he questioned, still trying to shake off his shock.

"It's a long story," said Misuumi. "To keep it short, she's not the Nabiki you knew anymore, she prefers to go by the name Erica now, she's completely and totally in love with Makoto and wants to become Makoto's personal maid."

Shinn _swore_ he heard crickets chirping in the silence.

"I'll give you the long version later."

"I don't even know if I want to hear it," muttered Shinn, rubbing his face.

"Yes, well, now that all the guests are here…"

A few minutes later, the guests were gathered in the dining room, where Lacus's cake was waiting for them.

"A wedding cake…" Lacus closed her eyes. "Makoto, I'm going to kill you."

Most of the others burst out laughing, Lacus joining them without any hesitation. At Makoto's feet, Miyuki barked cheerfully, and the redhead knelt down to pick up her puppy, petting the husky fondly.

**

* * *

**

Junk Guild Transport _Twilight Hazard_, South Atlantic Ocean

Four days later

"This is a real beauty you brought us, you know that?" asked Carson Shaffer, the captain of the _Twilight Hazard_, looking at the young man he'd taken aboard. "She's in bad shape of course, but we can get her back together. What happened to it?"

"The Grim Reaper, at Luna," replied the young man, brushing his blond hair from his eyes. He absently noted that his real blue hair color was starting to grow back in.

Carson whistled, turning back to the machine before him.

"_Crap_…" muttered Carson. "How the hell is this thing still in one piece?"

"The pilot got cooked alive," his guest explained, glancing at the badly damaged Providence ZAKU. "It wasn't a threat after that. I was lucky to be able to get it out of there at all—I had to find another working machine that got abandoned, since the computers on this one were fried."

"I see," murmured Carson. "Look, kid, I'm not gonna ask you to explain yourself. But you realize that if you want me to put this back together, it's gonna cost you. If you can't afford it, you can just work off the debt."

"That's fine. I'm really not sure what to do with myself right now anyways."

Carson nodded before shrugging slightly and walking away.

Leon Vanyel let out a small sigh, turning his attention to the Providence ZAKU again.

He really had no idea how it was that he survived Adam's final assault on the Valiant. Perhaps Adam had actually let him live, an act he felt to be a mercy to Leon's tortured soul. But if that were the case, Leon truly wished he hadn't. Perhaps it was selfish of him, but he could allow himself that little vice after all he'd sacrificed—his name, his freedom, his principles… everything… for the sake of a person who'd betrayed him so long ago. He had nothing left to really live for now.

Consciousness had returned to him a moment before Daedalus was obliterated. With the Valiant immobile and acting almost entirely on the instinct to survive, he'd weakly left the broken machine, somehow lucky enough for his pilot suit to be intact save a few holes he patched up with the standard emergency patches, and discovered a damaged, but functional Dagger L, which he'd used to escape. When he'd spotted the mostly intact Providence ZAKU, he'd decided to grab that on his way out, unnoticed amidst all the chaos and other fleeing forces.

Somehow, Leon's bizarre luck for survival hadn't given out on him there, either, as he crossed paths with a group of Junkers, who later handed him off to Carson and the _Twilight Hazard_ when he expressed the desire to return to the Earth and the comfort its gravity seemed to offer him.

Now… now Leon didn't know what to do with himself. He didn't even have anything to his name—his only possessions now could truthfully be said to be the Providence ZAKU and his pilot suit. Even the clothes he wore had been lent to him by one of the Junkers.

There wasn't even anything for him to fight for. Horizon had used him, Hanako had betrayed him, and there was no place for him anywhere in the world. The only chance he might have was Izanami, but…

But he just wanted to leave the war and Horizon, even the world in a way, behind. Izanami could not offer him that solace.

"Penny for your thoughts?" came a new voice behind him. Leon glanced over his shoulder to see a young woman with long, light brown hair and deep brown eyes staring at him curiously. A glint of light drew his eyes briefly to her diamond necklace before he quickly refocused himself on her.

"My thoughts aren't anything interesting," he answered her.

"I'd like to hear them anyways," she said, stepping over to him and sitting down next to him, staring the Providence ZAKU. "Not everyone can claim to be in possession of a machine like that, after all." She turned her eyes back to him. "And I have a bit of a knack for these things. You seem lost. That's okay… we're all a little lost at times. And sharing sometimes helps. So… will you share?"

"Yeah… yeah I guess so," said Leon, realizing there wasn't much to lose, and sensing the truth in her words.

"Good… I'm all ears," she said gently. "Oh, right. My name's Kaylie, by the way. Kaylie Grace." She gave him a warm smile.

Unable to resist, Leon gave a small smile of his own.

"Setsuna… just Setsuna."

**

* * *

**

April 1st, Cosmic Era 74

Two months after the Battle of Luna

The Treaty of Copernicus was argued, debated, conceded, agreed upon, and written in only a month. Given the short length of the war, no one was particularly surprised by this.

Unlike the Treaty of Junius Seven after the First Bloody Valentine War, the Treaty of Copernicus wasn't making any concessions that could possibly give Blue Cosmos any chance of recovering.

That, ultimately, had been the failure of the Junius Seven Treaty, putting forth no efforts to deal with Blue Cosmos and leveling military restrictions that left small nations like Orb and the PLANTs, generally the source of the heaviest opposition to Blue Cosmos, severely undermanned. Restrictions on certain technologies were also meaningless where terrorists like Blue Cosmos were concerned.

The military ban on Mirage Colloid was revised, and now only applied to objects greater in size than a mobile suit, with the added stipulation that the identity and number of all such objects would be known to all other nations. That concession hadn't been hard, and the Atlantic Federation was now set to locate and publicly dismantle the remaining five _Girty Lue_-class vessels constructed for Blue Cosmos during Copeland's reign.

The ban on N-jammer canceller technology was similarly revised; instead of being totally forbidden, each military power was allowed five N-jammer cancellers for military use. Whether they were used for reactors or missiles was the choice of the leadership, but again, the exact number and what they were used for was not to be hidden.

National borders were restored to their pre-war state once again, and all previous alliances were annulled. Any alliances currently desired would wait until after the Treaty was signed. All potential criminal charges were dropped, save those against the deceased Djibril, Copeland, Durandal and Break the World terrorists, as well as those against the surviving members of Logos who Durandal had never gotten around to actually having executed.

Most of the official records of the war were sealed away. Izanami was formally recognized by the entire world as its own independent nation.

And as part of the Treaty, all the world powers would begin to hunt down Blue Cosmos and tear the organization apart, one terrorist at a time if that's what it took.

The military restrictions of the Treaty this time were not based on the size of the nations involved; instead, a peak level of military power was agreed upon, regardless of whether or not a nation could even achieve such a power level. In this way, the PLANTs, as well as Orb and Izanami, evaded the massive stagnation that would've resulted in their destruction if someone more intelligent than Djibril had been pulling the strings for the PLANTs destruction.

After the Treaty was ratified, Yuri Amalfi, representing the PLANTs, made a surprising, off the record request. It was in response to stirrings within the PLANT citizenry, regarding the new leader of the PLANT Supreme Council.

Lacus Clyne was contacted with the request for her to assume leadership of the PLANTs. Initially, she'd hesitated; a private word from Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha, however, had changed her stance.

The rosette accepted, and was formally installed as the temporary Chairwoman of the PLANT Supreme Council (pending the conclusion of the new elections) a week later. Shinn Asuka became her temporary bodyguard at the same time her engagement to Kira Yamato of Izanami became public. The _Eternal_ became Lacus's personal flagship, while the _Seraphim_ became the flagship of the Izanami Defense Force.

Three weeks after Lacus accepted leadership of the PLANTs, on the day the elections put a new Supreme Council into place with her at the head, it happened.

**

* * *

**

Chambers of the PLANT Supreme Council, Aprilius One

Now recognized officially as the Chairwoman of the Supreme Council, Lacus had been waiting for this moment. Most of the other councilors were eyeing the screen uncertainly, hardly believing what they were seeing.

The three massive cylinders of Izanami, each three hundred sixty kilometers in length a hundred twenty kilometers in diameter, approached the PLANTs. Around them were the Gates of Heaven, seven large, powerful asteroid fortresses, four of them still under development. There were also the linear drive vessels, and the massive fleet of Izanami bringing up the rear.

Ahead of Izanami, as though leading the nation on its current course, was the _Seraphim_. The flagship of Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, who turned nineteen that very day, was flanked by the _Yukihime _and the _Autumn Rose_, the flagships of her cousins, and was surrounded by a screen of majestic mobile suits. This group was headed by the Serenity Gundam, flanked by the Strike Freedom Gundam and Redemption Gundam, the three mobile suits that served as the ultimate symbols of Izanami's military might.

Then, the face of Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha appeared before the Council.

"Chairwoman Clyne," she greeted calmly, a small smile on her lips.

"Sovereign Taiyonoha," replied Lacus, keeping the important formality of this moment in mind. "May I ask why Izanami has come here?"

"Of course," said Serenity. They both knew the reason, of course… and no doubt, the Council now suspected as well.

Though, of course, Yuri Amalfi, Tad Elsman and Ezalia Joule had already known.

"I would like to request a meeting between the PLANT Supreme Council and the Izanami House of Nobles," said Serenity. "To negotiate an alliance… and possibly… a union."

Gasps filled the Council Chambers. Lacus smiled, giving a small nod.

"I accept your request Lady Serenity," she said, turning her attention to the rest of the Council. "Unless of course there are any objections?"

"No, of course not, Madam Chairwoman," said Serena Freshour, a new Councilor on the Diplomatic Committee. There were nods of agreement with Serena's words from the rest of the Council… which wasn't a surprise.

Izanami was still the leading world power, despite its losses. Everyone was eager to have an alliance with them.

"Well then, I ask that everyone watch this," said Serenity. "It's a sight that never comes more than once a generation."

"Yes, of course," said Lacus, turning to one of her aides. "Please play the footage of Izanami throughout the colonies."

"Uh, yes, Madam Chairwoman," said the aide, bowing quickly before rushing to carry out her orders.

The rest of the world was already watching. Those who'd been present for the signing of the Treaty had suspected this was coming after Lacus accepted the request to chair the Supreme Council. Truthfully, it made many military strategists nervous—the five leading world powers in terms of military might were Izanami, followed by ZAFT, then the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and finally the Orb Union, edging out just barely ahead of the Republic of East Asia.

Then, they got confirmation that the footage was being played throughout the PLANTs. It was important that they see what was about to happen.

"Alright birthday girl… go ahead."

"Yes mom," said Makoto, the Serenity spinning to face the three cylinders. "This is Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha… with the approval of the entire House of Nobles…" Which was a bit absurd—Izanami hadn't existed long enough to _have_ a 'House of Nobles' beyond the Taiyonoha themselves. "I am hereby giving the order that we have all been waiting to hear."

She closed her eyes, a smile on her lips.

"Izanami… purge your shell and spread your wings."

Explosions chained up the length of the cylinders, followed instantly by additional explosions around the circumference as the Izanami Defense Force cast out specialized nets to catch the larger chunks of debris.

The cables holding the cylinders together from within broke apart as well, letting inertial forces cast off the remains of Izanami's armor.

Sunlight shone through the debris, revealing a strange shadow within the purged armor. Then, as the debris cleared, the world got its first sight of the true Izanami.

Thirty massive hourglass-like structures spun gently in space, ten of them a divine gold reflecting the light of the sun beautifully; Amaterasu City. Another ten were a distinct silver, reminiscent of the light of the moon; Tsukuyomi City. The last ten were a light cyan, similar to the bright sky of the Earth; Susanoo City.

Each of the Type-II PLANTs was ninety kilometers end-to-end, with a diameter of fifteen kilometers for each disk, giving each over twice the area of the originals. Each was designed to evoke the image of the majestic spirits for which they'd been named, possessing structures and fortifications that made them nigh-invulnerable to conventional attack, with the lush natural environments of the PLANTs and even greater natural weather.

The White Queen, her Angels, and all they held dear smiled fondly as the entire world looked on with shock and awe at the sight of the true form of Izanami.

This was not part of what they'd originally planned; however, with Lacus needed to lead the PLANTs and the threat of Asher Hyata and his machinations still looming over the Horizon, new steps needed to be taken.

And this was the course Serenity had chosen. She knew in her heart that this was the right decision.

**

* * *

**

Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Zane sat at the conference table, wearing the mask of his codename, 'Prophet'.

Everyone knew the truth now; he was a prisoner of Horizon, forced by means few of them knew of to do Gabriel's bidding. As others filed into the room, he barely suppressed a snarl at the sight of a few of them in particular.

He'd been right—Harlequin and Void had been working directly for Gabriel right from the start. Void got rooted out of his position in the PLANTs within a week of the alliance with Izanami, much to Zane's secret delight.

Then there was Seth; had he known Suiren's words about the blonde, he would've agreed. Her medication had been discontinued and declared a failure, as it was evident it had caused some kind of psychological damage to the poor girl. There was almost nothing left of Aleksi; to Zane, Seth seemed a depraved individual, who'd even begun to seek out physical enhancements.

Others present were, of course, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. There was also Lucifer, who disturbed Zane a great deal, unable to understand how Lucifer could even exist. Noah also gave off a sense of wrongness, as did Enoch.

The one known to him as Fate reminded Zane of himself, a victim of Horizon in some way. He knew that Fate was perhaps even less supportive of Gabriel than Zane himself was. Cain was much the same, Zane was sure of it.

However, the one who disturbed Zane most of all was Abel… no, disturb was not the right word for it.

Abel terrified him; that was probably one of the reasons he was now Zane's direct superior.

Finally, _they_ entered.

Gabriel was sitting at one end of the long table, Michael on his right and Raphael on his left. The three who walked in now were 'The Chosen'; the ones Gabriel intended to lead whatever was left of humanity after Horizon ravaged the world. They were the opposite numbers of Kira Yamato, Christopher Dante and Makoto Taiyonoha.

Adam sat to the right of the head of the table; Eve took her seat on the left.

The last remained standing, face cold and passive.

"Please, have a seat," asked Gabriel. His opposite remained standing, however.

She was Lilith, and she was Gabriel's true right hand, no matter how much Michael deluded himself into believing the position his own.

"What is the status of Eden?" asked Lilith.

"Eden has come along well," said Raphael softly. Gabriel turned his attention to his comrade.

"Are you still disturbed by the screams?" he questioned. A cold smirk settled on his features. "Knowing what those two will sound like when they die… surely that should delight you."

Raphael did not answer. Lilith had been unable to be anywhere near the labs during the early stages of Eden, unable to bear the screams. She wasn't the only one. Only Gabriel and Michael seemed to be able to shrug it off, even _enjoy _it, while all the others were disturbed by the sound that was the only way to express the pain of one's very existence breaking down in a matter of hours.

"They will not die," said Lilith smoothly. "Gabriel…" There was a dangerous note in her voice. The leader of Horizon sighed, knowing better than to push the dangerous woman standing opposite his seat.

"What of the Neuro-comm.?" questioned Eve. "The original was a failure except with subject N13. Have we managed to develop it to something that might compete with the BIO-Sensor?"

"That's still in the works," said Void coolly. "Ragnarok has not served as well as we had hoped."

"What of the Wolfpack?" questioned Zane, turning to Harlequin and hoping things had gone badly there. "How has their indoctrination gone?"

"Must you put it in such a negative fashion, Prophet?" questioned Harlequin. Zane stared at her pointedly, and she sighed, conceding the point. "It is nearly complete."

"Excellent," muttered Gabriel. "We must test means of wider indoctrination. What sort of limits can we expect?"

"Even the Wolfpack needed to be manipulated before the indoctrination could take root," said Harlequin. "Anyone who wouldn't already be somewhat inclined to see things our way will be effectively immune."

"That's where I come in," said Michael, grinning sadistically. "My weapons are coming along well so far. Soon, I will perfect the conversion."

"That doesn't help us with sleeper agents," snarled Noah. "And we cannot win a war that way."

"That's why these things are kept between us," said Adam. "We do not wish to scare off the masses."

"And it's not like there isn't some truth in the promises," added Seth.

"No… it's not like those are untrue," agreed Lucifer. Zane, Fate and Cain all shifted slightly, uneasy with Lucifer's words, and most especially with the success of the indoctrination they spoke of.

"We have time," said Lilith, finally taking her seat. "Let them mop up Blue Cosmos. They have until 76. That's when the beginning of Divinity's culmination shall come."

**

* * *

**

Amaterasu One

The women of the Taiyonoha family were gathered in the new Taiyonoha Cemetery; they truly had a new home now. The cemetery was something more symbolic than physical, but still important to all of them, and it was kept near to their new home on the large PLANT.

Serenity; Shizuka; Misuumi; Minako; Makoto.

And two other people.

"Well… we really made it," said Serenity softly, her words for the souls of the departed. "I wonder what they would think of all this… how would our ancestors react to the thought that we would return to the heavens?"

Serenity stepped forward, kneeling down, a faint smile on her lips as she looked at the graves of her husband, her sisters, and their husbands.

"I know this wasn't how things were supposed to be," she said. "Perhaps in a way, we have betrayed the very ideals on which we once founded Orb. But those are not the ideals we held when we founded Izanami. And that is how we have chosen to fight the coming shadow on the horizon. So… even though we have stepped away from the ideals we once held dear, I hope you'll look after us. I don't want to lose anymore of my family."

With that, Serenity stepped back, allowing the others to step forward.

"Father…" murmured Makoto, gently touching his gravestone. "This is different, but… well, I'm sure you always wanted to hear me call you that. I'm so sorry we never had the chance to really be father and daughter. I'd say that was my fault, but we both know that we were all at fault for that. Still… thank you. And… I never said it before when I came to see you, but… I love you. Goodbye."

"Mom, dad," whispered Minako, kneeling down before her parents graves. "I understand so much more now. We haven't found Angelus yet, but I promise we will. And then… Makoto and I will fly it together. I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I disappointed you… that I hated her. I hope one day, you'll forgive me. I miss you both… love you… goodbye."

"I never really visited you before," said Misuumi, stroking her own parents graves. "I never really could, until after the war. Before that, I was never really myself. I… I hated you, for letting me become a Child of Divinity, but… I think I understand you a bit better now. And that hate is gone now. I have my whole future ahead of me now. So please, look after me. And I'm sorry we could never really know each other."

Shizuka knelt before a grave that did not belong to the Taiyonoha; that of her fiancé.

"Hi Victor," she said softly. "I've visited a little, but even after all this time, it's still so busy. I wish you could've seen this place; Izanami is such a beautiful home for us all. And… I hope you'll forgive me for my selfish grieving, when I know you hated my pain and loved the things I did for the sake of others. I'm allowed to be selfish now and again, right?" Shizuka smiled slightly, tears in her eyes as she slipped her engagement ring off and laid on the base of the grave, next to a bouquet of flowers she'd put there earlier. "I'll always love you Victor. I hope you'll forgive my selfishness whenever it is that my grief comes to rest. Goodbye."

Sakura knelt next to the grave of her mother; this was one of the few graves that was not empty.

"Hi mom," she said. "Everything went well… better than could be expected, even. Horizon is still out there, but we'll be ready for them." She stroked the gravestone. "We'll protect this world… and I promise that we'll protect our own happiness as well. I'll find my happiness, and I'll preserve it to the end. And I know… I know you're still looking after me. Thank you for everything… goodbye."

The last of the group knelt before another grave that did not belong to a Taiyonoha.

"Hi Erik," said Erica, looking at her brother's grave. "Honored to be here? Well, no, you wouldn't be. You'd scoff at others considering it an honor. I know that you died peacefully… and… well, Nabiki died peacefully too. Somewhere along the line, my own feelings for Makoto began to change hers. I can't help but feel the conflict I introduced is why the person I was died, but… but I know that Nabiki died happily. And if she and I are truly separate people, then I hope you're both looking out for me." Erica smiled. "I have a new sister now; that's kind of why you're here now. Though I think she's irritated with me. Still… bye, nii-chan. And thank you for giving me this future."

The six stepped away, stopping next to Serenity, all seven staring at the graves for a moment, wind blowing their hair about. Finally, the family turned and left the cemetery, Erica Taiyonoha keeping close to her adoptive sister's side, to Makoto's irritation, just as she had said.

Their battle was not over… but if only for a few fleeting moments, the entire family was at peace.

* * *

**Author's Final Notes: I wanted to end this story in much the same way I ended _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, and the final graveyard scene felt perfect to me.**

**So, how many of you saw Izanami's true form coming? I've had this planned since before I first revealed it existed back when Makoto asked Serenity about it in the first story. Which brings me to a question: obviously, I intend for Izanami and PLANT to unite into a single nation; however, I'm not sure if the new nation should be Izanami (which may annoy some readers), PLANT (which just feels like a silly name to me, since it's the colony type and an acronym), or something new, and if so, what? (this is my choice, but I have no ideas right now, so opinions are welcome on this one)**

**I use the opportunity to close a _lot_ of the loose threads; but there were some things I felt I couldn't really get in effectively, or putting them in would've bogged it down/taken away from the goal of this epilogue. Shinn's scene brings closure, establishes his future somewhat, and explains some things of the aftermath. I also deal with a lot of other closure, explain some more details of the new treaty and, of course, set the stage with the scene of Horizon.**

**There's an important question I have, though: should Murrue and Neo remain with Izanami or Orb? Though I already have my preference, I'm not certain, and want to know what all of you would like to see.  
**

**Moving on, I intend to post a one-shot story in _Divinity Saga_ which acts like a bridge between _Gundam SEED Serenity _and _Gundam SEED Divinity_. It will reveal more about the fate of the EX-Cs, how the alliance/union has affected Izanami/PLANT and the world as a whole, and serve to setup the beginning of _SEED Divinity_.**

**There's still more waiting for you within the universe of the Divinity Saga; I hope you all enjoy it when it comes.**

**Until then. Once more, thanks to all of you who read and reviewed this story. As a final gift, I'm going to end this with a preview of what's to come, just as I did in _SEED Dauntless_.**

**Edit: the one-shot sidestory _Legacy_, which bridges this story and the next, has now been posted under _Divinity Saga._**

* * *

_"Amazing… so this is the power of a Gundam?"_ ~ Classified.**  
Starlight Gundam:  
Model Number:** ZGMF-X01L**  
Code Name:** Starlight Gundam**  
Unit Type:** Prototype Assault Mobile Suit**  
Power Plant:** Ultracompact Hyper-Capacitor Battery w/Solar Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Aurora System; DRAGOON System; 4 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings w/12-wing High Mobility Aerial Tactics Mode; Solar Barrier System; Flash System; "Hikari no Tsubasa" Mobile Wing Propulsion System;**  
Fixed Armament:** MGX-2235 "Callidus" Multi-Phase Beam Cannon, mounted in torso; 2x MA-M03 "Sakeru" Beam Saber, stored behind shoulders, hand-carried in use, can be combined; 2x MCC-A1 Experimental Beam Cannon, mounted in forearms; 2x MMI-GAU27D 31mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2200 Beam Shield Generator, mounted in wrists;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** Classified**  
Remote Weapons:** 4x MSD-W27 Starlight DRAGOON Wing, stored on wings, each mounts: MA-80V beam assault cannon, 2x GDU-X5 assault beam machine gun, ADF-T117 beam field emitter; 8x MSD-P90 Starlight DRAGOON Pod, stored on waist, hips and legs, each mounts: 3x GDU-X5 assault beam machine gun;**  
Pilot:** Classified

_"An absurdly sharp blade of fire. That's new."_ ~ Classified.**  
Night Sky Gundam:  
Model Number:** XMF-01**  
Code Name:** Night Sky Gundam**  
Unit Type:** Custom Melee Combat Mobile Suit**  
Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Nightfall System Mode; Mirage Colloid Proto-Cloak; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** SI7-S/H01-NT "Lævateinn" Fire Sword w/Heat Rod mode, stored on left hip, hand-carried in use; 2x SI7-M02 "Mico" Beam Saber, stored on waist, hand-carried in use; 2x MMI-GAU1717 12.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Soldidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator, mounted on forearms;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** TMA-BL09 "Tempestas" Beam Launcher**  
Pilot:** Classified

_"I've been fighting since the blockade of 69. I'm the **only** soldier left who has been with ZAFT from the start. And I'm not ready to hand the reins over to a new generation just yet."_ ~ Classified**  
Masamune Gundam:  
Model Number:** XMF-02**  
Code Name:** Masamune Gundam**  
Unit Type:** Custom Melee Combat Mobile Suit**  
Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; DRAGOON System; Lightwave Pulse Thrusters;**  
Fixed Armament:** SI7-MS003 "Kaneuji" Mega Sword, stored behind right shoulder, hand-carried in use; 2x RQM-60F "Flash Edge 2" Beam Boomerang/Saber, stored on shoulders, hand-carried in use; 2x M234BMS 4-barrel Beam Submachine Gun, mounted on forearms; 2x MA-987 Beam Saber, mounted in feet; 2x MMI-GAU1717 12.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MK-E41 Beam Carry Shield, mounted on left forearm, includes EEQ8 Grapple Stinger;**  
Optional Hand Armament:** None**  
Remote Weapons:** 10x Winged DRAGOON Blade, stored in hip armor, each mounts: GDU-X5 assault beam machine gun**  
Pilot:** Classified

_"Mention the M5 to any pilot outside of ZAFT, and you'll see them start trembling in fear; that's no exaggeration, and that reputation is well-deserved."_ ~ Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha, on the MVF-M5 Tempest's performance during its debut in the international war-games exercises.**  
M5 Tempest:  
Model Number:** MVF-M5**  
Code Name:** M5 Tempest**  
Unit Type:** Mass Production Transformable Assault Mobile Suit**  
Power Plant:** Ultracompact Deuterion Drive System**  
Equipment and Design Features:** Sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) Armor; Mobile Assault Frame; Hyperion System Mode; 2 High-Speed Mobile Assault Wings w/6-wing High Mobility Aerial Tactics Mode; Mobile Fighter Transformation;**  
Fixed Armament:** 2x MA-M21MP Beam Rifle, stored on hips, hand-carried in use, can be combined, mounts on main body in mobile fighter mode; 2x MA-M983 "Anser" Beam Saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use; 2x SI8-ML02M 12-tube Missile Launcher, mounted on biceps, each carries 5x AMA-MM13 "Wasp" micro missiles per tube; 2x SI8-ML22A 21-tube Missile Launcher, mounted in torso, each carries 3x AGMX39 "Dragonfly" particle missiles per tube; 4x MMI-GAU27D 31mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2x MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield, mounted on forearms; 6x TMA-BC3L Light Beam Cannon, mounted in wingtips, operable only in mobile fighter form; 12x MMI-GAU26 17.5mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in wings, operable only in mobile fighter form;  
**Optional Hand Armament:** TMA-MPR01 Linear Auto-rifle  
**Pilots:** Classified


End file.
